Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve: The Book and the Film

"In our age of tribalism we differentiate ourselves by class, race, education, and communication style," writes Christianity Today's Marvin Olasky.

So how does John Perkins (a poor African American Christian with a third grade education plus eloquence) become for 40 years a good friend of Howard Ahmanson, a rich white Christian with a postgraduate linguistics degree plus a Tourette’s syndrome stutter?

Olasky concludes: Paul Marshall’s Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve "displays the shared syllable in their backgrounds: Christ." 

A story of Friendship, Faith, and Justice

Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve is the story of a friendship that’s endured for more three decades, between the son of a Mississippi sharecropper and the son of a businessman once called "the richest man in California."

Karen Waddles, co-author of One Blood (with John Perkins), writes that "Paul Marshall has masterfully woven the stories of two distinctly different lives into a beautiful tapestry."

The story crosses lines of race and class while challenging the notion that we live in a divisive culture where such friendships aren’t possible.

Readers will discover a tale filled with surprises, blessings, joys, struggles, pain, and sorrow, as these improbable friends, united in their faith, join hands in working for justice.

Seymour Institute's Jacqueline C. Rivers writes that Perkins and Ahmanson's relationship "stimulate(s) hope in the power of faith to promote friendship and reconciliation.”

"I have had the pleasure of knowing both of these wonderful men for 40 years and observed their friendship up close. I highly recommend this book. It is exciting to read!" writes Wayne “Coach” Gordon, President Emeritus of the Christian Community Development Association.

Arrabon's David M. Bailey recommends Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve because of its "inspiration and wisdom for how we can bring a little more heaven on earth."

Enjoy a 50% Discount!

Order Called to Be Friends through Wipf & Stock publishers using coupon code Friends50 at checkout (Effective until June 30th).

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Access the Special Film Today!

For book purchasers, enjoy exclusive and free access to a short documentary about John and Howard’s friendship, produced and directed by Jody Hassett Sanchez.

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Thank you for supporting a story that inspires, challenges, and shows how faith-shaped friendships continue to make a difference in our world.

Author Paul Marshall is Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at Baylor University, and senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute and Hudson Institute. He has authored over twenty books, including Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Choke Freedom Worldwide (Oxford University Press, 2011), Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion (Oxford University Press, 2009), Religious Freedom in the World (Rowman and Littlefield, 2008). His work has been translated into twenty languages.