I hope you’re having a good week. We’ve been busy. But more on that later ...<br><br>

Here’s what’s new at CareLeader.org this week<br><br>

When a pastor is dismissed<br><br>

When a pastor is dismissed from a church, the congregation is often shocked, disillusioned, and in some cases betrayed. God forbid you ever find yourself in that situation. But if you did, how would you respond? Rev. Tim Sharpe, associate pastor at Christ Our Hope in Wake Forest, NC, explains how he walked his congregation through such a situation. https://goo.gl/6UdkSa<br><br>

I hope you never need to apply what he learned. <br><br>

Helping people in desperate need of friendships<br><br>

We interview a lot of pastors and Christian mental health professionals as we create CareLeader.org content. Over and over again we hear this—people who are entangled in sin and those with emotional struggles often lack meaningful relationships with others. So how do you help someone who needs friends … to find them? Jonathan Holmes, campus pastor at the Green Campus of Parkside Church, outside Akron, OH, explains what you can share with those who are in desperate need of friendship. https://goo.gl/jfpdI7<br><br>

The lay counseling conundrum and what we’ve been up to<br><br>

Speaking of friends, we’re working on a new curriculum that lightens your workload by equipping laypeople to provide more intentional ministry in the context of their friendships.<br><br>

This past Monday and Tuesday we were joined by three experts to help us plot out the curriculum. During our two-day planning session, one of our guests explained the dilemma pastors face when positioning laypeople to counsel other members. I’d never heard anyone state the problem the way he did. See if you agree with his observations. Plus, see who else joined us for the meeting and learn more about the new curriculum we’re working on. https://goo.gl/S5qYsA<br><br>

Other posts you might want to check out<br><br>

Some say children of divorce are resilient. There’s truth in that, but these kids are not immune to the effects of divorce. In this helpful post, Linda Jacobs explains the top three needs of children of divorce. https://goo.gl/jzHv6g<br><br>

Helping people change can be a slow process. Can anything be done to jump-start it? Here are a few helpful suggestions. https://goo.gl/M0DEm3<br><br>

Instead of living by faith, some people live by their feelings. By that I mean they allow their feelings to dictate their behavior. We see this when people say things like, “I don’t feel like God loves me.” Or, “I know God wants me to forgive, but I don’t feel like it.” In the post “But Pastor, I don’t feel like it,” Dr. Joseph Stowell and Dr. Stephen Viars give helpful insights into how to help people base their decisions on the truths of God’s Word instead of their emotional state. https://goo.gl/0J18oT<br><br>

Well, that’s all for this week. Thank you for your support of CareLeader.org. <br><br>

God bless you,<br><br>

Sam Hodges<br>
Managing Editor<br>
CareLeader.org<br><br>

P.S. Do your deacons and small-group leaders know about CareLeader.org? I’ve talked with a lot of pastors who use CareLeader.org articles to equip their lay leaders for ministry. Consider encouraging your people to sign up to receive this weekly newsletter: https://goo.gl/ZjvMSr