Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve
Ebook
Overview
In an age defined by hyper-polarization comes a story of an unlikely and surprising friendship between two friends with radically different backgrounds and histories who find each other because they were found by God. Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve commemorates the never-before-told friendship between theologian and advocate John M. Perkins and philanthropist Howard F. Ahmanson Jr. Their story is a journey of hope through differences, tracing Perkins’s and Ahmanson’s distinct and overlapping biographies, vocation, leadership, and the significance of their emerging friendship for the good of others.
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It’s easy to hang out with people who are like us—people who talk like us, eat like us, and vote like us. But at the heart of the Gospel is a call to love bigger than the circles of sameness, to venture beyond the confines of biology and nationality and to be ‘born again.’ This book is the story of a holy, courageous, enduring, full-Gospel friendship. I’ve known Howard and John for decades. I’ve learned from both of them, and I’ve humbly disagreed with each of them at times. But beyond opinions and issues, they have taught me about friendship and sacrificial love. They’ve shown me that there is something more important than being right, and that is being humble, and kind, and Christ-like. They’ve taught me it’s not enough to be right in our heads, but we also have to be compassionate in our hearts. This book is a gift to the church, and to the world—just like John Perkins and Howard Ahmanson.
——Shane Claiborne, author, activist, co-founder of Red Letter Christians
Paul Marshall has masterfully woven the stories of two distinctly different lives into a beautiful tapestry. Is it possible for people from opposing sides of the tracks to bridge the unspoken divide? How can we form meaningful friendships that draw from—and literally transform—the very best that each has to offer? Called to Be Friends: Called to Serve shows us how. It’s a must-read in our fractured, divided world!
——Karen Waddles, contributor to John M. Perkins’s books He Calls Me Friend: The
Paul Marshall has brought together the lives of two incredible human beings and their quest to positively serve and impact our communities. I am fortunate to have met Dr. John Perkins and blessed to call Howard Ahmanson a good friend. Both are brilliant men of God who were interested in a renewal movement to draw together people through Christian community development in America. Called to Be Friends: Called to Serve is a book I highly recommend.
——Jim Palmer, president and CEO, RSI Dream Communities
When good friendships occur, they are bright, sparkling wonders. Such is surely the case with the friendship shared between John Perkins and Howard Ahmanson, Jr. The story narrated by Paul Marshall in Called to be Friends, Called to Serve is filled with surprises, blessings, joys, struggles, pain, and sorrow, as two unlikely friends join hands in contending for justice in a world distanced so far from it. It is more than this, though. It is the story of two people—initially so different from one another—learning to be friends, and in the hearing we are all blessed.
——Christopher A. Hall, member of Renovaré Ministry Team, and author of several books on the wisdom and spirituality of the Church Fathers
As a friend of the Ahmansons and an acquaintance of Mr. Perkins, I was moved and encouraged to read the story of John Perkins and Howard Ahmanson’s unlikely friendship. Their respective stories of Christ’s redemption in their lives are deeply compelling and are made even more so by the way their stories have been woven together by their relationship. The work God has done through Howard and John’s bond is a convicting example and a healing balm in an age of polarization and tribalism. Whether you have known these men for years or have never heard of them, I highly recommend this book: it is a shining example of Christian unity and love that transcends the things that tend to divide us.
——Barry H. Corey, president, Biola University, and author of Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue
Paul Marshall gives us here a wonderfully inspiring account of two persons who have enjoyed what many would see as an unlikely friendship. But there is more. The story gives all of us much-needed lessons in how friendships in our increasingly divisive culture can be sustained—and even strengthened— by a shared faith that nurtures mutual respect and trust.
——Richard Mouw, former president, Fuller Seminary
In a time when our politics and our cultural views could not have us more divided, Paul Marshall tells the story of a friendship between two men, vastly dissimilar in origin. One was born into deathly poverty and the other into a singularly fabulous wealth. In this compelling story, Marshall tells how their friendship and collaboration uniquely prepares us as readers to see across divides, to cross unbridgeable barriers and to bring about real societal change. And it’s a great read! Enjoy!
——Rob Martin, author of When Money goes on Mission: Fundraising and Giving in the 21st Century
FRIENDSHIP. It is often talked about but rarely lived out, particularly when people come from different backgrounds. In Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve we see boundaries broken that often limit friendships. John Perkins, a third grade educated African American man who grew up in poverty, developing a deep friendship with Howard Ahmanson, a wealthy, privileged, white man. I have had the pleasure of knowing both of these wonderful men for forty years and observed their friendship up close. I highly recommend this book. It is exciting to read!
——Nancy Pearcey, professor and scholar in residence, Houston Christian University, author of Total Truth, Finding Truth, and Love Thy Body
Dr. Perkins and Howard Ahmanson are men of tremendous character and it’s a grace for us to have their unusual friendship and exemplary lives documented for our tutelage. I recommend this book for inspiration and wisdom for a how we can bring a little more heaven on earth.
——Wayne “Coach” Gordon, president emeritus, CCDA, pastor emeritus, Lawndale Community Church, and professor of Christian community development, Northern Seminary
Marshall captures the complexity of the relationship between Ahmanson and Perkins: their shared commitments and differing understandings. Their agreement on surprising issues fostered a deep friendship and promoted reciprocal learning where they disagreed. At this time when polarization in the U.S. is so pervasive this story stimulates hope in the power of faith to promote friendship and reconciliation across lines of race and class.
——Jacqueline C. Rivers, executive director, Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy
- Title: Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve
- Authors: Paul Marshall, Rick Warren, John Perkins, Jr. Howard F. Ahmanson, Priscilla Perkins
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2025
- Logos Release Date: 2025
- Pages: 156
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9798385208050, 9798385208036, 9798385208043
- Resource ID: LLS:9798385208050
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2026-01-24T22:11:54Z
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.