“Any attendee who is not yet in college must room with at least one parent. Family housing has a minimum of 3 registrants of the same gender.

IMPORTANT: Families are strongly encouraged to avoid family registration. If at all possible, arrange rooming in such a way that the parents split up to room with the children of the same gender going through the non-family registration process. If you opt for the family registration, your rooming and group Bible study arrangements will be made manually.”

(source: ubf isbc information)

Families are strongly encouraged to avoid family registration… what!?

Isn’t that a tell-tale sign?

Not to worry Joshua. We have plenty of other words like “couch-potato demon” or “Satan” or “nominal Christian” or “hallelujah Christian”…

I have experienced the same thing. At least one confided in me that he doesn’t believe anything about Christianity or God. Yet he is able to “obey” and “be loyal” to all ubf activities.

All this is the result of trying to obey Jesus’ “world mission” while leaving Jesus behind. ubf ideology is a form of godliness that denyies its power.

So it is not the parents fault if their children don’t believe, but it is the parents fault for not knowing.

Hint to Korean ubf missionaries: Don’t tick off the Russians…you might survive pissing off the Germans, the Americans, the Canadians and even the Koreans, but once you hit Russians you might not survive…

Once I was in Turkey along with CIS ubf directors and leaders. We were walking and watching some old buildings or caves. The leader was translating from Turkish. Some other shepherds were talking. Suddenly the leader shouted, “Shut up! Listen attentively!”. I was the only one who laughed because I thought it was a joke, not a threat. But all the rest became very quiet and obeyed (they were from Ukraine and knew him better). I know that the same leader “rebuked” many people in Russia as if he had an authority. I agree with Brian that he is “a fool” by now. But let’s pray. (btw I believe that your leaving ubf would help him (and many others) a lot).

You hit on a common theme of leaders who are leaving, especially the mass exodus that occurred in Toledo: We left for the sake of our children. There are many other reasons yes, but that thread of thought is common among us. We simply don’t want our children to experience the dark side of ubf.

My approach went one step further. I endeavor to give my children a certain kind of protection. If they are invited to ubf bible study on campus, all they have to say is: “My dad is BrianK.” :)

Side note: I pity the fool who messes with the children of John and Maria!

I also considered professional counseling for myself because after years of those long meetings and rebuke sessions it affects your self-esteem/self-worth and view of God and the church. I still haven’t come to terms with certain people, but I really would like reconciliation sometime soon hopefully. Anyways, my point is professional help is good.

Speaking of emotion… sometimes I wish “Donny Dynamo” would return :) Anyone remember him? Probably not, but I like to laugh at my own jokes. Just imagine a Friday testimony with a body-building student running around the room shouting that he is a prophet… oh the good ol’ days of Friday sharing!

how about a UBFriends open discussion Interest Group led by you and Joe , 2 senior leaders and a mediator (John Armstrong)? I am currently leaning towards not attending the summer conference, but I would definitely consider attending if there was more open and honest discussions like this.

1) True shepherding (without abusive authoritarianism).
2) True “marriage by faith” (without being controlled by others).
3) Telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
4) The 10 Commandments of UBF (which will cover 1,2,3 and more).

Maybe I should submit my “ubfriends PowerPoint” that I threw together in 15 minutes because PH added my name to the list of IG presenters without my knowledge at a national staff conference? And would the IG participants be allowed to discuss ubfriends more than 5 minutes without being cut off by the IG moderator who became too uncomfortable with the topics!?

Talk about ubfriends at a ubf meeting? Yea right. Been there, done that.

If anyone wants to read my presentation, here it is.

I won’t be doing that because I couldn’t possibly submit something without a litany of cursing. But maybe someone could discuss “How not to be a cult?”

Maybe a UBFriends Interest Group reunion? Finally get to know that anonymous commenter in person! Who is that Brian Karcher anyway? Who is MJ? Who is JoeCool? Who is John Y? I guess there is no way to find out unless someone proposes a UBFriends interest group.

Deadline for IG proposals has not passed: May 15th. UBFriends are welcome to submit proposals.

http://www.solovedconference.org/information.htm#InterestGroups

http://www.solovedconference.org/information.htm#InterestGroups

No comment, because I can’t comment without swearing.

“Is this change in the program a big deal?”

Yes, it is a big deal given what you just wrote, Ben. If the leaders specifically took out John 17 and replaced it with John 4, that is a resounding statement that ubf rejects JA’s teaching (based almost exclusively on John 17) and pushes on to uphold the legacy of ubf’s teaching (based almost exclusively on John 4).

@Joe: I think you described the purpose of the lectures at the ubf conferences. And Joshua nailed the paraphrase translation! But the purpose of a ubf conference is clearly the following:

1. To renew ubf member’s commitment to upholding the ubf wishdream fantasy called Kingdom of Priests and Holy Nation (KOPHN). The actual program practically says this verbatim.

2. To get a group photo. The group photos are the prize of every conference in ubf. It shows who is “in” and who is “out”. And it will be posted on ubf.org as a slap in the face to anyone who was “out” of the picture.

Ben: Ben, you’re confusing wind with water. Wind blows in all directions, but water only flows downwards. So, to paraphrase John 3:8: “Water flows in a downwards direction. Once you hear its sound, you know that the same thing is coming as has always come. So it is with most conferences in UBF.”

1. To remind the senior missionaries of what they learned 40 years ago.

2. To remind everyone else who attends of what the senior missionaries learned 40 years ago.

Is this change in the program a big deal? Honestly, No. But it is this sort of “certain people” trumping others repeatedly over 50 years again and again that just takes the wind out of the sails.

Does the wind ever still blow wherever it pleases in UBF? (John 3:8) Or does the wind in UBF only blows according to how “certain people” say it should blow?

The passages are John 4, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, and Matthew 28 of course.

What’s missing? John 17, most notably, the singlemost needed passage for ubfers to understand :( And John 14, 15 and 16 all point to Jesus’ prayer in John 17, the “key passage” of the series. But ch.17 is purposefully left out, and most of us know why.

Summer conference program

Teaching Jesus’ love and jumping over John 17 and 18 into mission at the end of John is a recipe for spiritual abuse. Skipping Jesus’ high priestly prayer is like trying to do Jesus’ mission without Jesus. That is what is wrong with ubf– self-glorifying missionaries who forget Jesus.

“PIG was previously used to refer to Peer Interest Groups for the upcoming summer conference. They are now being referred to as Interest Groups to avoid the obvious”

…but that’s not what the PIG Forum states.

“Particular Interest Groups for the So Loved 2013 UBF ISBC… Welcome to the PIGs Forum. Click into the “Ideas for PIGs” and read ideas, reply, or post your own new ideas.”

People can say it means whatever they want, but us outsiders need to rely on what is documented. Perhaps the PIG Forum website and email should be updated? Maybe like before the conference?

PIG = Particular Interest Groups for the upcoming ubf big conference. The deadline for submitting articles was already passed when the announcement went public on their ubf.org site. A far as I know, the topical sessions are being overseen by 2 hardliner Korean missionaries and our good friend JohnY (please pray for him!).

BITE = Behavior, Information, Thought and Emotion control model, as developed by Dr. Steven Hassan at FreedomOfMind. He is an ex-Moonie and has much relevant info for ubfers.

And why was that the case? Because he lived and was spiritually raised up in an environment where such practices were considered normal, and even spiritual. And I’m pretty sure that shepherd learned these things directly or indirectly from Samuel Lee, who was considered to be a role model. Everybody tried to imitate him, even in little things like the way how he cleared his throat. That’s why talking about the abusive practices of Samuel Lee is so important – it was not just a personal problem, but a problem that affected the whole ministry because everybody learned from him, in a very effective way, because he had been at the top of the pyramid of masters and disciples.

Yes, indeed, I’m learning that a father must learn and adapt to new ways to show love to children, especially when they become adults!

I learned something amazing through my PhD friends lately: The point of mentoring is to raise up peers.

I think I should repeat that: The point of mentoring someone is to equip them and guide them until you can be peers, equally working together and fully capable of challenging each other!

But back to beer. Why did I list “have a beer” as a best shepherding practice? I should explain further. And btw, “beer” is perhaps the best way to explain where I’m at spiritually these days. If you need a bible verse, then look at Proverbs 31:6 :) These days I only attend church services once a month or so. The other Sundays I happily and peacefully blog and drink beer, and watch sports on TV and play with my youngest son.

> Having a beer with someone is normally a rather harmless way to keep the Pharisees away (Note: if someone has a drinking problem this would not be a good approach, but for most people a casual drink is not a problem, just remember one simple rule: drink only when you are happy, not when you are sad. It would be wise to avoid a situation like Isaiah 28:7 :)

> Having a beer with someone is a means of forming friendships. I have been utterly stunned to realize that the “high quality” fellowship we had in ubf pales in comparison to beer fellowship. Let me restate that: Beer buddy fellowship is DEEPER than the standard ubf fellowship of sitting in a meeting. So that is a big reason why I say “have a beer”. It means, “get to know the people around you.” I have a vision of ubf people around the world having a bonfire made out of folding chairs and drinking beer together.

> Refusing to have a beer at a social gathering might seem like a way to witness to them, and perhaps it can be at times. But beer fellowship keeps me rooted in my humanity. I am not some super-apostle. I am human.

I can already see some hardliners cringe when reading this. But hey, didn’t even Jesus drink a beer or two with his friends? And when they ran out of beer, he made more. Well, ok, the Bible says it was wine, not beer, but as a German, I like to think it was beer, and maybe that’s not even so far-fetched (see http://bible-christian.org/beerandalcohol.html).

Here are my thoughts. And I’m liking your 10 commandments article more and more Ben!

1. Deal with the cult allegations openly and honestly. Until you do that, ubf is going to have a very difficult time communicating anything.

2. Do the opposite of most of what you teach. Last year someone online complimented me and asked how I could come up with such wise words. I replied that I just think about what I was taught to do, and do the exact opposite. That direction has helped me immensely.

3. Recognize the uniqueness of each human being. Each person is unique and requires specialized help. No one deserves to be guilt-tripped into conforming to one identity.

4. Be aware of seasons of life. Notice that there are seasons that last for years, for months or eve just for days. Don’t fight against these seasons with “spiritual disciplines”. Instead ride the ocean of life.

5. Cling to the buoy of grace. There are multiple gospel messages, such as peace, grace, kingdom, glory and life. These are explicitly identified in the bible.

6. Stop. Stop and breathe. Stop making the bible an idol.

7. And finally… have a beer or two.