Harrodsburg Road Blog & Events

Technology has changed the way we do a lot of things in our everyday life. We know that even applies to how we pay our bills. Most of us are writing fewer and fewer checks and letting modern conveniences take care of our finances. We have even heard from a lot of you who want your giving to Southland easier as well. So to make giving to Southland easier, we are offering the convenience of automated giving. Not only does automated giving make it easier for you, but it also helps Southland by reducing the number of physical checks we have to process each week.

How do you set up your own automated giving to Southland?

You have to complete a short form available here and send it, along with a voided check, to the attention of our finance department.

Your automated giving options are to give twice a month on the 5th and 20th or once a month on either the 5th or 20th.

If you have any questions, feel free to let us know!

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

I am blessed to have four-year-old twins: a boy and a girl. They couldn’t be any different from each other. My daughter Sophie is mild-mannered, easy-going girl, and does what her mommy and daddy ask her to. My son Riley... not so much. The other day he did something particularly disobedient and I had to give him a spanking. He usually spends a few minutes trying to convince me that he doesn’t need a spanking because he will listen and obey this time – if I don’t give him one. And I tell him that he should have decided to do that before he got in trouble. Then he always says, “But daddy, I don’t want a spanking!” No one does. But even though he doesn’t fully comprehend this, I do it because I want the best for him.

“Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:9-11

I think back through my life at the times that my Father has had to discipline me. Surely he didn’t enjoy it, in the same way that I don’t enjoy disciplining my son. But I know that God disciplines me because he loves me, and He must really love me a lot! Because as my wife would quickly point out, Riley is just like his daddy. So unfortunately, I need to be disciplined often. But as I recall all of the times that the discipline has been tough to deal with – the times I’ve been told no, or not yet, or suffered a setback – all of those difficult times have made me better. I probably spent time pleading with God, making promises of future obedience if this would just go away. I’m sure I probably even told Him that I didn’t want it this way. And He probably whispered back, “No one does.” And even though I don’t always fully comprehend it, God disciplines me because He wants the best for me.

My prayer is that it produces in me a righteousness and peace that can only come from the training of discipline.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

What do chainsaws, Braveheart, cake pops and a photo booth have in common? In the past week all four things were a part of our Man Night and Ladies’ Night here at Southland. I will let you guess which ones appeared on which night.

Regardless of your gender, both nights were a lot of fun and spiritually encouraging at the same time. It was incredible to see Theater 81 full of men one week and full of women the next week as both groups came together to hang out with friends, celebrate their uniqueness, and become more of the man or woman God made them to be.

Our hope and prayer for both nights was that lasting connection and community would emerge from the event. And it has. But the good news is even if you missed out on either event, it is not too late to get plugged in to a men’s group or a ladies’ group. However, they will be launching soon so make sure you take some “next steps” quickly.

Men, go here to let us know you would like to be in a group and to subscribe to the 6 week study guide we will be using for your group and to access resources discussed that evening.

Ladies, go here to let us know you would like to be in a group and to find out more about the resources we will be using for your group.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

Ladies' Night was incredible! We enjoyed delicious desserts catered by Saul Good, we gave away some awesome prizes, and we captured fun moments with the photo booth. It was a great opportunity to connect with other ladies. We also found some really gifted talent with our Karaoke contest winners! And, Debbie Breaux was amazing!

Our hope for this night was that the ladies of our church would come together, have fun, and meet one another. But most importantly, we prayed for community and connection to emerge from this event. And it did! We want you to join us by being a part of our next step out of this event!

We are doing a big push for group life which can include purchasing a copy of Living Free to study together for 6-weeks in community with other women. To learn more about getting connected in a Life Group or about purchasing the resource, please see the info below:

Rescources

Every so often I’ll have someone stop me and ask who this guitar player is or what’s the name of that drummer. We have so many incredible people that serve in so many ways around this church body that I would love for each of you to know! One way we can help with that is to shine a little bit of a spotlight on our volunteers periodically here on the blog. So without wasting anymore time, let me introduce you to Richard Wooldridge...

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How often do we really take the time to marvel at creation? In the midst of this fast paced, frenzied, idevice driven, man made world, there is a magnificently crafted one. Sometimes I find that I am so busy trying to entertain myself, that I overlook the main attraction. I lose sight of the beauty that is sitting right in front of me.

As a kid, I can remember playing outside from sun up to sundown slashing through creeks, climbing trees, catching crawdads, tadpoles, frogs....you name it, I stuffed it in the front pocket of my overalls! And now as a dad, I get to watch my kids getting to enjoy the exact same things as I did...

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On Thursday night I had the privilege of seeing 366 men in the same room. Ordinarily I don’t know that this would be a highlight for me -- unless I was at a sporting event. But on Thursday night we had that many guys gathered together for Man Night here at Southland.

It was awesome. Loads of manly food (Indi’s wings, Canes chicken fingers, and Goodfellas pizza), fun manly movie trivia with a manly TV as the prize, a rocking manly cover band, and a manly message that challenged us to “man up” and “thrown down” anything that might be hindering our relationship with God. I walked away encouraged, excited and determined.

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If anyone ever asks what I do at Southland, I tell them I’m a Care Pastor on the Care Team. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, “Aren’t all pastors supposed to care?” Good question. And I think most do, yes. But our team has the unique privilege of helping our church respond to innumerable needs through prayer, counseling, hospital visits, funerals, support groups, recovery groups… I could go on.

We have a saying around our team: We just want to take great care of people. When people approach us with a need, we don’t see them as needy. We see them as courageous.

Some of the most courageous and authentic people I know are those who have become part of our Celebrate Recovery community. Many people associate the word recovery with alcohol or drug addiction. The truth is we all have some hurt, habit or hang up that bogs us down. While Celebrate Recovery boldly offers hope for those struggling with addictions, it also helps provide a way to freedom for people like me and my friends… through a Christ-centered, 12-step journey.

“Hi. My name is Greg, I’m a grateful believer in Jesus Christ and I struggle with people pleasing, perfectionism and jealousy.”

What I love about Celebrate Recovery is that nobody judges me based on my struggles.

We’re excited to announce that the Care Team is launching a new Celebrate Recovery at Southland’s Richmond Road campus on Tuesday, May 14, at 6 pm. Every week we’ll gather for a meal together in the Café, followed by a time of worship through music and either a teaching or someone sharing their story. After that, we move to gender-specific small groups where we can safely share and listen to others talk about their struggles and journey of healing. After our group time, we enjoy some dessert and coffee before heading home.

Come join me and others on the road to healing and wholeness every Tuesday night beginning Tuesday, May 14. And by the way, there are no perfect people allowed.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

Waiting. Waiting for anything seems to become more and more difficult these days as our culture bulges with quick fixes and instant gratification at every turn. While we may not be good at waiting, we all would defend that there are things worth waiting for, and that many times the things or people we’ve had to wait on, are the things or people we value the most.

Scripture encourages waiting and even offers insight into how to wait and some of the benefits of waiting. We wait on the Lord, but sometimes, I believe He waits on us. Certain requests God makes of His people do not require waiting, they simply require doing.

We’ve been introducing a new song lately called “Here and Now.” This song calls us to action and says, “I want these things to be true for us right now. These are things we don’t have to wait for, these are things we can be and do in the here and now.” For me, this song creates a modern day creed for the church or manifesto...

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My dear friend Monica, a volunteer on the worship team, recently went to Haiti. She shared a story with me that truly touched my heart and I couldn't help but share one of the experiences she had while serving there. May it encourage you to worship God at all times, in all things, through every circumstance.

True worship is not only displayed when we sing pretty songs at church on the weekends. People will see and come to know our God through our daily interactions with others, how we treat our kids...

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In this final week of SWAG, we learned about living with the assurance of salvation that is available to us through Jesus. And to help you keep your mind and heart focused on that this week, we've gathered some songs that you can download on iTunes for your car rides, your exercise routine, or when you have some quiet time each day.

These songs will help remind you to keep the telescope fixed on God. Because when you start to see God for who He really is, then and only then will you be able to see you for who you really are. Then and only then will you be able to carry yourself with some humble confidence.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.