Like many people, and most pastors, my stack of books to read never seems to get any shorter. Occasionally, one will cut to the front of the line, and this is one of them.

When one of my friends writes a book, I’m naturally interested in reading it; and when that book is on friendship, that doubly piques my interest.

Friendship With Christ: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Account was published this year by John A. Vissers, a man with whom I have shared a multi-faceted relationship since the autumn of 1989. At that time, he was my professor of systematic theology in my first year of seminary. Through a variety of circumstances with which I will not bother the reader right now, Dr. Vissers became my colleague in 1994. And, through that continuing relationship, we have become friends over the course of the years since then. I respect John as a fellow disciple of Jesus and as a theologian. Our friendship has only enhanced that respect. He has served as a pastor, as principal of two denominational seminaries, and as a professor of theology. Perhaps more importantly, he is a husband, father and grandfather, too!

Though Vissers does not hesitate to use theological language in the book, he defines the most challenging terms, so this book is accessible to virtually anyone who is interested in the subject matter. It is laid out in a helpful fashion, beginning with what the Bible (particularly the Gospel of John) has to say about friendship with Christ, then looking at friendship with Christ in the Christian tradition, then in his threefold office (Prophet, Priest, and King, each of which gets its own chapter). As he goes through these, he makes reference to philosophers and thinkers of pre-Christian and post-Christian times, as well as from the period of the early church.

The final chapter is on practising friendship with Jesus, which, as a practitioner, was admittedly the most interesting to me. I know that John has practised intentional friendship with a group of other believers for a long time, so I knew, upon reading this chapter, that the author would be writing from his own experience. As he says on page 159, “Friendship with Christ is practiced with others. We need to hear the voice of Jesus in the voice of others. We need to feel the presence of Jesus in the presence of others. In this sense, spiritual friends serve as prophets, priests, and royal servants for us, and we for them.”

The chapter on practising friendship with Jesus is founded on the earlier chapters, which provide many encouragements and challenges from a theological perspective that enable the reader deeply to appreciate what it means to be a friend of Jesus. John’s approach is ecumenical, so that it can and will be read by people across the theological spectrum. This is helpful, because while some readers would easily embrace the concept of friendship with Jesus, others would find that challenging, and perhaps too personal. By the same token, the theological foundation might be new to some who have been friends of Jesus for as long as they can remember. No matter who reads the book, there is edification to be gained.

Friendship with Christ, and with others, ought to be a matter of great interest and importance for the church today, especially with the fragmentation of culture and the post-COVID reality of fewer and fewer in-person relationships. One of the greatest gifts that the church offers to society today is community, whether either party knows it or not; the church’s gift of community starts with friendship with Christ.

Vissers cites Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, who notes that a secular narrative “disembodies the spiritual life and then dismisses it. Taylor sees the secular form of what he calls ‘excarnation'” (page 161). While neither Vissers nor Taylor takes it this far, upon reading this, my mind went to the current realities of social media, where we can have ‘friends’ whom we have never met, and whom we might never meet. My mind went to the sad reality that there are people who are turning to generative artificial intelligence for friendship, dating, and even counselling. This is disembodied friendship at its worst – so far. And friendship with Christ, as understood through reading his book, insists that such “excarnations” are spurious imitations of friendship indeed.

I heartily recommend that you read this book.

Friendship With Christ: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Account by John A. Vissers (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2026). ISBN 978-1-5409-6978-1.

Passionately His

Message History

Delivery option(s)