The research is startling: friendship has been proven to boost our health, decrease anxiety and depression, increase our lifespan, and be a buffer against addictions, prejudice and extremism. And yet rates of it are declining in the West. Why? In this talk, we unpack some of the reasons friendship gets sidelined in both culture and the church, why many Christian workers have impoverished friendship circles, and two convictions that can transform the friendship problem. Incorporating the preliminary findings of a new multi-year project on friendship, this talk aims to re-convert us to this forgotten love, lift it up as a sacred calling, and re-prioritise it in our lives.

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Sheridan Voysey is a writer, speaker and broadcaster on faith and spirituality. He is the author of eight books, including Reflect with Sheridan (Lion Hudson, 2020), The Making of Us: Who We Can Become When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned (Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins, 2019), Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams into New Beginnings (shortlisted for the 2014 ECPA Book of the Year Award), Resilient: Your Invitation to a Jesus-Shaped Life, and Unseen Footprints: Encountering the Divine Along the Journey of Life (winner of the 2006 Australian Christian Book of the Year). He writes for Our Daily Bread, a devotional read by 90 million people daily. Sheridan is a regular presenter of Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball Breakfast Show (heard by 9 million people daily) and has conducted over 2000 radio interviews in his 25-year broadcast career. He speaks at conferences and events around the world and has been featured on numerous TV and radio programs including BBC Breakfast, BBC News, Channel 5 News, Day of Discovery, 100 Huntley Street, CBC’s Tapestry, plus publications like The Times, Telegraph, and Christianity Today.

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