In the spring of 2020, as a middle-aged single man living alone in London, I was invited by a young family in my church to "bubble” with them for the foreseeable future, while Covid restrictions began to be implemented.
Throughout the various lockdowns, I spent all day every Sunday with them and one evening midweek too. I’d been feeling emotionally low for the previous year, so I don’t think I’m being overly dramatic if I say that it probably saved my life.
A little over a year ago, they came back from a holiday in Australia with a clear sense that God was calling them to help plant a church in Sydney.

When I picked up this short booklet, my interest was piqued. However, I was also somewhat sceptical of how the subject of polyamory or consensual non-monogamy (where “all parties agree that the relationship is not exclusive”) might impact me, my church and the ministry of TFT. By the time I’d finished reading the booklet, it had certainly made me sit up and take note.

One thing that compounds any pain is the feeling that one is alone, abandoned, that there is no one else who understands. This sense of isolation and being unseen, cut off, is the very essence of what it means to feel lonely. However, one of things that has helped me personally to get up off the floor of my deepest moments of loneliness is the reminder that I am not the only person who has felt alone.

Friendships are an essential part of our daily Christian lives, and yet few of us have a biblical theology of friendship. This article seeks to highlight a few key biblical principles for us to live and evaluate our friendships by.

Being a minority voice on same-sex marriage can be very painful. A number of my colleagues have chosen to adopt a position which, in my view, goes against God's word. It comes with a bit of sadness that a denomination which I love, which I've grown up in, which does so much good in the world, would adopt a position which is at odds with God's ordering of our lives and God's design for his people.

I had recently asked my Barnabas group for advice about how to develop friendships with other women in light of same-sex attraction. So, when my group leader asked me to read and review “No Greater Love”, I eagerly agreed, hopeful to gain some clear insights, as well as a deeper theological understanding of friendship. I was not disappointed.

Friendship is a precious relationship. Over the years I have been very grateful for many friends with whom I have shared the up and downs of our lives. I am particularly thankful for those friends with whom I have grown close enough to be able to share my life-journey with same-sex attraction. When I was an undergraduate, the first fellow student I shared that with became a lifelong friend, though we now live hundreds of miles apart.

This new resource from the Evangelical Alliance looks at the importance of having, and being, good friends. It comprises 5 videos of about 10 minutes each, all presented by Phil Knox, who has written a book on the topic. There is also a free downloadable small group resource.

The 5 sessions look at such topics as the biblical basis for friendship, the pressures on friendships today, having close friendships and, finally, the importance of friendship with God.

I have a plaque in my kitchen given by a friend with the quote: “Friendship is like sunshine, it keeps us warm and helps us grow.” Certainly, friendship has been described as many things, from a garden of flowers, to chocolates, to a ship believe it or not! (“There are big ships and small ships but the best ship of them all is friendship” - Anon.)