Sacred Friendship Gathering – Friday Night

8:40pm – Q & A Lead by Jim Henderson.

How do you handle a friendship if there is attraction?

Katie: We’re in a consumerist culture, perhaps we need to ask ourselves if this is just a “commercial from Satan”? Do we actually have that attraction or is it just temptation. If married, strongly communicate love of your spouse. “I have great relationships with men because I have a great relationship with my husband.”

Dan: We have conflated attraction and lust. You must be self-aware. Know if there is attraction, be honest about it. Run from lust, own attraction.

Meredith: You’re not repulsed by your friends – there is some attraction there. We are trained to think of attraction as sexual, so we worry about it. Instead, let’s recognize it for what it is.

How do you deal with relationships where there isn’t an equal understanding of how to interact as friends?

Katie: We have sexualized touch. We need to understand that is societal, not cut and dried.

8:25pm – Discussion: “What brought you here?”

Some loss of friendships. Differences between who feels more pressure regarding hugging/who is seen as the aggressor. Discussions about men and women working together in ministry. Friendships that turned inappropriate, trying to redeem the idea.
8:00pm – Katie Driver speaking. “Stories From the Trenches of Cross-Gender Relationships”

“I’m here because I want to see us set free. This issue has become a hammer of legalism.”

There will always be “what ifs.” You learn to be a smart driver, you don’t live in the “what ifs.” With friendship, we don’t live in the “what ifs.”

Another recommendation to maintain honesty. If someone confronts you, ask yourself if there is any truth to what they are saying.

7:37pm – Meredith Efken speaking. “Living the Beauty of Friendship When Everyone Else Thinks You’re Doing the Nasty”

There is power in the friendship of a non-romantic relationship with a man.

To love someone is an act of courage.

When people question your friendship, don’t be defensive, and don’t diminish it. You’re not “just friends.”

We don’t have to be afraid of questions. The only way to keep any friendship beautiful to honesty with ourselves and others.

Sometimes we need to speak. Sometimes we simply need to seek peace.

When people question something that is incredibly precious to us, it can make us feel dirty, even when it’s beautiful and pure. Don’t intentionally flaunt your freedom in situations where people may misconstrue your friendship.

Being guarded isn’t the only way to shield a friendship. Sometimes more friends can be the answer. Others can defend your reputation in the face of gossip.

I can’t let the stress of outside opinions affect my ability to love.

7:25pm – Dan Brennan speaking. Jesus appearing to Mary Magdelene following the resurrection is indicative of a new way for men and women to relate to one another.  Jesus scatters fear.

“I’m not here to promote Dan Brennan’s version of friendship.”

Embracing beauty and moral passion in friendship has no one expression.

Beauty can say no to that which is unhealthy in a relationship.

7:12pm – Opened with prayer and singing. Thankful for the quiet before beginning.

7:02pm — Hi all! This is me getting ready to try live blogging.  I’ll be updating this post through the evening. I’ll have a different permalink for tomorrow. You can refresh this page for the next few hours.

By the way, had the nicest lunch with David, Lyndie, and Melinda. David and Lyndie are way, way taller than I expected. All are absolutely delightful. None asked me to leave, even when I laughed or when I got snippy with the waitress for trying to take my soup when I still had two whole bites left to eat (it was good soup).