The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
Week 12: Final Chapters — The Ongoing Story
Read the final chapters of The Cross and the Switchblade, including Wilkerson's reflections on what he has learned and where the work is headed.
Previewing Week 12 of The Cross and the Switchblade
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
As the book draws to a close, Wilkerson steps back to reflect not just on what has happened but on what it all means — and the conclusions he draws are less about himself and more about the God who kept showing up when nothing else could.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.In his closing reflections, Wilkerson returns to his deep sense that none of what happened was the result of his own planning, skill, or personality. He frames the entire story as God's initiative, not his. How does this attribution of agency to God rather than to himself change the way this story functions as inspiration — does it humble you or frustrate you?
2.Wilkerson reflects on the lives that have been genuinely, lastingly transformed through the ministry — and also on those who seemed to respond but were never heard from again, or who returned to their old lives. How does he hold both realities without letting either one distort his view of what God is doing?
3.By the book's end, Wilkerson has been changed as much as the people he came to serve. In what specific ways has the encounter with the streets of New York City transformed David Wilkerson himself? What had to die in him for this transformation to happen?