Called to Be Friends, Called to Serve

by Paul Marshall, John Perkins (Preface), Rick Warren (Foreword)

In an age defined by hyper-polarization comes a story of an unlikely and surprising friendship between two individuals 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.

156 pages, Hardcover

Published February 18, 2025

Reviews

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and intriguing backstory to Perkins and Ahmanson! Learned a lot, and much that is told in the book has not been publicly known. Worthwhile primary source research represented here. Not a dry, academically garbled story. In one sense, it is biography of the two gentlemen. In another sense, there's value in reading this for mid--to-late 20th century American evangelical engagement with politics and culture. There's a lovely short film about Perkins and Ahmanson via CalledToBeFriends org

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My fave quote: “I’m rejecting a form of Christianity that emphasizes evangelism to the exclusion of other work in God’s kingdom.”