Category: Basic Training

My last post about Opposite Gender Friendships suggested that male friendships serve a different purpose than female relationships and we need to be extra careful due to the risk of sexual attraction. In this follow-up post and the next, I provide guidance on the two questions I posed in the last post: 1) Can men have relationships with women who are “just” friends? and 2) Should your wife become your “best” friend?  But first, more about the importance of male friendships. Men Need Better Friends Earlier this year, I started making my case for The Year of Better Male Friendships since there is an epidemic of loneliness due to the decline of friendship, especially among men. I’ve been using excerpts from my book, Get Out of Your Man Cave: The Crisis of Male Friendships, to describe the importance and characteristics of male friendship, which supports my theory that every man

As I begin to conclude this series about Better Male Friendships that started in January, I need to provide a word of caution of male-female friendships. Throughout earlier posts, I’ve made my case for the type of friendship that every man needs; the deeper, authentic kind of brotherhood that I call a GodBuddy. That said, I also believe that men need women in their lives: as wives, siblings, friends, and co-workers, since they can help us become better men. But this poses a couple of big questions:  My next few posts will provide some guidance on these questions. Male-Female Friendships Must Be Different Most people agree that relationships are complicated. The reality is that friendships with the opposite sex must be different, especially once you are married. As I wrote in a post from a few years ago, there are significant Differences Between Male & Female Friendships. Relationship counselor, Dr. John Gray

This next post about techniques that develop Better Male Friendships describes how to strengthen a relationship with another man into a type of friendship that I believe every man needs, one that I call the GodBuddy. This technique provides the consistency and focus needed to ensure your deeper, more authentic friendship lasts.  Men Need Brothers; Not Just Friends With this series, my hope is to help reverse the negatives trends for boys and young males by showing men how to develop and maintain better friendships. Due to the recent epidemic of loneliness, too many boys and young men are failing. Studies show alarming rates of unemployment, a gap in educational achievement, and increased patterns of suicide. The Decline of Friendship, leaves many males today feeling lonely and having no close friends that they can confide in. We need better men to train and mentor boys and young males about proper