Woodside Bible News July 2009 : Page 1A
WaTCh yOur ChriSTiaNESE page 2a ChiLD DEDiCaTiON page 14a TrOy “DiSCOvEriNg WOODSiDE” page 1B VOL 4 ISSUE VI JULY 2009 A PUBLICATION OF WOODSIDE BIBLE CHURCH Church reaches out with generous spirit BY SUSAN FULCHER WOODSIDE NEWS WRITER “ have shown it in many ways. I suggest we take it up a notch.” With words of praise and acknowl- W edgment of the culture shift evident today, Senior Pastor Doug Schmidt last month introduced Woodside’s launch of “Becoming Generous,” a project de- signed to develop a new culture of gen- erosity that will permeate the Woodside family as it responds to the ever-present needs of its people and the surrounding communities. Based on the framework and founda- tional principles of the early church in the New Testament book of Acts, Schmidt introduced the three-week message se- ries outlining the tenets of church unity, understanding of ownership and par- ticipation in grace-based generosity that depicted the first church. “We must be brothers and sisters in Christ, and we must work in unity,” said Schmidt. Understanding ownership involves acceptance of the acronym IDBTM: It Doesn’t Belong To Me. “The essence of ownership is that ev- erything we have and all we are belongs to God.” Schmidt described the principle of grace-based generosity as second nature to the early church. e are not a wealthy church, but we are a generous church. You “They loved each other, even those they did not know, and they gave vol- untarily. Grace-based generosity flows from God’s love for and His grace to us.” The first occasion for the Woodside family to participate in the new culture of generosity was the opportunity to pay utility bills for those families and indi- viduals struggling within the church. All utility bills collected at the four campuses were paid, with members continuing to give for future bills and needs. Members and family were also chal- lenged to bring a struggling family to a church service where they would be pre- sented with a gift of generosity. “So many wonderful things are hap- pening at Woodside with this spirit of generosity. We want to do something here that will spread. This week has been GENEROUS continued on page 9 Bridging the Gap Conference encourages Muslim outreach BY JIM AVERY Woodside News Summer Photo Contest now underway Summer 2009 is about to begin, and with that comes the Annual Woodside News Summer Photo Contest. In fact, this is the fifth Summer Photo Contest. Each year we encourage our readers to submit a few prize-winning photos of their family’s summertime activities. So, dust off the digital camera and keep it handy for snapping that perfect photo while on vacation or enjoying local activities. You may submit up to three of your favorite photos. All photo submissions must be in by Mon- day, August 24 for inclusion in our September summer photo spread. Please make sure to include you name, phone number and a brief description of each photo activity. Your photo entries should be e-mailed to summerphotocontest@woodsidenews.org. WOODSIDE NEWS MANAGING EDITOR W ith one of the oldest, largest and most visible Arab-Ameri- can communities in America, the Detroit-area was the obvious place to hold a conference on “Bridging the Gap of Understanding” between the Christian and Muslim communities. Hosted at Woodside’s Troy cam- pus, the June 18 conference included several Christian speakers with ties to the Muslim community, along with widely-recognized author and Chris- tian apologist Josh McDowell. The event was sponsored by the Arabic Christian Perspective, an Anaheim, California outreach min- istry founded and directed by Pastor George Saieg. CONTENTS PASTOR’S PEN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2A HIS STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3A WOODSIDE WORLDWIDE . . . . . . . . . . .5A CROSS CURRENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8A SMALL GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13A MOVIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17A FIT AND HEALTHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18A CHRISTIAN CROSSWORD . . . . . . . . 23A FAMILY FUN GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24A THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE . . . . . . . . 26A TROY HAPPENINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2B WARREN HAPPENINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B FROM DON PEDDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4B WOODSIDE OF WARREN . . . . . . . . . . . 5B WHITE LAKE HAPPENNINGS . . . . . 6B FROM BRAD HULCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6B WOODSIDE OF WHITE LAKE . . . . . . 7B TELEVISION SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . 7B ROYAL OAK HAPPENNINGS . . . . . . . 8B FROM ANDREW FRITH. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8B CLASSIFIEDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10B “Muslims are seeking the truth, and if they don’t hear it from Christians they never will.” – JOSh MCDOWEll McDowell, Saieg, and several other Christian speakers were also in town to conduct a Christian outreach event at the Dearborn Arab International Festival the same weekend. BRIDGING THE GAP continued on page 5 The Seidel family rick Seidel hired to help in Lake Orion campus development R ick Seidel, a former youth pastor, church planter and entrepreneurial ministry lead- er, has joined the Woodside team to head up development planning and exploratory work for what may become the church’s fifth campus in the lake Orion/Oxford area. Seidel, 44, lives with his wife, lana, and four children (twins Sam and Erika, 15; Joey, 8 and Tommy, 2) in Orion Township. he holds a Masters in Divinity Degree from Grace Theological Semi- nary, in Indiana, and also has extensive experience in the home remodeling and construction business. he presently runs a busi- ness that specializes in specialty wide plank flooring. From 1992-1998 he was Youth Pastor at Five Points Community Church in Auburn hills, MI. he has also served as a missionary and church planter in Quebec and has been active in a camping and Christian retreat ministry. As Woodside works on the details of planning a new campus in the lake Orion/ Oxford area, he will work closely with Senior Pastor Doug Schmidt, Executive Pastor Eric haven and New Campus Development Direc- tor Beth McKenna. “We’re really excited about what God is doing at Wood- side and where he seems to be taking us as we look at starting a brand new campus, perhaps as soon as this fall,” he said. “I’m re- ally excited to be part of the Woodside team.” – Mike Wendland, Executive Editor WWW.WOODSIDEBIBLE.ORG
CHURCH REACHES OUT WITH GENEROUS SPIRIT
SUSAN FULCHER
“We are not a wealthy church, but we are a generous church. You have shown it in many ways. I suggest we take it up a notch.”
With words of praise and acknowledgment of the culture shift evident today, Senior Pastor Doug Schmidt last month introduced Woodside’s launch of “Becoming Generous,” a project designed to develop a new culture of generosity that will permeate the Woodside family as it responds to the ever-present needs of its people and the surrounding communities.
Based on the framework and foundational principles of the early church in the New Testament book of Acts, Schmidt introduced the three-week message series outlining the tenets of church unity, understanding of ownership and participation in grace-based generosity that depicted the first church.
“We must be brothers and sisters in Christ, and we must work in unity,” said Schmidt.
Understanding ownership involves acceptance of the acronym IDBTM: It Doesn’t Belong To Me.
“The essence of ownership is that everything we have and all we are belongs to God.”
Schmidt described the principle of grace-based generosity as second nature to the early church.
“They loved each other, even those they did not know, and they gave voluntarily. Grace-based generosity flows from God’s love for and His grace to us.”
The first occasion for the Woodside family to participate in the new culture of generosity was the opportunity to pay utility bills for those families and individuals struggling within the church.
All utility bills collected at the four campuses were paid, with members continuing to give for future bills and needs.
Members and family were also challenged to bring a struggling family to a church service where they would be presented with a gift of generosity.
“So many wonderful things are happening at Woodside with this spirit of generosity. We want to do something here that will spread. This week has been filled with stories of lives changed that touch the heart,” said Schmidt of the efforts of the first week of the project.
A young woman shared her story of years of struggles with anorexia, bulimia and depression and how she experienced the generosity and love of Woodside.
“I am alive today because of this church. I am completely free. I will forever be grateful,” she said.
White Lake Pastor Brad Hulcy told the story of a housebound couple in his congregation who gave him $100 to pay a utility bill for someone.
The second and third week’s messages described the roots and fruits of generosity in which God’s grace and kindness give not only spiritual benefits but physical and material as well and shape a generous spirit toward others.
To meet future needs, each campus will determine the next step of generosity for their members. Possible ideas include garage sales and a thrift shop.
“We want to bring the cultural shift to another level. We want to be known as a generous church until the Lord comes,” said Schmidt.
The lyrics of Christian artist Chris Tomlin give energy to Woodside’s desire to share grace-based generosity. “For greater things have yet to come. And greater things are still to be done in this city.”
BRIDGING THE GAP CONFERENCE ENCOURAGES MUSLIM OUTREACH
JIM AVERY
With one of the oldest, largest and most visible Arab-American communities in America, the Detroit-area was the obvious place to hold a conference on “Bridging the Gap of Understanding” between the Christian and Muslim communities.
Hosted at Woodside’s Troy campus, the June 18 conference included several Christian speakers with ties to the Muslim community, along with widely-recognized author and Christian apologist Josh McDowell.
The event was sponsored by the Arabic Christian Perspective, an Anaheim, California outreach ministry founded and directed by Pastor George Saieg.
McDowell, Saieg, and several other Christian speakers were also in town to conduct a Christian outreach event at the Dearborn Arab International Festival the same weekend.
In the role of keynote speaker, Mc- Dowell challenged the more that 600 attendees to take the truth of the Gospel to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
“Muslims are seeking the truth, and if they don’t hear it from Christians they never will,” says McDowell.
“The numbers speak for themselves. In 1970, there were 70,000 Muslims in America, which has now grown to six to eight million, and is projected to be at 50 million in 30 years,” cautioned McDowell. “The Saudis alone have more than 60,000 students studying in America.”
McDowell’s message was clear… God is bringing Muslims to our doorstep in large numbers, and calling on His followers to share the truth of the Gospel with those who are now free of Islamic restrictions.
“Currently, less that two percent of Christian ministries reach out to Muslims,” says McDowell. “However, the tidal wave of Islam is coming fast and furious, and now is the time to become involved, get trained and let God work in your heart and mind to move throughout the Muslim community.”
The panel of Christian speakers that fielded questions from the moderator and audience included Christian apologist David Wood; former Pakistani Muslim Nabeel Qureshi; Wally Magdangal, a former pastor of an underground Christian church in Saudi Arabia; and Ali El-Shariff, a former sultan in Sudan who has developed a Middle Eastern television ministry.
In response to the question of what we need to know to reach Muslims, Nabeel Qureshi advises Christians to know your faith and be convinced of God’s truth. “You need to know what you believe and be prepared to articulate and present clear proof of the Scriptures,” said Qureshi.
In concluding, the panel acknowledged that “With the command of Christ, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the obedience of the church every Muslim in America will be reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
For more information on the Arabic Christian Perspective ministry, or to contribute financially, go online to MinistryToMuslims.com.
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