I have undeniably proof that John Baik plagiarizes his sermons not once but MULTIPLE times.
Here are several examples and they are all very recently (all of Baik’s sermons are currently on the church’s website)
Let’s look at an excerpt on Baik’s sermon on Matthew ch 1
THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS
Matthew 1:1-17
Key Verse: 1:1
"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David,
the son of Abraham."....
I. Jesus Christ, David and Abraham (1,2)
First, the character of the genealogy of Jesus. Look at verse 1. "A
record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of
Abraham." When the world was first created, it was good; it was
paradise in which man lived for the glory of God and enjoyed utmost
happiness. But through one man Adam's disobedience to the holy command
of God, sin and death came into the world (Ro 5:12). Since then, man
lost paradise. The world became like hell. What did God do in this
situation? God, in his great mercy, made a new plan of world salvation.
God promised to send a Savior from the offspring of a woman (Ge 3:15).
He is Jesus. Before his coming, God established two ancestors of faith,
Abraham and David. There are many patriarchs and kings who could have
been included in the genealogy of Jesus. But Matthew chose three
persons--Abraham, David and Christ--as three posts and main characters
in the genealogy, because God gave each of them special promises and
made them covenant people (Ge12:2,3; 2Sa 7:12-16; Mt1:21). God helped
them to live as a covenant people, who believed his promises that God
would send a Savior of the world (Ge15:6; Ro4:3). Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20180205204714/http://www.chicagoubf.org/dsl/matthew/mt01a.mss
Notice how similar they sound? You may say to yourself ” that’s just a coincidence.”
Let’s look at an excerpt on Baik’s sermon on Matthew ch 2:
WHERE IS THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN BORN KING OF THE JEWS?
Matthew 2:1-12
Key Verse: 2:2
Merry Christmas! I thank God for blessing us to worship him today. I also thank God for allowing me to be a Christmas messenger. But you also can be messengers as well. Look to your neighbor on your right and your left and say, “Jesus came into the world for you!” Now you are all Christmas messengers. Amen.
…and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
First, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (1-2). Look at verse 1. “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem….” Magi, traditionally called “Wise Men,” supposedly lived in ancient Persia or Babylon. They were great intellectuals, occupying high government positions. In the ancient times, Astrology was one of very popular subjects among the intellectuals. The Magi said in verse 2, “We saw his star in the east….” They saw “his star.” As they were studying stars at night, they found one exceptionally bright star. It was an extraordinary star which captured their eyes. They were convinced that it was “his star,” which symbolized the King of the Jews – the Promised Messiah. Modern day, people, both believers and unbelievers, have heard about Jesus’ second coming; in the same way, people heard and knew about the Messiah’s first coming in those days. Source: http://www.shepherdschurch.org/Current-Message/sundaydecember242017
Now let’s look at an excerpt of Lee’s sermon on Matthew ch 2 in 2000-2001:
THE MAGI'S PILGRIMAGE
Matthew 2:1-23
Key Verse: 2:2
"...and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the
Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'"...
First, the Magi--truth-seekers (1,2). Look at verse 1. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem...." Magi, traditionally called "Wise Men," supposedly lived in ancient Persia or Babylon. They were ancient astrologers who were highly regarded as great scholars and kingly people. In ancient times, many believed that a man's destiny was determined by the star under which he was born. According to Time Magazine, in 1969 there were 10,000 full-time astrologers in the United States, and in fact, they are all magic artists. Where did the Magi get the idea to come to Jerusalem? Verse 2b says, "We saw his star in the east...." They saw "his star." In the course of seeking the truth, once they looked into the sky. They saw a bright star in the sky. The star was not an ordinary star. It was an extraordinary star which captured their souls. They were convinced that it was "his star," which symbolized the King of the Jews. The Bible teaches us that Jesus himself is the Star. Revelation 22:16b reads, "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star." The bright Morning Star is the beginning of brightening the whole world every day. Matthew 4:16 says that Jesus is "a great light." When the Great Light began to shine, the Magi caught its light from his star, which was solely reflected by the Great Light. When they had a burning desire to seek the truth, God showed them his star. Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20180205204933/http://www.chicagoubf.org/dsl/matthew/mt02.mss
Let’s look at an excerpt on Baik’s sermon on Luke ch 2:
JESUS, THE SAVIOR KING (I)
Luke 2:1-14
Key Verses: 2:10,11
"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the
town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the
Lord.'"...
First, the time when Jesus was born (1-7).
Luke the historian depicts the historical background of the time
of Jesus' birth. Verse 1 says, "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a
decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world." The
Roman Empire extended westward to England and east ward to Asia Minor
and to North Africa across the Mediterranean Sea. The world was a Roman
world. Rome ruled the world with the slogan, "Peace of Rome," which
meant the Roman Empire rules the world with peace. But the census
reveals the cruelty of Caesar's inner motive of squeezing poor colonial
people. As much as the Roman Empire prospered, the colonial people
suffered.
Look at verses 4-5. "So Joseph also went up from the town of
Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because
he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register
with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a
child." This story reflects the social unrest of that time. All the
people of the colonies had to stop what they were doing and go to their
own town to register because they knew that Caesar was despotic and his
decree was inflexible. Because of the decree, someone might have
postponed the day of his wedding ceremony. There was no exception to
the decree. Joseph knew that it was not good for a woman who had
reached the full term of her pregnancy to travel such a long way. But
there was no choice. He went to his home-town to register with Mary,
traveling 100 miles on foot, risking the lives of both the baby and
Mary.
Look at verses 6-7. "While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She
wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no
room for them in the inn." This story tells us about the dis tressing
situation of the times. Maybe someone who made a hotel reservation
wanted to give his room to Mary when he heard Mary crying with delivery
pains. But for his own survival, he hardened his heart and turned deaf
ears to a woman crying with birthpains. Many people might have done
the same.
As a man, Joseph should provide a room in which Mary could deliver
the baby. But he could not afford it. Probably, he felt like dying. So
with no choice, Joseph and Mary went into the stinking stable of an
animal, where many flies were buzzing around, and she gave birth to a
son and placed him in a manger. To be the mother of Jesus was literally
a suffering servant, and it was indeed glorious. Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20180206004917/http://www.chicagoubf.org/dsl/luke/lk02a-v1.mss
Notice once again how they sound nearly identical? At this point it is impossible to claim that this is a coincidence or an anomaly. Now let’s Look at Baik’s sermon on Romans ch 1:
THROUGH HIM AND FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE
Romans 1:1-7
Key Verse 1:5
Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith…
First, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus“ (1). Look at verse 1. Paul introduces himself saying, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God–” He calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus. In those days, “servant” belonged to the slave class. Being a slave was not pleasant at all for anyone – no freedom, no right, no self-esteem, no nothing. But slaves belonging to prominent families regarded their enslavement to their master great honor. In the movie, “Ben Hur,” the servant of Hur family, regarded his position great honor and privilege. To Paul, being a servant of Jesus Christ was immeasurably great honor and privilege to be proud of. So, this is his first title as he introduces himself to others. He was happy to be known as a servant of Jesus.
Being a servant to anyone means to live according to the commands of the master being restricted in freedom, will, desire and right. Actually, when we think about this carefully, we can see that no one is truly free; instead, all people are serving someone, or something. Some people are salves to sin, doing what their sinful desire wants them to do, even at the cost of ruining their future, their family and their life. Some people are serving their own dreams and desires for success in the world, pouring out everything they have for them. Some people are serving their fear – the fear of security – doggedly struggling to pay the bills and to build their career. The Bible suggests that eventually, people live as slaves either to God or to sin and Satan. Whom do you want to serve? Living as slaves to our sinful nature, or our worldly desires or pride is disgusting! Surely, being a servant of Jesus Christ is a glorious and honorable thing. Source: http://www.shepherdschurch.org/Current-Message/sundayjanuary72018
Now let’s Look at Lee’s sermon on Romans ch 1 in 2001:
THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH
Romans 1:1-17
Key Verse: 1:17
“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is
written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.'”…
I. Paul the servant of Jesus Christ (1-4)
Look at verse 1. “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an
apostle and set apart for the gospel of God…” Paul begins by giving his
own credentials. He calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s
time, servant meant slave. A slave is one who was once sold and bought
and is no more free; he is the possession of whoever bought him. He
cannot claim his own human rights. He is completely at the disposal of
his master. Why does Paul describe himself in this way? It was because
he was once a servant of the Jewish leaders, and more fundamentally,
a servant of sin and Satan; but now he was purchased by the precious
blood of Jesus, and now he belonged to Jesus Christ. Paul also says
that he was “set apart for the gospel of God.” Paul did not think that
he became a servant of Jesus Christ by chance or fate. He accepted his
servantship as God’s absolute plan for him, a plan made before he was
born (Gal 1:15). He had absolute faith that he was called to be Jesus’
servant by the providence of God.
Paul continues to explain whose servant he was. He was a servant of
Jesus Christ, who is the King both humanly and spiritually. Verses 2-4
say, “the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy
Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant
of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power
to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ
our Lord.” Here we learn several things. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20180206015931/http://www.chicagoubf.org/ubftvorg_chicagocubf2013/wp-content/uploads/Ro2001SL/messages/Ro1_1-17m.pdf
Notice how awfully similar the sermons are? At this point you are no doubt scratching your head and seriously pondering about Baik’s sermons.
John Baik is plagiarizing Lee’s sermons by rewording/rephrasing them and claiming it came from God. The reality is that he looks at Lee’s sermons then uses his laptop to copy and paste content from Lee’s sermons before rewording/rephrasing it in addition to splitting and/or massing paragraphs together. This is how Baik disguises his plagiarized sermons as his own genuine message from God.
What John Baik also does to disguise his rip-off sermons as his own is that Baik changed the title of the sermons and the key verses (for the most part).
Another thing I want to point out is that on the church’s website only the last 5 sermons are viewable everytime. They NEVER archive the older sermons despite the fact that they have had the website since 2010. So the only way to view an older sermon is if you have archived the link to that older sermon. Here is an example https://web.archive.org/web/20171218172730/http://www.shepherdschurch.org/Current-Message/sundaynovember282017
After doing research for this article I came to confirm my notion that John Baik is actually not a missionary but a phony. It is for this reason that I don’t call him missionary.
The question that comes to my mind is did Samuel Lee write his own sermons or did he copy someone else’s work without giving them credit? I was thinking Samuel Lee must have been doing a lot of writing. But then again if my only job was to get money from followers I could write a page towards a sermon every day and chug out 6 pages of Sermon material per week totaling 3000 to 3500 words per week. But when you are a follower and have financial pressures it is hard to make the time to write a honest sermon of 3000 to 3500 words every week.
Did Samuel Lee hire someone to write a speech like a president of the United States would?
I would not have a problem with it if John Baik referenced his source honestly
Did SLee hire someone to write? No, I don’t think so. But many Korean ubfers use the dictation method to write their lectures. They like to pick a “good shepherd native candidate”, and then give that person “message training”. Such “training” consists of the Korean walking around talking, while the “native” shepherd types into the computer.
Plagiarism is however rather normal in ubf land. SBarry duplicated the Navigators Daily Bread almost exactly (we have blogs proving this). It is common to copy SLee’s lectures exactly in order to “preserve the spiritual legacy” of ubf. SLee’s crazy lectures are often revered as sacred texts in some parts of ubf land.
So that is how Samuel Lee’s messages have such good English they were written in proper English by the natives as best as possible?
If SLee wrote his own stuff the English would be barely readable. Back in the day, we used typewriters. I don’t know for sure, but likely SLee had women missionaries type up his manuscripts. In Toledo UBF, we moved into the computer age (well not before I was called Satanic for using a computer instead of a typewriter LOL!). We shepherds would type up the Sunday message every Saturday night for the Korean director. We would photo copy 40 or 50 copies and put them in each persons’ ubf mailbox at the center. SO many hours wasted on crap like that…
@wikigoat that reminds me. I spoke with Mr. Koh awhile ago about Sarah Barry’s missions reports on UBF before it broke off from the Presbyterian Church https://ubfdeclassified.blogspot.com/
He revealed to me that Barry actually hired a ubfkorean to write them for her. Go figure
I exchanged some emails with Mr. Koh years ago. He has some stories to tell! It is eye-opening to realize our discussions in 2018 have parallels to the issues Mr. Koh dealt with in 1958 (before ubf became an organization). 60 years of the same issues…
@wikigoat were mimeographs still common in your time?
ROFL! Yea I must admit I grew up with mimeographs and microfiche in school! Those mimeograph machines smelled something awful!
I don’t recal mimeographs at ubf though. We used to go to a copy shop to get Sunday manuscript copies. Then later we bought a copy machine for the center. It was a beast of a machine and jammed all the time.
Of course the most spiritual shepherds wrote Bibe notes and testimonies BY HAND, lol.