FRIENDSHIP is at the heart of the Gospel and indeed friendship with God and our neighbour is the sole purpose of the story of salvation.
So what has happened that we seem to have lost the art of maintaining and sustaining friendships in our congregations? I remember as divinity students we were told by a well meaning professor not to make deep friendships within the congregation.
Now I know he was trying to save us from the hurt and misunderstanding that can often accompany friendships that go wrong. But he was wrong. There is always a cost to friendship. Our trust and our integrity will no doubt on occasions be compromised, but Jesus is our role model and mentor. He had a diferent view of friendship. He modelled friendship. He invites his followers to become his friends.