Southland Blog

Anyone sitting outside a strip club on Wednesday nights in Lexington is likely to see three or four women piling out of a van with armloads of food, being welcomed by bouncers who yell, “Here come the church ladies!”

For seven years the managers and owners of these establishments have allowed the Bruised Reed team to serve a warm, home-cooked meal to the dancers and staff weekly.  Not everyone “gets it” -- there are folks in our church who don’t understand why they go, and many people inside the club who are just as confused by their presence.

But they go because Jesus went. Matthew 9:10-11(MSG): “Later when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew's house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus' followers. "What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riffraff?" Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: 'I'm after mercy, not religion.' I'm here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."

To continue this amazing ministry, they need to fill a number of critical positions. 

Apprentice Food Team Manager (work alongside current Food Team Manager and learn the food aspect of the ministry from top to bottom – must be very organized and love food!)

Food Coordinator (organize a food team to cook one Monday a month –must be task-oriented and have an ability to problem-solve!)

Food Intake Team Leaders (serve on site at the church, organizing food intake team, one Wednesday night a month – must be able to think on your feet!)

Food Intake Team Members (serve on a team at the church one Wednesday night a month – must be reliable and work well on a team!)

Security Team Members (serve one Wednesday night a month, helping the delivery team get to the club and waiting out side of the club) – must be reliable!

For more information about how you can start serving with the Bruised Reed ministry, contact Jani.

Want to know how to have almost perfect kids?

Do you long for your little ones to excel in school, be influential for good with friends, follow Jesus with a pureheart and maintain joy at all times?

How would it be if you and your family experienced evenings and weekends of peace, rest and balance in the midst ofproductivity and fruitfulness as a family?

Well that family doesn't exist. However, we would love to equip you with tools to help ensure your kids get a foundation of faith...FROM YOU! Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn what it means to parent your children, Biblically. 

Join us for Strategic Parenting that starts this week on Sunday mornings. For more information or to register, go here.

We're collecting gift cards for some folks in Danville who've had a streak of bad luck. Our next door neighbor of the Danille campus, Food Lion, is shutting down and we want to help the employees there. If you're willing, grab a gift card from any of these establishments and bring it with you the weekend of February 4 & 5. We'd love to bless some people in need and we'd love for you to be a part of it. Thanks a ton.

• Applebee’s
• O’Charley’s
• Wendy’s
• Sonic
• Wal-Mart
• Kroger
• Dairy Queen
• Cracker Barrel
• Lowe’s
• Papa John's
• Lee’s
• McDonald’s
• Shell Gas
• Super America
• BP

In case you're not a sports fan (or a red-blooded American), we wanted to let you know that the Super Bowl is coming up on February 5. It's the biggest day of the year for both football and television commercial fans alike. What does this mean to you? Well, if you're an avid 6:08 attender, you'll want to know that we're tweaking the service time by three hours. That's right. On February 5, 6:08 is going to be at 3:08pm. We want to make sure that you still have the opportunity to hit up church, make your world famous buffalo chicken dip and make it to your Super Bowl parties on time.

Other than the time change, that's all you need to know! It'll be a regular 6:08 service, just at a different time. 

What comes to mind when you hear the words “Holy Spirit"?

Our Hispanic church plant, Iglesia Nueva Vida needs your help with childcare during their small group meetings.

They're launching an in-depth study of Acts to train and prepare future leaders for kingdom work. This study is key for their community and church, making childcare a crucial need during this time! Members have been rotating out of the groups to watch children and are in turn missing valuable teaching and community. Bring your life group or come out solo and be a blessing to these families and children.

Serve from 7-9pm on Fridays (one or more a month). Spanish isn't a requirement since most of the children speak English. Feel free to bring your own activities for the kids, but you don't have to. 

If you are interested in helping out at Iglesia Nueva, contact Chal at carlos@invlex.org. 

A letter from a volunteer in our tutoring partnership with Tates Creek Elementary:

This is a time for thankfulness, giving, and, sometimes receiving. Martha, I just wanted to let you know how blessed I have been with my tutoring at Tates Creek Elementary. The precious little girl that was appointed to me not only has my first name, but she has blessed me beyond any of my preconceived ideas about tutoring. The joy that I see in her eyes when I walk into her classroom is sometimes overwhelming and humbling. Her teacher says she is progressing in her studies and she tells me her Mother is so proud of her. How such a small thing as spending one hour a week with a child can make such a difference in her life and mostly my life, I can't explain. I feel like it is now one of the most important things I do each week and I don't ever want to miss. I had to miss meeting with her over the Thanksgiving holiday and when I returned this week, we were both so happy to see each other again. Her teacher said she had been asking every day if this was the day her "special friend" would be coming. Wow! It just blesses me and lifts my spirit a little higher every time I meet with her. So, for me, I am thankful, I am joyfully giving, and I am abundantly receiving because of this special ministry.

Thank you so much, Martha, for getting me involved. It has done more for me than you will ever know.

There is no better time to joyfully give and abundantly receive than the start of a new year. If you would like to get involved with our tutoring program at one of the local elementary schools we partner with, contact Martha at mc1kmom@insightbb.com. 

Instead of coming to church on Sunday, let’s go out and be the Church this Christmas. We’re challenging you to spend some of your time on Christmas day to do something amazing. Here’s a list of ideas, but don’t let them limit you. Feel free to allow God to speak to you and come up with your own thing. We’re excited to see how you’ll let God use you.

• Visit a local hospital with cards, small gifts or cookies to give to patients, nurses and doctors who can’t be home for Christmas. 
• Invite neighbors and friends without family in town, to spend the day with your family (don’t assume someone else has asked them).
• Write a letter of encouragement to people in prison and those serving in our military.
• Have a designated family prayer time and pray for our country, state, city, church, those that don’t know Jesus and missionaries.
• Buy some snacks or prepare a meal and deliver it to people in a hospital waiting room or a homeless shelter.
• Do a family “work project” at a social agency, school yard, cemetery, park or church.
• Purchase some socks, toiletries or bus tokens and donate them to a local homeless shelter.
• Take a meal or some desserts to a police or fire station to show how much we appreciate their service.
• Prayer walk through your neighborhood or a nearyby college campus or school.
• Call the Salvation Army and offer to assist them with any needs they may have.
• Visit a neighbor you’ve been meaning to meet or wanting to befriend.
• Gather with friends and family to go Christmas caroling at a hospital, police station, fire station or nursing home.
• Go to the Airport and hand out gift cards to the airport and rental car employees. Welcome those traveling with signs and treats.
• Serve a meal at The Hope Center, Lighthouse Ministries, Catholic Action Center. It would be a good idea to call before you go.
• At Christmas weekend services we'll have Communion sets you can take with you to someone who can't get out on Christmas. When you attend, be sure to pick a set up on your way out. 

If you don't see anything here that speaks to you, by all means, pray and ask God what you can do.

My wife and I just returned from a few days at Walt Disney World experiencing the Christmas season at one of our favorite places.  As expected the decorations were beautiful, each themed to the park, restaurant, or resort.  The colors were vibrant, the smells subtle, and the atmosphere electric.  Christmas was evident everywhere.

On Monday evening we participated in the candlelight procession, along with over 2000 others.  Neil Patrick Harris was the guest narrator for the program.  A fifty piece orchestra accompanied a mass choir as well as Disney musicians.  The program was a celebration of the birth of Christ.  Luke 2 and Matthew 1 were directly quoted and the musicians sang and played traditional carols as well as contemporary Christmas music.  We sang along with Silent Night and the harmonies around us told of people how knew these songs well.  Following the Hallelujah Chorus Neil Patrick Harris thanked the people for attending, honored the performers, and then off script said if this program did not turn your hearts to the birth of Jesus you were cold hearted.

This program is presented three times per evening for 36 days.  This means nearly 215,000 people gather to hear the Christmas story each year at this program.  When you consider this has been running now for 15 years at the present location you begin to realize how many people come to hear the birth of Christ celebrated while they are at Disney.  Though they enjoy a fantasy world, they also know the reality of Jesus and what his birth and life means to life today.

Reading through the Old Testament about the coming Messiah and then reading in the New Testament about his actual birth and life is a privilege.  When our children were at home we celebrated Advent, lighting the candles each week along with reading the Scriptures and singing carols.  This became a ritual we loved.  We always remembered the birth story of Jesus as well as the births of each of our children.  We wanted them to know their story was part of a greater story. The same is true for each of us.  Our individual lives are really a part of a great story written by God’s hand.

Standing with the crowd at Disney the other night reminded us both of the days when we celebrated the Advent season leading up to Christmas.  The old, old story continues today as we reread the Scriptures.  Jesus came, lived and died as the human image ofGod, then rose from the grave so we can now celebrate life through him.  The whole story begins with God in Genesis and will end when Jesus comes again.  In the mean time celebrate Christmas with us as we read through the Scriptures this year and hear the story one more time. If you'd like a reading plan to help you navigate through the Christmas story, click here. YouVersion has put together a great plan for you to work through scripture this season.

Myron, Adult Ministry Pastor

Your opportunity to be the church this holiday season starts now! Each Tuesday and Saturday evening, the Room in the Inn homeless sheltering program needs overnight hosts each week to spend the night on Southland's property. Hosts are asked to arrive between around 7, stay overnight, set up breakfast for our guests and oversee cleanup. To volunteer, you must be a man 18 years or older.  

Join the team just through the holidays or stay on through the rest of the season. Help make someone's holiday brighter (and your's too!) by volunteering on December 24, 27 and January 3.

If you are interested in serving, contact Tanya.

Yes, we doctored this photo of Jon. We've never actually seen him in a Christmas sweater. Although, we would really like to. But seriously, it's time to get out your Christmas sweaters and start thinking about when you're coming to church this Christmas. Our services times are as follows:

A church member has donated a dumptruck load of compost for our garden to help us winterize! We have a dump trailer and truck but are in need of volunteers to help us shovel, load and unload the compost. Grab some friends and come on out at 10am, THIS SATURDAY, December 10.  If you can help, please contact the Garden Team Leader, Craig Schuster at schumaan@aol.com or call at (859) 396-6719, weather permitting. 

In order to comply with tax regulations, Southland will use the following guidelines for determining if a donation made at year-end will be included in your 2011 contributions statement.

Harrodsburg Road
This year, because December 31 falls on a Saturday, a 2011 contribution must be either: 

• Received at the church office by 5:00pm on Friday, December 30. 
• In the offering at our Saturday, December 31 service.  
• Or be mailed to the church and postmarked by Saturday, December 31.

All contributions received in the offering at our Sunday, January 1 services (or after) will be recorded as 2012 contributions, regardless of the date written on the check. Please keep this in mind as you consider any year-end tithes and offerings, or plan your contributions to the ONE campaign that you want to be included on your 2011 giving statement.

Danville
This year, because December 31 falls on a Saturday, a 2011 contribution must be either: 

• In our offering at/by services on December 24.
• Received at the church office by 5:00pm on Thursday, December 29. 
• Or be mailed to the church and postmarked by Saturday, December 31. 

All contributions received in the offering at our Sunday, January 1 services (or after) will be recorded as 2012 contributions, regardless of the date written on the check. Please keep this in mind as you consider any year-end tithes and offerings, or plan your contributions to the ONE campaign that you want to be included on your 2011 giving statement.

And if you've considered potentially giving to the ONE campaign for a year-end contribution, feel free to read more about it here. 

“This…has been a great opportunity to connect with other men and receive some needed teaching and encouragement.”

“I’m blessed to have found this…while in college. It has really changed my view on life.”

“This has made me really want to improve myself as a man/husband/father…”

“(Momentum) has lifted my voice and confidence in my workplace.”

“This is the first men’s group I’ve ever attended. This time has shown me how invaluable it is to have Godly male fellowship in order to grow strong as a man and in God.”

The first ever Momentum gathering ran for 6 weeks and ended in November. Listed above are just a few of the many comments of the type of life-changes experienced by the men who attended. God was glorified as men came at 7 am on Saturdays to experience Biblical fellowship with other men. “Something amazing happens when men (of God) gather together,” one attender said. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully and we expect Him to do so again and again.

Plans are being made for the next (6-week) Momentum gathering, to begin on Saturday, January 14. In order to launch successfully, we need a volunteer team. The following volunteer position openings are: 

• 1. Food Team – set up/clean-up.
• 2. Greeters –ensure every man is greeted and seated.
• 3. Hosts – up-front announcements, etc.
• 4. Technicians – basic sound & videos are set up.

No experience is necessary for the positions, we just need a team to faithfully and successfully launch and sustain the next Momentum. You can help! The deadline for volunteer team sign-ups is Tuesday, December 13, 2011. If you are interested in serving, please contact Adaryll. Until next time, please keep the spiritual growth and fellowship of men at Southland in your prayers.