Core 8: Building Vulnerable Community Course

By nature of the lives we lead and the world we live in, we share common pain. This pain is not unique to our age or location but is common to all people everywhere and for all time. If not handled properly, pain can cause spiritual, emotional and relational struggle. Very often, people live their lives limping from pain not suitably cared for. Furthermore, God intends for us to find support for our pain in a receptive community. This course intends to build a community that understands eight sources of pain and how to support healing in ourselves and others.

8 Common Sources of Pain:

• Shame - the pain of rejection.
• Loss - the pain of losing something or someone.
• Hurt - the pain of emotional wounds.
• Lies - the pain of misbelief.
• Fear - the pain of anxiety.
• Sin - the pain of disobedience.
• Inability - the pain of disability.
• Insecurity - the pain of self-question.

Properly handling this pain is best done in a safe, loving Christian community.

This course has two goals:

1. Participants will build community.
2. Participants will learn how to address 8 sources of pain.

Course expectations:

This course is a group course. It is intended for groups of 3 participants or more. Participants are expected to read and comment on the lessons of other group participants. Periodic meetings in person as a group is encouraged.

There are 9 lessons in this course. Participants should expect 1 hour/lesson of commitment to the content of the course and group interaction.

Lesson Format:

All resources for this course will be provided on our online interface. There will be videos to watch, podcasts to listen to, and articles to read. The cadence of each lesson will be as follows:

1. Welcome: The lesson will be introduced with a few brief comments via text to read and a video to watch.
2. Content: Resources that speak to the topic at hand will be queued up to be watched, listened to or read.
3. Gospel: The good news of Jesus speaks expressly to each topic.
4. Quote: A quotation on the subject from a wise person who has thought deeply about the topic at hand.
5. Reflection & Discussion: Online question prompts will allow you to reflect on the content personally as well as facilitate discussion among the group.
6. Prayer: Offer a personal prayer concerning the topic at hand.
7. Group Participation: Read the responses of group members and invest in their mental, relational and spiritual health by replying to their lesson submissions.

Course Notes (optional):

The link below is a pdf of the course content in note form. If you wish to print and use them as a paper guide, feel free to do so. This, however, is not required.

Core 8 Course Notes

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