TRANSFORMING FRIENDSHIP:
Investing in the next generation.
Lessons from John Stott & Others
By John Wyatt
IVP. 168 pages. £9.00
ISBN 978 1 789 741 230
Transforming Friendship is firstly, a tribute to the transforming nature of gospel-centred friendship and secondly, a re-examination of the concept of friendship – though trivialised and distorted – as worthy of transformation.
These two intertwined threads, helpfully balance ‘heady’ concepts with heart-warming testimonies, so keeping the theory rooted, readable and relevant.
Wyatt begins by sketching a brief history of ‘friendship’ before tackling the sexualisation of friendship and the ‘hermeneutic of suspicion’ – a helpful backdrop explaining where we are at in UK culture, and aptly contrasted with friendship in the Bible. This, my favourite chapter, was soaked with Biblical examples elucidating a concept inherent to our triune Lord and mirrored in His own people.
The next chapter, on ‘gospel-crafted friendships’, provides 12 practical principles that purposefully point to Christ – a resource to return to. This is followed by Wyatt’s own personal testimony of Stott’s befriending of him as well as many others who were effectively and warmly discipled by him.
In his latter chapters, Wyatt addresses more bespoke aspects of friendship: Paul–Timothy intergenerational discipleship; friendships that go wrong; and the ‘world-changing’ friendships of Simeon, Newton and Wilberforce. This multi-dimensional perspective brings a breadth and depth which personally refuelled my desire for investing in friends.
This is a book that will certainly encourage and equip those involved in pastoral ministry. Equally, this would be a helpful spur for any believer willing to take the time to ‘have a cup of coffee’ with someone younger in their faith.
