The Cross and the Switchblade

This article is about the book. For the film adaptation, see The Cross and the Switchblade (film). For the Bantam Rooster album, see The Cross and the Switchblade (album).

The Cross and the Switchblade is a autobiographical book written by the Rev. David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, published by Bernard Geis Associates in 1963.

The Cross and the Switchblade

Author	David Wilkerson John and Elizabeth Sherrill
Language	English
Genre	Biography, Crime, Christianity
Publisher	Bernard Geis Associates
Publication date	January 1, 1963
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
OCLC	317503776
Dewey Decimal	258
LC Class	BV4464.5 .W5 1963

Summary

In 1958, Pentecostal pastor David Wilkerson of Assemblies of God read an article in Life about seven teenagers who were members of a criminal gang and felt the Holy Spirit move him with compassion and was drawn to go to New York, in order to preach to them. On his arrival, Wilkerson went to the court in which teenagers were being prosecuted. He entered the room and asked the judge for permission to tell them something, but the judge ejected him. Upon leaving, someone took a photo of Wilkerson, who then became known as the Bible preacher "who had interrupted the gang trial". Soon after this, he began a street ministry to young drug addicts and gang members, which he continued into the 1960s. He founded Teen Challenge in 1958, an evangelical Christian addiction recovery program in Brooklyn with a network of Christian social and evangelizing work centers.

Reception

The book became a bestseller, with more than 15 million copies distributed in over 30 languages.

Adaptations

In 1970, a film adaptation was released, starring Pat Boone as David Wilkerson and Erik Estrada (in his screen debut) as Nicky Cruz, the teen gang member whose life was transformed by Wilkerson's ministry.

See also

• Jackie Pullinger

External links

• Official website
• The Cross and the Switchblade at IMDb