One Another: A Memoir of Faith and Friendship - Softcover

Lottis, Ken

Softcover

ISBN 10: 096002252X ISBN 13: 9780960022526

Publisher: Global Commerce Network, 2019

Synopsis

Here is a memoir written for our increasingly impersonal, lonely, and distrustful age. Author Ken Lottis demonstrates that it is possible to develop strong, intimate, long-term friendships. One Another--written with humor, spiritual insight, and transparency--will inspire readers to live for what matters most: the people in our lives.

In the mid-1960s, Ken and his college friend, Jim Petersen, along with their wives and small children, embarked on a surprising Brazilian adventure. Moving from the United States to Brazil, they settled in the southern city of Curitiba during an era of deep political and social turmoil. Overcoming false suspicions that they were CIA agents, Ken and Jim began to develop friendships with university students. They presented the students with an authentic opportunity to learn more about Jesus through the Scriptures-without any connection to traditional religious practices or structures.

This freedom gave their Brazilian friends the space to think about life's biggest questions and to strengthen friendships within the context of normal Brazilian routines. Gradually, these relationships extended organically to include classmates, hometown sweethearts, and relatives. What emerged--and continues today--is a simple but powerful expression of friendship and faith. Ken and Jim learned that the New Testament model for church is entirely relational. The Brazilians taught them that our deepest human needs are best served when we love one another and live for God in daily life.

One Another will fill your mind with ideas for how to invest in your relationships and deepen your faith in God without religious structures.

About this title

About the Author:

Ken Lottis was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. He is a graduate of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he earned a BA in history. After graduation in 1958, Ken served with The Navigators on college campuses and servicemen's centers. In 1963, he and his wife, Carol, accepted an invitation to team up with Jim and Marge Petersen in Brazil. Together they embarked on a two-decade adventure that resulted in profound, lasting friendships and a vibrant expression of Christian faith. Ken died in 2015. Carol continues to serve her family and friends where she lives in the state of Washington.

Review:

"One Another tells the story of how we experienced together the true meaning of a community of Christ-followers, being part of a church without going to a church building. This was the beginning of a journey that continues today and that will endure for a long time to come." --Flavio A. Lazzari, Ph.D., e Sonia M.N. Lazzari, Ph.D.

"I have heard it said that the world is not made up of atoms, but of stories. Life is a one-and-only story with lessons, joys, and sorrows. This book is not just the story of Ken and Carol Lottis but one of the gospel changing them and gaining Brazilian clothes--distinctly non-American and boldly and frighteningly biblical. Friendship trumped methods. Pure motives trumped manipulation. Time and numbers lost their meaning. What counted was friends getting to know the real Jesus of the Bible. The shedding of their American evangelical clothes changed them as much as it changed their new friends. This book will challenge you to rethink how the gospel moves among your friends." --Dr. Jerry White, International President Emeritus of The Navigators; author of The Joseph Road; Dangers Men Face; and Honesty, Morality and Conscience

"One Another is a story about a profound time that we had immersed in the authentic friendship of the Lottis family in Brazil. . . . They entered our lives and left a legacy of love, trust, and the transforming power of the Scriptures." --Janete Andrade, music coordinator, Curitiba Institute of Art and Culture

"The narrative of this book shows us the wise and loving way in which Ken Lottis learned, in the context of Brazilian culture, to communicate the message of Christ. His life influenced us all. Even today were are strongly motivated to continue caring for our families and friends, as shown in Mark 5:19." --Dr. Carlos Bastos, dermatologist

"I loved every page of this book. In this beautiful story, Ken focuses the reader on what is most important in life: people and God's kingdom. We can sense the value that Ken and his family gave to people. Their friends were not projects, but persons whom they loved and in whom they invested their own lives." --Luciano Del Monte, The Navigators of Canada

"A remarkable and exciting account of an ordinary young couple and their three children who left home to travel to a distant land. . . . Setting aside all of their preconceived notions, they allowed the Scriptures and the Spirit of God to lead them in unique ways . . . A must read for those who allow God to transform them . . ." --Bud Lindstrand, former CEO, ODS Companies

"This book . . . demonstrates that building relationships is the effective means of building the kingdom of God cross-culturally. Ken shows how it is (how it must be) 'exquisitely simple, portable, and transferable.'" --Burdette Palmberg, pastor emeritus, Mercer Island Covenant Church and International Church of Lucerne, Switzerland

"As I read this warm and personal history . . . I was given hope for the future. I trust that the young Lottises and Petersens of this generation will find much in this book to help them as they discover how God is building the kingdom today." --Michael Fitzgerald, pastor, Community Covenant Church, Santa Cruz, California

About this edition

• Publisher: Global Commerce Network
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 096002252X
• ISBN 13: 9780960022526
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256