Janie Tinklenberg was encouraging the 30 members of her Michigan youth group to "think before you act." Ask, "What would Jesus do?" she suggested. She didn't imagine the phenomenon those four words would launch 10 years later. Today
WWJD adorns bracelets, necklaces, T-shirts and mugs. Church leaders use
the motto in Bible studies and Sunday school lessons. Luther Seminary,
St. Paul, Minn., distributes nylon bracelets bearing its logo and WWJD
to visiting youth groups. The
bracelet was born in 1989 in Holland, Mich., where Tinklenberg was a
youth leader looking for ways to remind the teens of their commitment
to Christ. She and her husband, Glen, discussed the wedding band's
significance as a symbol of a couple's covenant. A member of the
congregation, who worked in advertising, helped them design a nylon
bracelet with the WWJD logo as a similar reminder of one's commitment
to Jesus.
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