(Read Part I here.)

I sat spellbound as David Wilkerson spoke to Teen Challenge leaders from across the country. I had only been connected with the Teen Challenge network for 14 months. Our street outreach had recently been given permission to start a program in Omaha. I heard that six directors who attended several months ago had gone home and resigned! My board was afraid I would do the same.

That night, after a powerful message, Wilkerson shared leadership principles from his years of ministry. David looked at us intently and said, “It’s not a sin to lose the burden.” He paused for a minute, then continued, “But it’s a sin to stay after the burden is gone.” The previous leaders realized they had lost the burden for Teen Challenge. It’s not an easy program, but if you lose the God-given burden, it becomes a job and you will burn out.

Every year afterward, I asked myself and my team, “Do you still have the burden?” If you lose it, that’s okay; we’ll help you transition to the next chapter of God’s purpose for your life. I still teach that to leaders everywhere I go. We only met face-to-face a few times after that, but David’s life, his passion, and his effectiveness have stuck with me to this very day.

Today, there are about 230 Teen Challenge centers across the U.S. There are over 1,400 centers around the world under the leadership of Global Teen Challenge, which began under the leadership of Don Wilkerson, David’s brother. There are thousands of programs modeled after Teen Challenge. While the names may be different, the philosophy is the same. They believe in deliverance from the bondage of addiction by trust in Jesus as Savior and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Millions are in Heaven because Wilkerson responded to God’s call.

David was transparent. He knew he wasn’t perfect. There has been, and always will be, only one man who was perfect: Jesus Christ. Making mistakes is not fatal — if we learn from them and don’t keep repeating them.

David had a prophetic ministry that wasn’t always evident to others. Sometimes the prophet says things that are scoffed at when spoken, only to become reality later. I teach spiritual leadership to ministries everywhere. I learned a simple definition of spiritual:

“The power to change the atmosphere by one’s presence. The unconscious influence that makes Christ and spiritual things real to others.” —J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership

Wilkerson had that influence around him. It was hard to believe Wilkerson struggled with whether he was doing enough for the Lord. After a pastors’ conference in Africa, attended by tens of thousands of pastors from across the continent, he asked his son Gary a question: “Do you think I’ve done enough for the Lord? Is God pleased with me?”

I was stunned when Gary shared this moment with his father. In my eyes, there were few people who could compare to the impact David had on God’s kingdom on this earth. Yet, David struggled wondering if he had done enough. That’s what happens when you grow up in a home where love is conditional, based on what you do, not unconditional, like God’s love for us. We can do nothing to earn it, only humbly accept it.

David Wilkerson died on April 27, 2011. I was saddened when I heard the news; he was only 77 years old. Many other heroes of the faith are gone now: Billy Graham and Edwin Louis Cole, my spiritual father, to name a few. The baton is now being passed to a new generation.

The next move of God, I believe, will be accomplished in schools and small groups by organizations like Turning Point USA and Unite Us. The seeds are sown. Now, let us older saints stand behind this generation and pray Heaven down to Earth!

Semper Fidelis