North Park Professor Ginny Olson Presents Focus Group on Friendships
North Park University professor, Ginny Olson is conducting the focus group, Friendships: How to build strong ones, deal with needy ones, and how to avoid toxic ones, every morning from 11-12 for participants to take advantage of during their Basecamp morning options.
In this seminar, Ginny discusses how easily the term ‘friend’ has been redefined with the help of modern social networking sites such as Bebo, Twitter and of course Facebook. With sites like these, there is a new dynamic to communication that allows a person who you know nothing about to instantly, with the click of a mouse, become your ‘friend’ and how likewise, people you truly consider friends can ‘un-friend’ you.
Ginny breaks friendship down into four levels that can help in analyzing the types of relationships that we have. Acquaintances-people we see regularly, Buddies-people we hang out with, Mentor/Advisor-someone we trust, and Soul Friend-a person who knows and can tell us the truths about ourselves.
In closing, Ginny advises us of the importance of having a Soul Friend; a friend that we can have to hold us accountable for our actions and to be able to tell us when we are off track. When we can’t face the reality of messing up on our own, it is vital to have that person there for us and vice versa. This Soul Friend is described perfectly in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 as patient, kind, not envious, not boastful or proud. They are not rude or self-seeking. They are not easily angered nor do they keep a record of your wrong doings. All in all, this friend shows a type of unconditional love like no other.
