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Lesson OneIntroduction to SoulCare: Getting Started on the Journey3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoThe First Task in Learning to Provide SoulCare: Knowing What You're After and What It Takes to Get There3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeA Personal Search: Beginning with an Inside Look3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourThe Concept of Ruling Passions: What Energy Carries You into the Life of Another3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FiveBrokenness: The Key to Releasing the Power of SoulCare3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SixThe Good and the Bad in the Human Soul: Self-Need vs. Soul-Thirst3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson SevenEntering the Battle for Another's Soul: The First Step3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson EightWisdom: A Roadmap for Entering the Soul Without Getting Lost3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson NineGetting into the Battle: Moving Below the Waterline from the Presenting Problem to the Story of the Soul3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TenAgents of Growth: What SoulCare Can Do in Our Lives3 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
Participants 599
Discussion Questions
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Dr. Crabb talks about our tendency to keep relationships shallow using the image of “not turning our chairs toward one another.” Why is it so difficult for us to “turn our chairs”? In other words, why are we reluctant to let anyone really know us? As you think about your answer, consider these possible reasons: Don’t have time. Don’t want to get involved. Don’t care. Feel inadequate and awkward. Don’t know how to form deeper relationships. Not culturally acceptable. Explain several possible reasons (using your own or from the list above) and then give an example from your experience that demonstrates which reason most often keeps you from turning your chair towards others.
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We are “reluctant to let anyone really know” who we are due to fear of not being understood, facing embarrassment, and being vulnerable in front of others who are not interested in our vulnerability. This is one of my current struggles. For instance, I am okay with being transparent about stuff I feel safe sharing. Many years ago, I became close friends with a sister from church. We shared many secrets, and I let my guard down around her. One day she made a comment that caused me to be more guarded than ever before. She said, “When I first met you, I thought you were stronger than you really are.” Those words hurt me to the core. I angrily replied, “I am still that strong person in Christ. I take my armor off when I’m around you because you are my friend.”
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When thinking about why we are reluctant to”turn our chairs”would be because we feel inadequate and awkward forgetting that we are new creatures in Christ and that there is something good and beautiful deep down inside
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many people, myself included, we fear that if people get to know us, they’ll be shocked and disappointed
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I think oftentimes the discouraging factor in turning our chairs is a desire to keep our own needs a secret and if we were to open ourselves up to help someone else we might have to deal with the things we refuse to let surface in our own lives. It is a fear of being vulnerable. If we were to open up and let someone in, then we have to allow ourselves to feel and often the feelings are what we shy away from because we are afraid we will be overwhelmed by them and drown in them, that we will be unable to stop the emotion from spilling out uncontrollably.
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Many people fear, me included, that if people get to really know us they will be disappointed, shocked, not see us it the ‘high’ esteem, especially as a Christian, that they once saw us.
So, the true answer is ‘pride.’ I don’t open up to other people ‘deeply’ because of my prideful nature. I want people to see only what I show them.
