David Wilkerson is a modern day George Mueller. Well, 1950s. He expected great things from God, asked by simple prayer, and as a result, God blessed in incredible ways. The thing that I loved about The Cross and the Switchblade was that it was not usually financial blessing in Wilkerson's life (although that certainly happened). It was largely God working in the lives of unsaved teenagers, them accepting the gift of salvation, and their lives being miraculously changed.
Wilkerson was a humble rural Pennsylvania pastor, who believed God called him to share the message of Jesus Christ with four teenage boys in New York City. He travelled the hours from the outskirts of Pittsburgh to NYC, found that he could not meet with the boys because they were in jail, ended up getting in trouble with the court, and wound up being displayed as a crazy fanatic preacher.
When he returned home rejected and humiliated, Wilkerson truly felt that God was calling him back to New York. A second visit proved more fruitful, and the book takes you on an unbelievable and incredible journey of absolute transformation.
Something to note: I do not recommend this book for teenagers. Wilkerson doesn't hold back on describing the depravity and wickedness of the gangs. It is for the purpose of explaining the need and the dramatic change in their lives, but for a teenager who might not be aware of some of the wickedness in the world, it would be best not to raise unnecessary questions. If it were rated on a movie scale, this book would probably squeeze by at PG-13.
Photo Courtesy: http://www.ajchen.com/2011/05/11/the-cross-and-the-switchblade/
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