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doing it are equally important.
I think our motive for doing service should not be primarily for the purpose of image building. Image building is a by-product. When the primary motive for service is image building, it may become a ploy to cover the sins of a business or organization.
We should be service minded as a matter of course. We should have long ago started outreach work as a community. Indeed, many people in the Urantia community are probably already doing outreach, but for a church or other organization. This is laudable, but it does little or nothing to create a positive image of our Urantia community. Are we willing to donate extra time to give Urantia communities some positive visibility?
What sort of outreach can we do? The possibilities are legion. Individuals in a study group could donate blood at a blood bank in the name of their group. They could as a group visit a nursing home on a regular basis to speak with folks who never get visitors. A group could volunteer to "adopt' a section of a local highway and periodically pick up trash to keep it clean. Unfortunately, not everyone will be pleased by such outreach efforts.
Undoubtedly there are some who will object to anything that brings our community or themselves to public attention. One objection that we may encounter is that some people may not wish to advertise the fact that they are part of the Urantia community perhaps out of fear of ridicule or criticism from family or church.
Some may even fear that we will be physically persecuted if we let ourselves be known. They may point to the persecution of the Christians by the Roman authorities. I do not believe that we live in a culture where this will be tolerated. But I do believe that if we do not do something to let people know our benign nature, an incident could occur that will force us to go on the defensive about our involvement in the Urantia community.
Shall we be closet members of this community or shall we risk some exposure for the good of all? Each person must sincerely search his or her own heart for the answer that is right for them.
There many worth while by-products of outreach as a group or as a community. As it stands, the Urantia community is hardly a community in the same sense that a church is a religious community. We have no sort of organization that we all feel we belong to that is comparable with the way that people belonging to a church identify with their organization. There are no doubt exceptions but, in my experience, study groups tend to be loosely organized and attendance is not always a major priority in the lives of its members. Working together on outreach projects would give groups a sense of purpose beyond study of the book. It could foster a sense of fellowship among those serving together in some noble cause. It could give us the feeling that we are in some sense applying the principles we learn in The Urantia Book to real life problems.
There is at least one other good reason to do outreach. When we are sequestered in our study groups, we only interact with each other. It is good to be with like minded people sometimes, but it is instructive to also interact with those who may disagree with us.
There are some very good and very spiritual people out in the world who would not be at all interested in The Urantia Book; we will encounter them as we reach out beyond the confines of our community. It is valuable to hear their insights and benefit from them. And who knows, if people we come in contact with hear a little about The Urantia Book, a few of these folks might get interested and want to read the book. I don't believe this should be our motivation for outreach, but it certainly is a possible good side effect of our outreach.
There are many good reasons to be of service to our fellow mortals. Service is just as much a catalyst for spiritual growth as are prayer and worship. And the willingness to serve is a sign that we have grown spiritually. If our service outreach can also enhance the image of our community, so much the better.
Jesus foresaw that a social organization, or church, would follow the progress of the true spiritual kingdom, and that is why he never opposed the apostles' practicing the rite of John's baptism. (1865)
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