FamilyLife Today® Anxiety, Church Hurt, Porn--and Loneliness that Keeps Us Apart: Shelby Abbott
Feb 20, 2026
Shelby Abbott, pastor and author of Why We're Feeling Lonely and What We Can Do About It, explores how church hurt and cultural self-reliance deepen loneliness. He discusses confronting friends, parenting teens through anxiety and porn, and practical ways families build trust. The conversation highlights the risks and rewards of messy, honest community.
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You Weren't Designed To Go It Alone
- The culture trains us to believe we are enough, but that message is false and isolating.
- Shelby Abbott says true flourishing requires being embedded in a local body of believers.
Don't Let Church Hurt Push You Out
- Don't retreat from community because of church hurt; instead recognize sin inside you is the primary problem.
- Engage others, Scripture, and prayer so God can work in your sanctification.
A Friendship Sacrificed For Hard Love
- Shelby called out a close friend about spiritual and marital decline and did it imperfectly.
- The friend reconciled with his wife and church but not with Shelby, who accepts being a casualty of that process.
