When Clarence and his buddy walked in that night, some of my adult leaders looked at me kind of questioning what's going on here.

You know, remember now this was the late 60s and the National Guard was on the streets in our town.

And Clarence knows that Ku Klux Klan was walking downtown, you know.

So there's a lot of racial tension during that time.

And so I just kind of motioned to them, it's okay, it's okay.

Hey friend, welcome to Java with Julie.

I'm Julie Slattery, and this podcast is a listener-supported outreach of authentic intimacy,

a ministry dedicated to reclaiming God's design for intimacy. And when we talk about intimacy,

we mean intimacy with God, intimacy in marriage, and also intimacy and other relationships

we have and friendships. So with that in mind, let me ask you a question.

What do you think would happen if every Christian had at least one really close friendship

with someone from a different race or from a different culture?

What do you think we could learn from each other?

Do you think that would help tear down some of the division and walls of racism and

fear? Well, that's my challenge and the challenge from my guests, Claren Schuller and Gary Chapman.

Now, you may know Gary as the author of the bestselling book, The Five Love Languages, and he's

also been on job with Julie several times in the past. But long before he wrote that

bestselling book, Gary was a youth pastor in a newly desegregated community in North Carolina

where the racial tensions still ran really hot. 14-year-old Clarence and a friend of his

walked into Gary's all-white youth group, and that was the beginning of a 54-year

friendship that you're going to hear about today.

Gary and Clarence have put their story in a great book.

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