Leonard Sweet believes that good relationships are the key to a healthy, happy life.
The most important question on our spiritual journey is, "Who do you have with you?" Jesus appointed twelve apostles to be "with him" (Mark 3:14). In a play on words, Sweet defines indispensable relationships as "withnesses" - "before the apostles could be 'witnesses to him,' they first had simply to 'be with him,' to be 'Withnesses'" (20).
Sweet argues that we need at least 11 Withnesses as an entourage in our spiritual journey. Each fulfills a different role - editing, encouraging, mentoring, etc. No one person can meet all our needs. And we each fill different roles in different relationships.
Sweet uses biblical examples of each of the 11 relationships and then offers great open-ended questions at the end of each chapter for discussion. The Spirit of God is the 12th relationship that remains true when all others fail.
This book is a great resource for small group discussion. Highly recommended!
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