What Christians Get Wrong About Friendship

Jun 1

Check out Kelly’s book, Friendish!

Friendship was never meant to carry the weight of being your god. We unpack the expectations we place on friends, why so many relationships end in disappointment, and what Scripture actually says we should look for in Christian friendship. Jimmy & Kelly Needham explore the difference between God-sized needs and healthy friendship needs, why community matters more than ever, and how believers can build friendships that deepen joy, strengthen faith, and help us endure suffering together.

We also talk about:

Why stability, satisfaction, and significance are dangerous things to demand from friends
How culture and even Christian culture can distort our expectations of friendship
Why friendship should deepen joy instead of becoming our source of joy
The role of Christian community in fighting sin and spiritual discouragement
Why your spouse cannot meet every relational need you have
How to ask for help when you’re struggling
What it looks like to carry one another through suffering and hardship
Why healthy friendship actually becomes deeper when God stays at the center

What We Learned

Friendship becomes unhealthy when we expect friends to provide ultimate stability, satisfaction, or significance
Christian friendship works best when both people recognize that only God can meet God-sized needs
Shared joy deepens delight in God and in everyday life
We need friends who help us fight sin, confess struggles, and stay spiritually alert
The church is meant to function like a family, especially in seasons of suffering or need
Waiting for people to magically know what we need often keeps us isolated
Asking for help takes humility, courage, and intentionality
Healthy friendship thrives when we use it the way God designed it