David Wilkerson ‘changed lives all over the world’ through his books, publishing associates say

Christian publishers and publishing leaders have paid tribute to David Wilkerson—pastor and author of the ground-breaking1963 best-seller The Cross and the Switchblade (Chosen Books)—who died in a car crash in East Texas on April 27. 

Wilkerson, 79, was founder and senior pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. He authored more than 30 books—including I’m Not Mad at God (Bethany House), Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately?, Victory Over Sin and Self and The Vision (all Revell), and Knowing God by Name and Hungry for More of Jesus (both Chosen).

Wilkerson is best remembered for The Cross and the Switchblade, which helped launch the charismatic-publishing market. Since its original publication, the book has sold more than 15 million copies in 30 languages, introduced readers to the struggles of inner-city youth recruited by gangs and chronicled the origins of the Teen Challenge ministry. 

Released by Chosen in a 45th anniversary edition in 2008, The Cross and the Switchblade was adapted into a 1970 movie starring Pat Boone as Wilkerson and Erik Estrada as gang member Nicky Cruz. Christianity Today ranked the book as No. 32 on its 2006 list of “Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals.”

Jane Campbell, longtime editorial director of Chosen Books, said that Wilkerson’s “ministry and books changed lives all over the world.” The Cross and the Switchblade “broke ground in at least three ways,” she told Christian Retailing. “First, as a beautifully crafted first-person narrative, it opened the way for thematic memoir in the Christian book market. Second, it demonstrated the necessity of the power of the Holy Spirit in any ministry or personal work. And third, the book reached beyond the church to a large general market readership. 

“It was a true Christian classic,” Campbell added. “Wilkerson’s ongoing emphasis on the holiness of God and the need for repentance from sin remains a benchmark for the entire industry.”

Brett Benson, publicity director for Bethany House/Chosen Books, said that Baker Publishing Group had seen “a little bump in sales” on Wilkerson’s books following his death. Revell plans to re-release Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately? in February 2012.

Whitaker House published four of Wilkerson’s prophetic books—Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth, America’s Last Call, God’s Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression and The New Covenant Unveiled—all of which are out of print.

Wilkerson’s impact on the publishing world “would be profound if we only considered The Cross and The Switchblade,” Whitaker House Vice President Bob Whitaker Jr. told Christian Retailing. “With this one book, he reached countless souls for Christ and spawned a publishing genre that continues to this day. … He whetted public appetite for stories of redemption, paving the way for new books, music and films that would focus on the stories of real people.”

Steve Strang, founder of Charisma Media, publisher of Charisma and Christian Retailing magazines, said that Wilkerson was “one of the great Christian leaders of our generation, and his passing is a loss to the global church.” He was “the model of integrity, and he finished strong,” he added. “His influence was tremendous.”

Founders of Chosen Books, John and Elizabeth Sherrill co-authored the 1963 The Cross and the Switchblade. Elizabeth Sherrill—who, with her husband, is now in her 80s and still writing—told Christian Retailing that Wilkerson was “a very gentle and generous man.”

“He never took on the kind of persona business that so many Christian leaders do,” she said. “He was a humble person and remained that all his life. “

Wilkerson was the founder of Teen Challenge, a Christian recovery program that teaches biblical principles to help people struggling with addictions. The nonprofit has 233 locations in the United States and 1,181 centers worldwide, helping as many as 25,000 people.

Jackie Johnson—who along with her mother opened Sonshine House Christian Bookstore in Newark, Del., in 1986 and sold the store to Family Christian Stores in 1999—said that The Cross and the Switchblade and Wilkerson’s ministry “helped shape the course of my life.”

In the late 1970s after reading the book, Johnson was compelled to attend Wilkerson’s World Challenge Institute of Christian Training (now called World Challenge Ministries)—a school that trained people to work with young men and women with drug and alcohol addictions.

“I can honestly say as I look back over the last 30 years that my love for youth and Christian books was shaped by God and the amazing book He led me to read,” said Johnson, who owned and worked in a Christian bookstore for 17 years, and now volunteers for her church’s youth ministry and church bookstore.

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