The Measure of a Man

In August 1958 Martin Luther King, Jr., preached two sermons, “What Is Man?” and “The Dimensions of a Complete Life,” at the first National Conference on Christian Education of the United Church of Christ at Purdue University. Franklin I. Sheeder, executive secretary of the Board of Christian Education and Publication, found the speeches to be “among the finest of our entire program” (Sheeder, 11 September 1958). In response to demands made by conference attendees, Sheeder requested that King allow publication of the addresses. With King’s consent, the sermons were published by the Christian Education Press in a short book entitled The Measure of a Man. The press and King arranged for proceeds to be shared evenly, after the former had recovered its costs of publication.