Vulnerability & Deep Connection
To be vulnerable is to openly share your thoughts, beliefs, values, and emotions. It sounds terrifying, right?
For a lot of people, it's hard to be vulnerable. Not only can it be an uncomfortable experience, but at the core of most people, there exist a fear of being rejected. What if the vulnerabilities I share cause me to lose this relationship? What if they ruin others' perception of me? What if they cause people to judge me or - worse - what if the people I entrusted them to share them with others? These "what ifs" quickly pile up, and the natural resistance we all feel toward them leave us bottling vulnerabilities until we burst.
But what if safety can be found in deep connections, rooted in trust? What if I told you emotional openness isn't weakness? It's honest.
Illume wants this for you. Illume wants to help you find your safe space, filled with safe people who genuinely want to love and care for you in light of your vulnerabilities.
For this reason, Illume's approach to involvement is focused on relationships: We gather in small, consistent groups designed to foster genuine relationships by worshipping, learning, and serving together because there are benefits to having a spiritual community, filled with people who are willing to learn to be vulnerable with each other.
Vulnerability is liberating. It frees you from the weight of the burdens you choose to bear. It promotes self-awareness and authenticity. It sheds light on that which you were once blind to, and it allows you to be real and honest about who you are and where you're at in life. Vulnerability cultivates stronger relationships. It opens the doors to relationships that were once shut out of fear of rejection. The things you bravely share could be the very things someone else has been through. Or, the things you share could provide perspective to those who have vastly different life experiences than you.
All this to say: Illume wants you to experience these vulnerability relationships and more, because we can't truly know and support each other if we don't take the time to be open with each other.
For more on Illume's mission and vision to create authentic relationships and community, visit: https://illume.network/mission-and-vision.
To connect with Illume's pastor, Kent Reeder, email kent@illume.church.
For a lot of people, it's hard to be vulnerable. Not only can it be an uncomfortable experience, but at the core of most people, there exist a fear of being rejected. What if the vulnerabilities I share cause me to lose this relationship? What if they ruin others' perception of me? What if they cause people to judge me or - worse - what if the people I entrusted them to share them with others? These "what ifs" quickly pile up, and the natural resistance we all feel toward them leave us bottling vulnerabilities until we burst.
But what if safety can be found in deep connections, rooted in trust? What if I told you emotional openness isn't weakness? It's honest.
Illume wants this for you. Illume wants to help you find your safe space, filled with safe people who genuinely want to love and care for you in light of your vulnerabilities.
For this reason, Illume's approach to involvement is focused on relationships: We gather in small, consistent groups designed to foster genuine relationships by worshipping, learning, and serving together because there are benefits to having a spiritual community, filled with people who are willing to learn to be vulnerable with each other.
Vulnerability is liberating. It frees you from the weight of the burdens you choose to bear. It promotes self-awareness and authenticity. It sheds light on that which you were once blind to, and it allows you to be real and honest about who you are and where you're at in life. Vulnerability cultivates stronger relationships. It opens the doors to relationships that were once shut out of fear of rejection. The things you bravely share could be the very things someone else has been through. Or, the things you share could provide perspective to those who have vastly different life experiences than you.
All this to say: Illume wants you to experience these vulnerability relationships and more, because we can't truly know and support each other if we don't take the time to be open with each other.
For more on Illume's mission and vision to create authentic relationships and community, visit: https://illume.network/mission-and-vision.
To connect with Illume's pastor, Kent Reeder, email kent@illume.church.
To consider this further, you might enjoy the book Flesh by Hugh Halter.