Customer Reviews

The Cross and the Switchblade

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The story of how David Wilkerson came to found Teen Challenge should be a must read for anyone who follows Jesus Christ. The Cross and the Switchblade describes how Wilkerson put feet on his faith that took him from rural Pennsylvania to the streets of New York City. It's the story of how a pastor followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and reached out to minister to people with whom the churches would not associate.

Wilkerson describes in his book how essential it is to meet the unloved where they are, rather than waiting for them to show up in church all dressed up and ready to worship within the ranks of the clean and respectable. He also rightly emphasizes the importance of follow up, how one can't just expect to go out and distribute tracts or preach from street corners without also developing real, loving relationships with people and ministering to their needs, both spiritually and physically.

Now that Teen Challenge International has grown to over 200 centers around the world, it is interesting to note that the struggle in recovery ministry continues to be much the same: It's extremely difficult to get people to reach out in love to those who have never been loved, and it's nearly impossible to get church members to venture outside their doors to love their neighbors as they love themselves.

I praise God for Rev. Wilkerson and the way that he listened to God and ventured out in faith. I thank him for sharing the story of his work.

The book The Cross and the Switchblade, which took place in 1958, was an excellant book. It was an really inspirational story. It can open people's eyes and let them know that things in this world are worse than we think. It made me more considerate.

This book is about a reverend named David Wilkerson who went to New York to get seven teenagers off a murder trial. He spontaneously went because he saw their faces in LIFE Magazine and felt the need to help them. It helped people know of a Christ through reverend Wilkerson.

This story opended up a lot of people's eyes. The reverend's for one, because he didn't know theat these problems existed in New York. It also affected the people that he came in contact with and the people who read his book because he was and still is an inspiration to all of them. Me personaly because it helped me become more courteous and aware of people with those kinds of problems.

This book brought tears to my eyes at God's love and mercy, and made me want to dance for joy at His provision and greatness. David Wilkerson started out as a preacher in a country church -- where he is a good Christian, and doing God's work. But one day, he feels as if God is leading him to New York to minister to a few thugs who have killed a boy. He follows the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and goes, and what follows is an amazing ride. God comes through again and again -- often at the 11th hour, when all seems lost. Isn't that just like God?
I highly recommend this book because it is a great testimony to what untold miracles can happen in the lives of Christians when we step out of our comfort zones and go out on a limb for God. And the way He comes through will take your breath away. If I wasn't a Christian, I would think the story was pure fiction because it sounds too amazing to be true. But because I am one, and I have caught glimpses of what God can do for His children, I can say of the miracle upon miracle in Cross and the Switchblade: "Yes, God is totally capable of that!''
To my mind, most of us don't enjoy this exhilerating journey with God because we don't trust Him enough to take risks for Him. David Wilkerson did, and God displayed all his wonders. Read this and be challenged. I certainly was.

It's hard to believe that a book written about events that took place almost forty years ago could just as easily have been written today. David Wilkerson followed God's call to work with "lost" children, and the work continues today. Miracles do still occur, and Wilkerson has witnessed them. His story about the inner city gangs of New York is gripping, but the fact that his "Teen Challenge" centers may be found all over the world is just as gripping. An incredible story.

Through the OBEDIENCE of David Wilkerson to God's call on his life, our son is getting the help, deliverance and freedom through the ministry of Teen Challenge. If you know of anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 80, and is addicted to life controlling substances, this book is a MUST READ...as it will lead you to a place where your loved one can find healing. The pages of this true life story and experiences will transform your perspective and understanding of what changes Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit can do!

This book is as relevant today as it was almost 50 years ago. I read it first as a teenager in the 60's, then as a Jr. High teacher I read it to my class, and I'm reading it again now. My Dad became a Christian after reading this book. My husband read it on guard duty in Vietnam, and became a Christian a short time later. It is a powerful book about a vibrant ministry, Teen Challenge, that is still reaching drug addicts today. Don't read this book unless you are ready for the Holy Spirit to "Grab" you!

David Wilkerson listened to the voice of God and obeyed. When he did, the Lord grew a holy unction into an international ministry which has now touched millions of lives around the world. From Teen Challenge Centers around the world to Times Square Church, now representing a congregation from 135 countries, to European Crusdaes and worldwide missions, this ministry is centered on Jesus Christ.

It is the unique focus on the personality and power of the Holy Spirit which separates this work from so many others.

The call to action was spoken into his life, and into the lives of a New York City street gang, headed by Nicky Cruz, in the late sixties. The Cross and the Switchblade is a modern day classic of God's power and grace infusing the most dangerous and difficult layer of society; the violent gangs.

The message is life changing, then and now.

A truly inspirational story about the power of the Holy Spirit and the messenger it found in the person of an intrepid preacher from rural Pennsylvania. David Wilkerson, author and protagonist in this personal account, feels grabbed by a drawing in Life magazine of five teenage boys charged with the brutal murder of a disabled youth. His interest in the lot of the nefarious boys, who are part of NYC's notorious sub-culture of street gangs, is ignited. He senses a calling from God to help them. The early pages chronicle his unsuccessful attempts to contact them, which ironically are felled at the final hurdle by a fellow clergyman who (without a hint of verismilitude that belows his position) claims that Wilkerson in fact poses a threat to the boys' well-being. Wilkerson's account of his inspiration to help has nothing of the pharisee about it.

Through his unsuccessful attempts, Wilkerson was introduced to the turbulent underworld of NYC's youth gangs, to their lives of misery, despair, squalor and sense of hopelessness, and to the solace they found in gangs and that life of serious crime, violence, hard drugs and sexual promiscuity. Wilkerson would leave his tidy life in his rural parish and commit his his time to helping the gang members by introducing Christ to their lives. Teen Challenge was born, and the book describes its growth from loftily conceived idea to reality and the incredible efforts of its team of workers who, defenceless except for the carapace of their religition, would bring hope and divine redemption to literally hundreds of the city's most incorrigible youth. The charity is now a major orgnization working throughout the world.

The story ties particularly well with the best-selling book by Nicky Cruz, whose story parallels Wilkerson's own. Cruz, the renouned former leader of the notorious 'maw maws' gang, experiences a metamorphosis through the help of Teen Challenge, commits his life to the Lord, and evenutally becomes a preacher himself working with Wilkerson's team. There could be no greater volte face.

The book's theme of the enormous force of the Holy Spirit as an insrument for positive change might turn off those readers who have not been touched by its power. However, the story has a magnetism that will draw you in, page after page, giving comfort and hope that - with a little help from above - good can be extracted from the very nadir of our humanity. This significant message makes compelling reading for all. DO read it and your life will be touched.

I first read this book as a teenager 30 years ago. Its impact has never left me. I am now purchasing this book for my own teenage son. You will not regret reading it.

A powerful book that will send God-bumps down your spine! Even if you are not a fan of David Wilkerson's later writings, this book is truly a God send. Read this book if you want to learn of the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.