How do Christians understand friendship and intimacy? How does worship form Christians into a community of friends in God? What virtues does God call us to incorporate into our lives? In Becoming Friends, Paul Wadell explores the connections between worship, friendship and intimacy, and the life we are called to live. This engaging and accessible book offers a fresh perspective from which to explore the nature of Christian friendship. Wadell contends that Christian friendship is more than a pairing of people with similar interests, a "ritual of hopeless consolation." True Christian friendship summons us to love all of our neighbors. Becoming friends examines obstacles to, and characteristics of, true friendship and draws fromt he works of Augustine, Aelred of Rievaulx, and other Christian leaders. It shows that we are called to serve God through friendship and that this calling requires us to cultivate certain virtues -- specifically, hope, justice, and forgiveness. In down-to-earth language, Becoming Friends offers a provocative look into the nature and importance of true Christian friendship. Anyone looking to reflect on the indispensable role of good friendships in the Christian life will find this a hopeful and encouraging book