Two stimulating posts on friendship have come my way in the past few days. Given it’s a topic that’s not talked about much, I figured they were well worth a post. Particularly as men and Christian men at that, do we particularly value or seek to cultivate friendship with other men?

1. Friendship – The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name – a re-post over at the Spiritual Friendship blog, a page which is well worth following generally.

Let us accept friendship. Let us accept it as a true and passionate gift of God. Let us accept it in others without reading anything else into it – “repressed” or not. Let us rejoice if it is given to us, be glad if it is given to others.

2. I’m Southern Baptist, and I love a Man – a personal account of what same-sex friendship can look like.

Satan has stolen David-and-Jonathan relationships from us, brothers in Christ. What will you do about it? To love another man as your own soul (1 Sam. 18:1) is not homosexual love; it is the love of Christ. It is a true willingness to lay down your life for your brothers (1 John 3:16). We must build these kinds of relationships with one another: men who truly love other men.

Lastly, I share my review of Vaughan Roberts’ excellent and bitesize book, True Friendship. If we’re going to take the challenges above seriously, his book is a good roadmap.