Friendships: Avoiding the Ones That Hurt, Finding the Ones That Heal [Paperback]

Jeff Wickwire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2007

There are many general books on the topic of friendship, but not many of them contain clear biblical teaching or understand the crucial role that friends play in believers' spiritual lives. Because many Christians lack an adequate understanding of the huge potential for good and blessing that friends bring us, they often participate instead in ungodly friendships, dating relationships, and other unhealthy unions that hurt or even undermine their faith. In Friendships, pastor Jeff Wickwire offers readers an in-depth look at what God has to say about friendship, showing them how to cultivate healthy relationships that bless them and honor God too. Men and women, young and old alike, will cherish this book's message of enriching relationships in a culture of isolation and compromise.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Your friendships matter to God. Good friendships increase our longevity, enhance our quality of life and give us an outlet for both joys and struggles. But some friendships can be destructive to your spiritual life. Jeff Wickwire helps you sort out friendships that hurt from those that bless. With wit, honesty and unforgettable stories, Wickwire shares the heartache of betrayal and abandonment, the true joy of godly relationships, and friendships from the Bible from which you can draw surprising lessons. He also offers a model, through his study of our friendship with Jesus, of how all your friendships should function. Whether your friendships are few or many, this book will help you become a better friend and cultivate those friendships that lift you up. Jeff Wickwire is pastor of Turning Point Fellowship in Fort Worth, Texas, and the founder of three other successful churches. He is the author of Making It Right When You Feel Wronged and The Windshield Is Bigger Than the Rearview Mirror.

About the Author

Jeff Wickwire is pastor of Turning Point Fellowship in Fort Worth and the founder of three other successful churches. The author of Making It Right When You Feel Wronged and The Windshield Is Bigger Than the Rearview Mirror, he and his wife, Cathy, live in Fort Worth, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Chosen (July 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800794273
• ISBN-13: 978-0800794279
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Handling of an Important Subject, June 14, 2010

By 

John A. Bird (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Friendships: Avoiding the Ones That Hurt, Finding the Ones That Heal (Paperback)

The Bible has a lot to say about friendships. According to Jeff Wickwire, "The words friend, friends, friendly, and friendship are found 107 times in twenty different books of the Bible." God cares about our relationships, and so should we. "As your friendships go, so goes your spiritual life."

Wickwire, pastor of Turing Point Fellowship in Fort Worth, Texas, begins his book with quotes from Carol King, C.S. Lewis, and Winnie the Pooh; I knew right off that I was going to enjoy it, and I did. The Book, as he says, is not a how-to manual:

"I do not deal, per se, with how to make friends, become more popular and so on. Rather, I have attempted to take an honest look at some of the pitfalls, disappointments, and heartbreaks of friendship, as well as the anatomy of true friendship, what it looks like, what it is comprised of and what the characteristics that make it endure are."

Friendships is divided into four parts, each consisting of three chapters. The four parts are:

Part 1: The Awesome Power of Friendship
Part 2: Deceivers
Part 3: Leavers
Part 4: Cleavers (Cleaving, that is, like Ruth cleaved to Naomi. Not to be confused with "meat cleavers.")

Wickwire does an excellent job of covering his subject. Besides that, his book has two other important strengths. First, his writing style is enjoyable. I laughed out loud in a few places. It may be too casual or "cool" for some readers, but others will find it refreshing. The other strength is that the book is full of Scripture. Wickwire loves the Word of God and makes constant use of it. His translation of choice is the Message. I'm not usually a fan of paraphrases (in fact, I don't like them at all), but in the context of this book it seemed to fit well.

Wickwire's theology differs from mine in areas, some more important than others. But on some subjects he is excellent, particularly when discussing God's sovereignty and His using trials and disasters for the good of His people. Overall, I would recommend this book, particularly for those looking for valuable information on what it takes to be a friend. And with Wickwire's love of Scripture mixed with his warm and humorous style, I would read him again.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friendly advice about friendships, August 22, 2007

By 

Kristine Christlieb (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Friendships: Avoiding the Ones That Hurt, Finding the Ones That Heal (Paperback)

Wickwire's personal warmth comes through in this readable and helpful volume about friendships. We've all had them go wrong--sometimes we've been the unfaithful one or the unsufferably clingy one. All of us have experienced a hurt. So has this author. His openness produces insights and helpful strategies for loving friends--including friends that leave.

5.0 out of 5 stars Friendship, December 9, 2011

By 

Bonnie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Friendships: Avoiding the Ones That Hurt, Finding the Ones That Heal (Paperback)

This book is one that has changed many of my ways of thinking in friendships. This book showed me how I did some things wrong in friendships and how I did things right, even if friendship was not given back to me. I would recommend this book highly for anyone struggling in the friendship area. But I would recommend it to others who would just like to enhance a friendship. there are so many remarkable things in this book I would not know where to begin.