I hope you enjoyed reading the “Things I Didn’t Learn in Youth Group” series as much as I loved writing it. Next week, we will pivot to a new blog series on a topic close to my heart that is uniquely crucial for singles…
Friendship!
You might have noticed that there are sermons and classes and podcasts and articles and books and books and books about marriage, particularly from the church. Friendship, on the other hand? Not so much.
Sermons and resources on spiritual friendship are not unheard of, but they are relatively uncommon, particularly when compared to the number of resources on marriage and parenting. And yet, friendship is an integral part of the fabric of any church community. It presents unique challenges and joys, and it has the potential to be life saving.
I love talking about friendship, and especially talking about my friends. Y’all. They’re so great. Jesus has brought some ridiculously awesome, messy, flawed, faithful humans into my life and he has taught me so much through each of them. In fact, the last section of my book features several chapters about friendship and stories about my friends.
Over the next several weeks, I’m going to dig into some of my favorite topics relating to friendship. I’ll share resources with you and give you a lot of questions to consider. I hope that these blogs will spark conversations and challenge you to do the work necessary for deep, intimate friendships.
I pray that you will also look back on your significant friendships, or look around at the ones you still have, and be grateful. In many ways, we become who we surround ourselves with. We have a great capacity for wounding each other, but we also have the power to heal and encourage and lift up and practice consistency in our own clumsy and messy and well intentioned ways.
Get pumped.