Guarding the Heritage and Culture of Teen Challenge Lessons of The Cross & The Switchblade

compiled by Karissa McCarter

Paragraphs are quotes from the book and summarization points are placed right after

Lesson 2: Evangelism: The starting point of TC ministry

So far, what I’d done with Jo-Jo was similar to what any social agency might have done. And it was no doubt a good thing that this boy at last had a pair of shoes and a shirt, and that that night he didn’t have to sleep in the subway. But at heart, Jo-Jo was very much the same boy. It took a change in me to bring about a change in Jo-Jo. And this change has affected both our lives ever since.

That evening at St. Nick’s was as bad as ever. There was the usual breaking up, laughing, jeering. There were the usual fist fights and threats. There were the same suggestive gestures on the part of the girls, and the same lewd responses on the part of the boys. Jo-Jo was there, watching it all. He came out of curiosity, but he wanted me to know that he thought the whole thing was a lot of rot.

Afterward, on the way back to the Ortez apartment, I was silent. I’d been hurt by the lack of response, and actually behind the wheel of the car, I was sulking. “Preach, you’re trying too hard.” It came just like that. Without warning, and from a homeless boy who pretended to be calloused through and through, came a penetrating, wonderful piece of insight. The impact of those words was immense. They went through me as if they have been spoken by God Himself.

I turned to stare at Jo-Jo so abruptly, he thought I was angry, and he raised his arm in defense. Of course! I had been out there trying to change lives, I wasn’t brining the Holy Spirit to the gangs, I was brining Dave Wilkerson. Even in giving Jo-Jo a pair of shoes I had been out in front. I knew in that moment that I would never be able to help Jo-Jo. I would never be able to help the gangs. All I could do was make an introduction, then step aside. – p. 95-96 (middle of Ch. 9)

We can never let TC just become a social agency – anyone can provide ―3 hot meals and a cot – our most important role is to introduce the person who needs TC to Jesus Christ, and let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do. Sometimes we try too hard as TC workers to convince students to stay and get the program.  (You can read to end of chapter about the change in Jo-Jo’s life. – p. 96-98 middle of Ch. 9)

I bowed my head, as I had done on the street. Right there I turned the meeting over. “All right, Jesus,” I prayed, “There is nothing more that I can do. I invited these young people here; now I’m going to step out of the picture. Come, Holy Spirit. If you want to reach the hearts of any of these boys and girls, it will have to be through Your presence. Have Your own way, Lord. Have Your own way.” – p. 104 (top of Ch. 10)

The work of a TC Center cannot begin until the heart of a person has been touched by the Holy Spirit.

In spite of the good reports, and in spite of the good rating that our television showed received, at the end of half a year of experimenting in the medium, I began to feel more and more strongly that we were missing one vital ingredient: personal contact. So even before the second series of TV shows was over, I started going out on the streets and talking to boys and girls face-to-face. As soon as I did, I knew that I had touched the live, vital key to effective work with people. Jesus did not have television or the printed word to help Him. His was a face-to-face ministry. Always, the warmth of personality was involved. I knew as soon as I returned to my original techniques of going out into the streets that this was the method meant for me, too. –  p. 136 (first two paragraphs of Ch. 14)

Due to TC’s reputation, we could fill our beds without ever going to the street – but are the beds filled with students who are there for the right reasons? TC needs to keep taking a message of hope in Jesus to the streets personally, that’s where a change of heart can begin, and that’s the student most ready for TC.

Grandpap’s preaching was very unorthodox, and some of his convictions shocked his contemporaries. For instance, when my grandfather was a young preacher, it was considered sinful to wear ribbons and feathers. The elders in some churches carried scissors on cords at their side. If a penitent lady came forward to the altar wearing a ribbon in her hat, the scissors went to work, along with a lecture titled, “How Will You Get to Heaven with All the Ribbons on Your Clothes?”

But Grandpap changed his mind about this kind of thing. As he grew older, he developed what he called “The Lamb Chop School” of evangelizing. “You win over people just like you would win over a dog,” he used to say. “You see a dog passing down the street with an old bone in his mouth. You don’t grab the bone from him and tell him it’s not good for him. He’ll growl at you. It’s the only thing he has.

But you throw a big fat lamb chop down in front of him, and he’s going to drop that bone and pick up the lamb chop, his tail wagging to beat the band. And you’ve got a friend. Instead of going around grabbing bones from people, or cutting feathers off them, I’m going to throw them some lamb chops. Something with real meat and life in it. I’m going to tell them about New Beginnings.”

Lamb Chop School of Evangelism – this needs to be TC’s philosophy – don’t just try to convince someone why they need to drop their crack pipe – give them something with – meat and life on it and they’ll willingly and gladly drop the pipe. – p. 49 (second page of Ch. 5)

Think about it:

• Does your ministry involve students in evangelistic outreach?
• Empty beds? What creative evangelistic outreach can you do to reach the lost and hurting?