CONTENTS

• JUST VISITING
• FEATURE ARTICLE:
  CAREPOINT - HELPFUL RESOURCE PROVIDER
  by Norman and Ann Bales
  

  Just Visiting

  A lot has happened since our last visit. I was privileged to participate in a "Celebration of Manhood" ceremony for my grandson just a few days ago. I'll be giving you more information about it in a future issue. A few days before that, an MRI revealed a rather large benign tumor at the base of my brain. Surgery is scheduled for September 10th. I will deeply appreciate your prayers. The prospect of full recovery is excellent, but I do have a hill to climb. If you would like to know more about it, you can go to my blog.

  Notes From Norman

  We've just completed the writing of a book on preventing infidelity. It is scheduled to be published by CarePoint Ministries. This week's feature describes the work of CarePoint.

  Norman

  * * * * *
  CarePoint - Helpful Resource Provider
  by Norman and Ann Bales

  In his book Simply Christian, N. T. Wright said, "…in Jesus we glimpse a God who loves people and wants then to know and respond to that love" (24). Some people - even Christians - sometimes wonder just how much God really loves them. They manage to make it to a church assembly on Sunday, but they come away feeling disappointed. They came with heavy hearts, but they didn't run across anyone eager to help, and they wondered if anyone even cared.

  The good folks, who developed CarePoint Ministries, want to change that. CarePoint is a unique resource provider for churches, who understand their need to intentionally care for hurting people. They publish material written by believers for believers and seekers. They take their cue from Paul - "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). The need to provide intentional help is enormous. It has been said that on any given Sunday one person out of two is facing a major life issue, and only half of those think anyone in the church cares.

  CarePoint offers resources for small supportive care groups, which can be used by churches small and large. They provide kits, which include leader guides, book/workbooks (150-170 pages), an audio CD, worksheets and promotional materials.

  CarePoint's resources cover a wide range of topics including
  

  • Stress
  • Parenting issues
  • Food issues
  • Depression
  • Sexual Abuse
  • Miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death
  • Breast cancer
  • Emotional discontent.
  • Parenting children with serious health issues

  New titles will be forthcoming in the near future (including our book/workbook on preventing infidelity).

  The CarePoint Team consists of program director Kelly Hawkins of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and founding director Scott Philip Stewart, PhD, who lives in the Atlanta area.

  CarePoint resources are story-based messages based on scripture and the experiences of the people who have faced these life traumas. Be sure to check them out at

  CarePoint Ministries

  A link on the website offers practical suggestions for starting a group. CarePoint even offers assistance for helping you "market" the group.

  Whether we choose to use CarePoint's resources or not, we need to be addressing the wounds of the people who sit in our pews. In defining his understanding of his own personal mission, Keith Miller laid out the kind of challenge CarePoint is attempting to address - "I felt he wanted me to come out of my small self-serving Christianity, to approach broken people in the world in their pain and lostness, and to help them and tell them there really is hope, there really is meaning, there really is concrete help…." - The Passionate People (233).

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  If you have questions about marriage and family relationships, you can "ASK THE COUNSELOR." Address your questions to Mikal Frazier. Her address is mikal@allaboutfamilies.org Norman's e-mail address:
  nlbales@allaboutfamilies.org
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  Southern Hills Church of Christ
  9080 Southwood Drive
  Shreveport, Louisiana 71118
  (318) 686-2190
  E-mail:
  Norman Bales: Norman's e-mail address: nlbales@allaboutfamilies.org
  Ann Bales: ann@allaboutfamilies.org
  Mikal Frazier: mikal@allaboutfamilies.org
  "Jim Bales"jbales@prcoc.org
  Web:allaboutfamilies.org
  allaboutfamilies.org/sh