Loneliness

“…which translates into more than a billion people — feel very or fairly lonely, according to a recent Meta-Gallup survey of more than 140 countries.” - Gallup

“While feelings of loneliness and isolation have increased over the better part of a decade, pastors’ feelings of support from those around them have decreased.” - Barna

“Love isn’t unique to Christian communities, of course, but this verse suggests there should be something uniquely compelling about the kind of love Jesus’s disciples embody. Our friendship makes the reality of the gospel unignorable to the outside world.” - TGC

“Fellowship is…the gathering of God’s people for the task of provoking each other to good works (Heb 10:24). If we miss this point, however, we too often reduce fellowship to a self-centered focus. That’s lonely.” - Chuck Lawless

“Murthy… announced his anti-loneliness campaign by emphasizing the role family played in his own life, then goes on to almost entirely leave family out of his set of recommendations.” - IFS

“U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wants the nation to see loneliness as one of the top health challenges, issuing an advisory warning on Tuesday about what he sees as a threat to Americans’ health and well-being.” - Axios

“A majority (56 percent) of Gen Zers report they felt lonely at least once or twice a month during their childhood. In contrast, only about one in four (24 percent) Baby Boomers say they felt lonely this often as children.” - IFS

“…the root of loneliness often results from the inability (often unintentionally) of pastors and congregants to separate the person from the position. This reality manifests in the life of the pastor’s wife as well.” - TGC

“For U.S. adults who experienced loneliness at least once within the past week, more than 40% of that group said the feelings of loneliness ranged from intense to unbearable.” - CPost

“Men appear to have suffered disproportionately in the collapse of friendships. In 1990, a majority (55%) of men had at least six close friends. Today, only 27% report having this number of close friendships. Single men are in even worse shape…” - IFS