I’ve been working actively in ministry since the early Nineties. Over the last few years, I’ve seen a variety of standards for excellence in ministry. There are those who mark numbers for attendance. Others look for filled calendars.
In fifteen years of ministry, I have never found a more telling indicator than that of the Outward Turn.
The Outward Turn is the moment when selfishness becomes a smaller part of a person’s personality than selflessness. Simply put, they become more concerned about others than themselves.
This may begin with concern for the other members of their family. Or perhaps members of their Sunday School class. If it progresses, it eventually leads to concern and activism for the members of the community. At its peak, it results in interaction with those whom Society has named to be the least and the last.
Once the Outward Turn takes place, the disciples begin to channel grace, transforming themselves as they transform the world around them. Lessons that made no sense in the past become clear now that the application is right at hand. Sermons that seemed irrelevant creep back into recollection with new perspectives to be offered.
I write this article because evidence of the Outward Turn is becoming clearer all the time at South Pleasant Grove UMC. Our outreach has always been significant. But in recent days, the efforts of more and more of our disciples have focused on persons not only beyond the church, but people well outside our family groups and social circles. More people are choosing to reach beyond themselves to make a difference.
Pray for us, won’t you? Pray that Christ’s kingdom might be expanded just a bit more as we continue to make our Outward Turn!
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