David Wilkerson and his The Cross and the Switchblade (both the book and the movie) was one of the earliest Christian resources I remember reading and seeing. I suspect that may be true for many of us approaching retirement. I will be praying for his wife, who survived the accident, and the many lives he touched directly over the years.
Yes, we who met him personally, will never forget him.Thank you Floyd for remembering him here.
His last words in the blog he wrote the very day he went to be with the Lord are a true summary of his life and ministry.
"Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world."
(When All Means Fail http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/13112 )
I remember reading and seeing
Same goes for me, saw it when I as about 12.
Thanks for sharing the info, I would have missed it.
Will be praying for his wife.
David Wilkerson touched my life for Jesus Christ. I thank God for his ministry. I am praying for his wife and family.
Thank you for letting me know this.
A mighty servant of the Lord. The NYC region will miss him as will MANY around the world.
Our prayers go out to his family, church and organizations that connected with him.
http://jacksonvilleprogress.com/homepage/x1250116587/U-S-175-accident-victim-was-noted-author-religious-leader
His blog also said:
To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”
So no accident, but part op Gods Plan. A great prophet left us... maybe God wants us to read his book The vision and beyond...
That is such sad news.
Here is the bio of him from the Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals in Logos: Wilkerson, David Ray
Logos also has Run, Baby, Run by Nicky Cruz, who was led to Christ by David Wilkerson, but it doesn't (yet) have The Cross and the Switchblade or any of Wilkerson's other books. Perhaps this would be a good time to request them.
That is such sad news. Here is the bio of him from the Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals in Logos: Wilkerson, David Ray Logos also has Run, Baby, Run by Nicky Cruz, who was led to Christ by David Wilkerson, but it doesn't (yet) have The Cross and the Switchblade or any of Wilkerson's other books. Perhaps this would be a good time to request them.
Yes, good point Rosie.
"The Cross and the Switchblade" had been very instrumental in our old days behind the Iron Curtain. We managed to publish that book in those days and all the denominations and movements had been using it to evangelize young people very effectively. It has been a great blessing to our country in those days.
That is such sad news. Here is the bio of him from the Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals in Logos: Wilkerson, David Ray Logos also has Run, Baby, Run by Nicky Cruz, who was led to Christ by David Wilkerson, but it doesn't (yet) have The Cross and the Switchblade or any of Wilkerson's other books. Perhaps this would be a good time to request them. Yes, good point Rosie. "The Cross and the Switchblade" had been very instrumental in our old days behind the Iron Curtain. We managed to publish that book in those days and all the denominations and movements had been using it to evangelize young people very effectively. It has been a great blessing to our country in those days.
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I thought about this before posting my original note, but forgot it as I posted the details of Wilkerson's passing. Thank you for adding it - and I concur.
When i was a teenager, my dad accepted a request to be a boys' Sunday school teacher. He went to a Baptist Book Store and bought a bunch of books that might help him, since he knew nothing about the Bible. I had always enjoyed Sunday school but was quickly reaching an age of questioning, when one's faith must become one's own, or be left behind with other trappings of childhood.
One day, at 16, i went to the bookshelf and found Dad's copy of The Cross and the Swtichblade. I read the back of the book, and it promised some kind of supernatural version of West Side Story. Sounded exciting for a young man's read. I wanted knife fights and maybe fingers sliced off, then miraculously restored. Who knew whether it was actually true?
I read the book, and it brought me to a crisis of adolescent faith. I "accepted" biblical miracles as I had Santa Claus at one time. Here was someone saying that miracles were real, that Jesus did things in the twentieth century, things that defied science. I didn't know what to think.
I knelt by the side of my bed (the memory of it is engraved in my soul). I asked God, quite timidly, to come out of hiding if he existed, to let me know somehow if he were there. I think he answers that prayer about once for most of us; after that, he wants us to grapple, to learn to be faithful. This time, he answered the prayer. I can't now recover what came over me (we rarely can). But something happened, as if a hand was laid on my shoulder, as if words were whispered directly into my soul. "I am here. And I love you."
At that point, I began to follow Jesus deliberately, seriously. At about the same time, my mother pushed me into the car and said, "You will go to youth choir." I was shy and didn't want to go, but it took. Now God had a grip on my inside, from the prayer, and my outside, through fellowship. I have never looked back.
Odd--that was almost forty years ago. Yet fifteen minutes ago, I was doing my Bible study and came to the verse in Mark where the demon-possessed boy's father cries out, "I believe! Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24) And I thought, "That's what I cried out to God that day so many years ago." And I made a note, "This is the continuing picture of faith, always intertwined with just a little doubt. We believe. Help our unbelief!
Again i said a little word of thanks for David Wilkerson's book, then came straight to this forum and read about the tragedy. He is in good hands now, and I expect he'll meet a lot of people like me who are in line to say thank you.
Thank you Rob for your testimony.
I attended Times Square Church when I lived in NYC years ago. I only recall talking with David briefly once, but I knew exactly where his heart was planted. Now he is there completely.
I was so sorry to hear of Brother Dave's passing. In December of 1986 I walked into the church that he had before the Mark Hellinger theater and almost as soon as going through the doors the awesome presence of God was felt such that I immediately began to weep with deep sobs. This continued through this entire service where next to me sat someone very wealthy and next to her, a person that looked like they lived on the street. Certainly one of my most powerful experiences with the Lord up to that time.
During the next year or so while our church was preparing for Washington For Jesus, Nicky came into our Bible School classroom and shared with us and the influence of Brother Dave's ministry on this man of God was so very evident.
As one that stood for a non-compromising walk, this modern day prophet will be sorely missed but we who are the Lord's will soon meet him in the presence of Him who he served so diligently.
