Praise For Befriend

Now Featured in the Patheos Book Club Befriend: Create Belonging in an Age of Judgment, Isolation, and Fear by Scott Sauls "Scott has written one phenomenal book, direly needed for these times. Sharp. Informed. Culturally savvy. Biblical. This book will deeply change lives and start a befriend revolution. It's powerfully changed me, and I'm sitting here revived in desperately parched places-feeling a bit of a holy hush. These pages echo the heart of God." —Ann Voskamp, bestselling author of The Broken Way "Books like Befriend have me hopeful that God's people are going to rise to the occasion of our moment in history with God's goodness and grace. I pray that as you read through each of these chapters, you might add more serious and diverse friendships to enrich and expand your view of what God is up to in our day. I couldn't be more grateful for Scott's voice on this topic." —Matt Chandler , pastor of The Village Church, author of The Explicit Gospel and co-author of The Mingling of Souls "Scott Sauls is a pastor even through his writing. He doesn't preach, he cares for souls and gently reminds us of a better way, of the tension and beauty of following Jesus. Jesus was and is a friend. Scott not only writes masterfully about that, but lives like Jesus in this way." —Jennie Allen, founder/visionary of IF: Gathering and author of Anything and Restless. "In this accessible book, Scott Sauls looks at virtually the entirety of the Christian life through the prism of friendship, and that's a well-grounded project theologically. When the gospel makes God our friend rather than our enemy, and we are also reconciled to ourselves—both our sin and our identity in Jesus, our friend—then we move out into the world in a new way. As Scott so ably shows us, Christian practice is to a great degree an exercise in friendship. This is a helpful, practical, and rich encouragement to bring all of our life in line with the gospel." —Timothy Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City and author of The Songs of Jesus "In Befriend , Scott Sauls provides real rescue from loneliness by highlighting what it means to be in real relationship and exposing the difference between "friending" and "befriending". In a world full of "likes," Scott points us back to love. There could not be a better time for a book such as this one." —Elisabeth Hasselbeck , talk show host, wife and mother, and author of The G-Free Diet "It feels ironic that in an age when connectivity is on the rise so is loneliness. Friendships, real friendships, aren't always easy, but they are always important. I'm glad that Scott has taken such an honest look at something we all need more of. And because he's my friend, he forgave me for ending that last sentence with a preposition and beginning this one with and." —Jon Acuff, New York Times Bestselling author of Do Over "Simply stated, this book is important. For the kind of humans we want to be in the world in which we are living, Befriend is what we need to read and use as a guidebook as we work hard to love our neighbors well. Wanting to be culture shapers requires effort and focus and Scott pastors us all towards that end in this and all of his writings. I'm grateful for his voice in my life and in our culture." —Annie Downs, bestselling author of Looking for Lovely and Let's All Be Brave "One of the major problems facing people today is loneliness. Friendships are hard to form, and even harder to maintain. Isolation and superficiality are easier, but deaden the soul. Respected pastor Scott Sauls here presents a Christian vision of deep friendship. This book is wise, biblical, and practical. It could help change your life." —Russell Moore, president, Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission "Today's Christians have a reputation for shaking our fists at our culture rather than shining a light within it. What if instead we led with 1 Corinthians 13 love, risking relationships with those we might otherwise avoid — locally and across the globe? That's what Scott Sauls challenges us to do in Befriend. This timely book is a guide for you and me to address relationship barriers we may not even be aware of and courageously engage heart-first in our world, drawing closer to Jesus as we do." —Rich Stearns, president/CEO of World Vision "We Christians know that love is the 'greatest of these,' yet we struggle to live out that love alongside other loved sinners. In this highly readable and timely book, pastor Scott Sauls draws on Scripture, pop culture, and his own life to illuminate the various and often unlikely people we are called to love. I hope and pray that this book will give more of us a deeper knowledge of our own belovedness in Christ, a knowledge that can set us free to love others well and with abandon." —Katelyn Beaty, print managing editor, Christianity Today magazine and author of A Woman's Place "When I turned 40, I made myself a promise—to throw myself into a resource I had long neglected while frantically climbing Mount Significance—people and friendships. While I've made significant headway, my only regrets are that I didn't do this sooner, and that didn't have my friend Scott Sauls' book, Befriend , as a treasure trove to guide me on the journey. Befriend is a book I will return to time and again…with friends, to both learn and be inspired in experiencing both the deepest longing and greatest challenge of my heart—true friendship." —Bryan Loritts, lead pastor of Abundant Life Church and author of Saving the Saved "Scott teaches us about befriending others by showing us how graciously Jesus has first befriended us. Befriend is both wise and earthy, relevant and practical. But most of all, as Scott reveals his own need for Jesus, amid the very real questions of our generation, we too see our own need and our own questions. This leaves all of us looking to Jesus. Thank you Scott." —Zack Eswine, pastor of Riverside Church and author of The Imperfect Pastor "As Scott Sauls says in Befriend , 'Real friendship happens when we move toward the people we are most tempted to avoid.' Sauls challenges us to break free of those things than hinder us from befriending others, not by our own strength and might, but by the power of God through love. If God so loved the world, shouldn't we? Befriend helps us embrace this awesome calling and moves us one step closer to one another." —Trillia Newbell, author of Enjoy (forthcoming 2017), Fear and Faith and United "In an age of isolation, loneliness, and social fragmentation, there is a tremendous opportunity for the church to offer what Jesus offers: deep community to those who need it, namely all of humanity. With disarming candor and gritty realism, Scott Sauls demonstrates how to apply the Gospel to befriend a wide range of broken image bearers…a group that includes you and me. A life-giving read for such a time as this." —Brian Fikkert, c o-author of When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself "In a world of superficial acquaintances, Scott Sauls casts a compelling vision of a better way. In Befriend , he insightfully diagnoses what's missing in our relationships and prescribes a practical and hopeful way forward. This book will challenge your assumptions of what friendships are with a fresh view of what they could be. Read this book with caution, it will move, convict and stretch you to experience the kind of friendships God intended." —Darren Whitehead , pastor of Church of the City in Nashville and author of Rumors of God "Scott Sauls is the real deal! Honest, vulnerable, funny… In Befriend he teaches us how to lose control in order to find a better way—a way full of freedom, joy, intimate community, safe harbor, and warm hospitality for those who often live on the margins of the church and society by no fault of their own—the Way of Jesus. I hope you'll read the book and take it to heart!" —Jeremy Courtney, CEO and president of Preemptive Love Coalition " Befriend is a book about the everyday work of being a neighbor. It is as practical as it is pastoral, inviting us to bridge indifference, suspicion, even hostility to love the world God so loved. Sauls writes with refreshing humility and biblical wisdom: his is a voice to trust." —Jen Pollock Michel, award-winning author of Teach Us to Want and Keeping Place " Befriend is a practical, winsome, and engaging book that explores the complexities of friendship in ways that are bound to make you uncomfortable and to inspire you to look at your friends anew. Grounded in theology and personal experience, Scott Souls' book is a great daily devotional, small group study, or personal study on friendship and the gospel." —Alan Noble , editor in chief of Christ and Pop Culture and assistant professor of English, Oklahoma Baptist University "I've never seen Scott Sauls back down from a difficult topic. And I've never seen him miss an opportunity to make much of God's grace abounding in Jesus. In our age of judgment, isolation, and fear Scott shows us what a friend we have in Jesus." —Collin Hansen, editorial director of The Gospel Coalition and author of Blind Spots: Becoming a Courageous, Compassionate, and Commissioned Church "Befriend calls us to something beautiful, something important, something better. In an age where engaging, complex relationships are so easily passed over for effortless, superficial counterfeits, Scott Sauls calls us from the shadows of pretending into the light of real friendship. Anyone who has ever felt even the slightest emotional reaction to how they fare in the world of social media will find in this book a reasoned path to the truth about who we are and how we were made to relate to one another. I am so thankful for my friend Scott Sauls' wisdom, courage, and voice." —Russ Ramsey, pastor, award-winning author of Behold the King of Glory and Struck , and content editor for She/He Reads Truth "I simply wasn't prepared for the power, impact and deeply convicting thoughts included in Befriend by Scott Sauls. But the reality is that many of the most convicting words were spoken by Jesus before they were repeated by Scott. The scandalous and profound truth is that not only did Jesus speak these words, he lived them. This is where Befriend shines the focused spotlight. Steadfast in truth, agile in love. Like I said, I wasn't prepared, but I am propelled by what happened in my soul through this beautiful work of words." —Dan Wolgemuth, president/CEO of Youth for Christ USA "I'll be honest. This book scares me. Jesus said the heart of our life with God and others is relationship, but so many of us—me included—rarely come close to plumbing the depths of what true relationship is. Real love is terrifying. True intimacy makes you so…vulnerable. And selflessness is a kind of dying. In Befriend, Scott Sauls takes us on an emotional, honest and at times raw journey we all need to take." —Carey Nieuwhof, host of the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, author, and founding pastor of Connexus Church "In an increasingly fractious age in which we reduce each other to soundbites, demographics and stereotypes; burying ourselves deeper in social media silos with those who think like us. Scott Sauls gently and prophetically reminds us of the power of befriending those who are different, reminding of Jesus' habit of seeing the image of God in the 'other'. This is an urgent and healing book." —Mark Sayers, senior pastor of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia and author of Facing Leviathan and Disappearing Church "How can we begin to heal the wounds of division that plague our polarized society? It won't happen with another think piece or hot take blog rant. No amount of tweeting or texting will solve it. It will only happen in the context of real, flesh-and-blood relationships. This is why Scott Sauls' simple yet profound book Befriend is so valuable and timely. From a variety of angles and with a wide array of stories and examples, Sauls cuts through the partisan clutter and makes a compelling case for friendship as a way to break the stalemate." —Brett McCracken, a uthor of Hipster Christianity and Gray Matters "Scott Sauls understands a vital truth and writes about it with refreshingly accessible but persistently gracious challenge: the gospel comes alive for us more through the risk of relationships than through assent to theological precepts and moral teachings. Making ourselves vulnerably present to others in genuine friendship is God's way of taking on flesh and blood among us. After all, this was the way of Jesus. In today's cultural environment tenuously held together by thin lines of social connection, BeFriend offers faithful encouragement and wisdom on the importance of genuine friendship, thankfully perhaps not yet a lost calling for the church." —The Rev. R. Leigh Spruill, r ector, St. George's Church, Nashville, Tennessee "Christ's people must avoid two sacrifices: love on the altar of truth, and truth on the altar of love. Scott Sauls' voice is a refreshing alternative to the bombast that fills our airwaves and, sadly, many of our pulpits. With keen insight and elegant prose, Scott shows us how to engage our world in a winsome yet subversive manner." —Matt Smethurst , managing editor of The Gospel Coalition "We live in the most connected generation in history and yet we may be the most disconnected generation in history. My friend Scott Sauls calls Christians to something deeper, to be intentional about friendship in a way that is a catalyst for change. This is the kind of soul-level relationship Jesus calls us to, one of risk and sacrifice. If Christians read and apply what Sauls is saying, they will become life-giving agents of grace in their communities." —Daniel Darling , VP of Communications for Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, author of The Original Jesus "In a culture that's become more fragmented and lonely, Scott provides what many of us are longing for…a roadmap to deep, life giving relationships. The journey to Befriend will surprise us and challenge many of our assumptions, but it's exactly what we all need." —David Spickard, president and CEO of Jobs for Life "Nothing encapsulates the understanding of Jesus and the intentional living of those who follow him more than the words 'love' and 'belonging.' In Befriend Scott Sauls gives us the courage to embrace the 'us' into belonging, a belonging that echoes in the depths of true friendship. Befriend is an anatomy of friendship; one that leads to love, one that leads to life." —Greg Fromholtz, d ocumentary and video director, founder of Rubicon Ireland, and author of Broken: Restoring Trust Between the Sacred and the Secular

Praise for "Befriend"