In 1962 Pastor David Wilkerson, along with John and Elizabeth Sherrill published The Cross and the Switchblade, detailing the first 5 years of Pastor Wilkerson's work with troubled youth in New York City. After seeing a cover photo on Life Magazine of teenage boys on trial for murder, David feels a magnetic pull to help them. Putting his "fleece before the Lord", he is given clear indications that he is needed in NYC. What he thought would be a one time trip, ended up changing his life and his family's lives forever. Ultimately it resulted in a Teen Challenge center in New York City, serving youth in the most dire spiritual and temporal circumstances.
While David never spoke to the boys he felt called to help, he found hundreds of other boys and girls that he could. This book was about faith in action. It reminds us what power for good there is in all of us when we heed the counsel of the Lord. It inspires us to look and even ask for miracles and to put our full faith and confidence in God. It encourages us to think about our own priorities and how we help others. The book reminded us that with God, all things are possible, including recovery from serious drug addictions. Additionally, it was a great example of how different faiths can come together and work towards a common goal.
After the book was published, the story lived on. In 1970 there was a film version of the book starring Pat Boone and Erik Estrada.
In 1968 Jamie Buckingham published Run, Baby, Run detailing his side of the story. His life in the gang, meeting Pastor Dave and becoming an Evangelical Christian.
In 1972 there was a Comic Book released.
After reading this book, I really wanted to know, Where are they now? Pastor Wilkerson turned over the Teen Challenge centers to the Assemblies of God. They have locations all over the United States and have 12 month residential centers for those with serious drug addictions. Their "tagline" is "Freedom through Discipleship". That phrase can be used for all sorts of good purposes.
David Wilkerson died on April 27, 2011 in a head-on collision with a tractor trailer. Pastor Wilkerson had crossed the lanes into oncoming traffic. His wife Gwen was injured but survived. She passed away on July 25, 2012 from cancer. The Wilkerson family now runs World Challenge. They focus on feeding the abject poor and on orphan care. It seems that there are no small dreams in the Wilkerson family.
Thank you for your post Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI too felt like sometimes we live below our privilege simply because we are unwilling to ask for help or gifts or because we are unwilling to do our part or a combination of both.
Thinking of the huge undertaking that this pastor went through it's easy to feel that what I do on a day to day basis is not enough. But we all have different callings in life. And there are times and seasons to things. I commented at group that while it's easy to feel guilty for not doing something huge like this, the reality is I know that my job at the moment IS to focus on raising my kids and all that entails. That job alone can be overwhelming. On the other hand we're supposed to serve others so it's not good to be complacent and do nothing either. Perfect talk for dealing with those issues: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/this-day?lang=eng
Thinking of what his wife had to endure I hope I will also be more understanding when my husband has responsibilities that involve time away. I liked that she got her own confirmation though. That she also knew that he was supposed to do what he was doing. I'm sure it helped her to endure.