Soon we will hit 13,000 comments in just about 4 years.

Welcome to ubfriends :) This virtual community has inadvertently become the “back door” of ubf, a place for anyone confused or struggling or who has left the ministry.

I first have to ask, is the “93” in your name signifying your birth date? If so, then I feel realllly old :) I graduated from college in 1992!

Ok back to your thoughts. I want to respond to this one:

“The funny thing is that I told my bible teacher about websites like ubfriends, but she gave an excuse about these articles are written by people that left UBF and are spreading rumors.”

Ha! That is SUCH A LIE! This website was started by UBF LEADERS :) Who? Well me (BrianK) and JoeS mainly, along with Henoch, and others. Back in 2010 we had a team of ubf leaders including “second gens”, including Koreans. I was still chapter director of Detroit ubf. Everything *seemed* wonderful. We had some good discussions, BenT and I were not overly involved, and we had comments from Sarah Barry herself, such as this comment by Sarah:

“Thank you, Joe for launching a thought-provoking discussion on “House Church or Family.” I especially appreciate those who shared comments. Our comments come from our own experience, plus our understanding of the Scripture. Whereas the Belgic confession and church history give us some help, Brian and Dr. Bill’s comments especially made me think about what the Bible says about the church and family. I did a google search on house church and some very interesting things came up. “House Church” is certainly not a unique UBF term. Maybe the way we use it is different from the way that others use it, but I found that everyone is different.”

ubfriends was a nice, comfy community of ubf people. John Armstrong submitted an article for us about “kingdom of priests”. We had several good articles submitted by ubf leaders, back in August 2010 for example.

So NO, ubfriends was NOT started by bitter former evil members of ubf. NO, our article are not “written by people that left UBF and are spreading rumors”! We are/were ubf leaders.

The most viscous social element I have ever experienced is the ubf rumor mill. I’ve never come across such a viral, demeaning, wicked, gossip-filled interaction as the ubf rumor mill. If anything, that is what pushed us ubf leaders to change the nature of ubfriends over the past 4 years.

I thank God for finding the truth about UBF early and also friends of mines that I met in UBF and had already high-tailed out before me.

By the time the general Christian community was at the point and timeline that your article discusses UBF chapters were in mourning and grieving. Congregations in many places were shrinking and receding faster than an aging man’s hair line.

My own original chapter was one of the biggest in my area, but after a 2001/2002 exodus it became a mere shadow of what it once was. Let me make it clear that for all of the native shepherds or sheep who left, there were also Korean missionaries who disagreed with the spiritual environment of UBF and also left.

Reform in UBF has been ineffective for a number of reasons (which I do not have time or space to write). To mention a few I can fall back on the numbers war. Whenever the leaders get inspired to do something it can often be found in SL’s heritage. Here we are with the personality cult, but what can I say? – the origins of success in UBF methodology have become a historical romanticism of the way we thought we were. In fact, numbers may have been booming in the good ol’days, but methods are highly questionable and even more so in today’s context.

Do note those speaking up about reform are primarily those not at the top. You have to keep in mind that local/native leaders do not have real authority. They are nothing more than marionettes in which Korean missionaries have been playing with. It is a facade and mere window dressing. A native leader can object to something, but it will rarely go far I am afraid.

Yes, UBF wants only people who are fully committed to their ideas and lifestyle. They go so far that they expel you after some years if you don’t want to commit fully, because then you would be a bad example for others who they want to push into that direction (I have experienced this many times).

The problem with that is they don’t tell it from the beginning. When they invite you, they give the impression that they only want to read the Bible together, that they are an ordinary student church and that not much is required is from your side. Nor do they speak about the other rules and practices required in UBF, like arranged marriage, in the beginning. It’s best to leave any UBF chapter early that does not clearly admit the problems of UBF and actively work on solving these things and reforming itself.

Ever since this fall semester, I have been having doubts about what they were teaching. I already go to a church that I have been raised in for my entire life so I knew about God. The thing was in UBF though was, for the last two years, I never paid that much attention to the messages and bible studies because they never held my interest and I would sometimes doze off or my mind drifts off to other things. It wasn’t until they incorporated more bible studies during the week and doing like a small group discussion after the message this year until I started to notice things.

My main suspension was the talk about “mission” and a lot specific thing in their prayers every time like “help us raise CSUN as a holy nation for you” or “help us Lord to achieve to get 100 Sunday worship service attendees” and their talk in their message about going to our bible teacher for any problem we have that sound weird to me. Also we I was a drummer, I would mainly go home during the summer and the winter and go to my home church or sometimes on the weekends cuz I was a percussion there ( At UBF, I was teaching one of the missionary couple’s son to play drums and now he is the current drummer for that chapter).

My bible teacher, who is the pianist for that chapter, knew about this and was pretty much beating this idea of commitment and it I either have to commit to UBF or my home church. After thinking about it and hearing from other friends of mine that left UBF, I just decided to pack up my equipment to left. I still see some the member from time to time on campus, and still relatively cool, but that just it. I’m still friend with the many people that left the ministry, and trust me a lot of people left before me for various reasons (mainly men).

pride/ego seem to transform us into fighters for a cause (but are we fighting for the right cause) & defenders (but are we defending the right thing)

perhaps spiritual bullying just happens to be the worst example; at work it seems to be ‘high maintenance people’ who don’t want to suffer so end up making you suffer more

may God set all of us free from being bullied & bullying others

In case anyone didn’t realize it, my title was in jest. I’ve stated many times publicly and privately that I don’t seek reform or change in ubf. I’m not against reform; I just don’t believe in it for ubf right now due to the fact that there have been 3 reform attempts, all of which were rejected by mostly the same top leaders.

Instead of reform or change, I seek redemption. A new ministry has to be built because the old fabric is too worn to have a new patch sewn onto it at this point. The gospel Jesus preached does often spark reform and change. But Jesus’ gospel goes way beyond reform thankfully. When a person is beyond reform, redemption is the answer. Rebirth is what is needed. The seed must die if the plant is to live.

The declaration of the 2001 ubf reformers really touched me. I was astounded to read the same thoughts the Holy Spirit has taught me in their declaration letter. The letter gives me a tremendous sense of affirmation, something that helps me dearly on my journey of recovery from ubf. Affirmation helps me find reality. So does negation (when I find out I’m wrong about something…yes that happened once :)

Brian’s title: “Let’s reform UBF.”

UBF leaders: “Let’s not and say we did.”

(The Urban Dictionary suggests that “Let’s not and say we did” originated with an episode of The Simpsons during the 1990’s. But we were saying it back in the 70’s.)

Competition also says without words that God (and UBF leaders) values you more only if you are more productive, more sacrificial, more committed, more faithful, more fruitful, more conforming to her core values, etc.

Such horrible ongoing practices in UBF is without a doubt distorting the very core of what Christianity is.

The issues faced could cause you to align yourself with the other leaders, but you haven’t and you don’t. You have been willing to cross examine yourself and improve (albeit at your own pace before Jesus, but nonetheless on your way). Many leaders will not change, admit to wrong and acknowledge a junior pointing out some errors. They want to keep the status quo, but then more and more people will leave in droves. It is Christianity we all seek. It is Jesus we are following.

(When I re-read the document I observed a couple things that can maybe be developed beyond my present words because I had been working on an article but captured too many points that remained undeveloped.)

They mention competition. Well, this is ingrained since childhood pitting parents against parents and children against children in an ugly display. Competition knows no nation, but unfortunately Koreans undergo a public process for scoring of students for all to see. This separates people socially. It also shames under achievers because they cannot possibly be friends with anyone outside of their league. Also, people are less likely to speak up in public spaces when they are aware that they are far behind many others who can grab attention with ease.

UBF is no stranger to competition. Competing can be healthy but it seems to define spiritual growth in UBF construct the same as achievements in school define what middle school or high school or university a child goes to. Competing over number of Bible students, successful public memorization, weekly attempts at invitation, faithful attention to daily bread without fail…the list for competing and achievement goes on to higher levels as people seek to pioneer and become somebody famous within the leadership. At this point the vision of/for Christ is lost.

Another point that was quickly mentioned but not developed in the article was violence. Let’s get this one going. It has only been a couple of years since laws were passed that corporal punishment be taken out of the schools and society over in Korea. That being said, as long as an authority figure can obtain cosent from parents it still occurs.

Corporal punishment had been a part of normal daily life in many European nations and certainly North America. But, it was removed a long time ago. Korean missionaries have not thought twice about violent acts in many occasions. It has unfortunately been a model of how to handle disobendience and failure to achieve. Do we in UBF condone such practice? Do we agree with the premise for such practice? Violence does not need to be physical, it can also be psychological and emotional.

Should we act violently because someone did not go fishing? Maybe they failed to faithfully do daily bread? Maybe, they believed they could choose their future spouse outside of UBF? For whatever reason, the actions taken against anyone have not been appropriate.

All this to say that I don’t think anyone is exaggerating. Senior leaders like Joe, Brian, Ben know a lot already. Many others like Chris, Vitaly, Mark and so on have also seen a lot. Me too, and many others. If we don’t speak up, then this will always be a burning sore on our hearts and conscience.

It seems that if missionaries (and senior leaders) truly understood and applied this to heart, they would be far less imperialistic, authoritarian, condescending, traditionalistic, legalistic, elitist, exclusivist, superior, oppressive, suffocating, and be far more humble, inclusive, accommodating, and which would translate to being willing to truly listen to and learn from “their sheep.”

As of now, whenever anyone says anything against UBF or UBF leaders or about Koreans, the pride and ego of some older UBFers (who believe they have the power and ownership of UBF) becomes stirred up to the highest heights. Thus, they come across as irritated, angry, and with attitude of “how dare you,” and “who do you think you are,” while condescendingly patronizing you to your face (thinking they are humble) and then slandering or gossiping about you (in private quarters among the like-minded oligarchy). Likely they do not realize this, but this is more humiliating and nauseating than being spit at, or being kicked in the groin, or punched in the face. (Sorry, I’m on a roll, here!!)

Am I exaggerating? Is this over the top? Is it just me who feels this way???

“Furthermore, we need to help these missionaries to be able to think and analyze the culture, society, custom and traditions of the nations they went to.”

When missionaries attempt to analyze the culture of the host country, their judgments tend to be superficial, ethnocentric and misleading. Good missionaries ought to live in the host country for a long time without making those judgments. They need to recognize their status as guests and turn the lens of examination upon themselves, searching their own attitudes to understand how their own culture has shaped them.

The document makes the common assumption that they (the Christian missionaries and evangelists) possess the truths of the gospel, and their role is to just pass those truths on to others. That assumption, prevalent in modern evangelicalism, deserves to be scrutinized. The gospel does not just flow in one direction, from the evangelist to his target. The gospel flows from Christ to everyone, and among everyone, in all directions. That is what we see in the New Testament. The gospel came first to the Hebraic Jews. But when they tried to pass it along unchanged to the Diaspora Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles, it didn’t work as they planned. The Spirit of God pushed back and exposed their ethnocentrism, and in the process the early Christians were able to break through the barriers of law, gender, culture and social class and come to understand what the gospel was really about.

“Has UBF been reformed?” No. Small, incremental changes have taken place, but there has been no formal acknowledgement of wrongdoings or willingness to discuss what happened in a transparent and honest way. With few exceptions, the people in charge of ubf today would just prefer to act as though nothing bad ever happened, sweep everything under the rug and move on.

“Did UBF leaders listen to these issues?” No, they didn’t. SL called the reformers rebels, godless dogs and cockroaches. He claimed that they were persecuting him for preaching the gospel. The fellowship leaders and elders and staff around him were emasculated; they just agreed with him and did his bidding, exercising no leadership of their own and taking no action to check his power, becaue they were afraid. In 2000 I was largely ignorant of what was going on, because I didn’t want to know. Like everyone else, I just went with the flow, like the proverbial dead fish floating downstream (one of SL’s famous analogies). Although I was a fully grown adult (37 years old) at the time, I acted like a child, pretending not to hear and exercising no discernment and washing my hands of everything. Like all the other ubf leaders, I was extremely immature, but I pretended that my immaturity was a kind of maturity.

“Do the same issues remain today?” No and yes. The organization no longer has a supreme leader. There are some little SLs who try to act like him at the local level. Financial accounting has improved, at least in the United States. But the poor hermeneutics and other problems mentioned in the document still remain.

“Does UBF need reform?” Yes. Anyone with discernment can see that the organization as a whole, and most of the local chapters, are badly in need of renewal.

“Is reform possible?” Possible, but unlikely, because members and leaders don’t seem to want it. Many are weary and burned out. Some see a few problems but maintain that things are not so bad. Some are afraid to speak up. Some like things just as they are. Others just want to do their own thing; they won’t think about it and just don’t care. Many of the indigeneous leaders — the people most capable of independent and creative thought, the ones who can think outside the box, and with the greatest level of self awareness and emotional maturity — have already left the ministry and won’t be coming back. They could read the writing on the wall.

“Will you join in reforming UBF to be a healthy Christian organization?” UBF is a long, long, long way from organizational health, because its leaders are a long, long long way from emotional health and maturity. I will continue to speak my mind, but have no desire to lead a charge within the organization to change it in any way. When the current GD came into office, there seemed to be a brief opportunity for meaningful reform, but that window has been closing fast. Perhaps others are in a position to do something now, but I won’t try to do anything heroic to save UBF from its self-destructive tendencies. To me it looks like a losing proposition, a poor use of my God given resources. Here is something that I wrote recently to one of the elders:

“…at this point Sharon and I have to be very realistic about the state of UBF and what the future holds. Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church. But he made no such promises about the UBF organization. If UBF needs to decline even more and enter a period of even greater chaos in order to help its members and prosper the Body of Christ, then that is a sacrifice the Lord is willing to make.”

These words are too dated now, not just by when written, but by similarity to past historical religious movement struggles..

i am glad that some have listened to the Spirit; i am sad that others have not (these words are too old, perhaps repeated every decade, but too little heeded by leadership/the organization)

& those who have espoused similar ideas from the Spirit were assumed to have gotten it from ‘reformers’ & considered rebels (how silly)

being a realist, one must conclude that perhaps hope is gone: such organizations must be dismantled/reconstructed under the oversight of special receivership (much like Sacred Heart Hospital after too much financial/ethical abuse); yet, is it worth it?

perhaps it is better to let it disappear into obsolescence & start separately anew (new work is less wasteful, than having to first undo crooked old work:)

“Therefore, we maintain that the central key to the Scripture and Christian life is the gospel of grace.”

“This kind of atmosphere provides a fertile ground for abuse of power by those in el supremo. Even when he sins, often ridiculously lofty theological reasons are attributed to his failings, because people have already made this person a mythic figure. They can no longer look at his true identity as a human being with darkness and all kinds of shortcomings but they look at him with misty eyes that are blurred by their own myth-tinted glasses.”

“Therefore, we strongly denounce such a practice that blinds people to the true understanding about human nature that the biblical truth teaches us. Too much abuse of power has hurt many people of great integrity, purity and honesty. Many who have devoted their entire youth because of their love for the work of the Spirit have left because of such foolish and ignorant practices of exalting and mythologizing one man beyond what he really is. So, based upon this biblical truth about humanity, we resolutely affirm that every human society, political, military or religious, needs to have a system of checks and balances and of accountability.”

“Because of his unnecessary egotistic stubbornness, we are often labeled as a “cult,” thus making our future grim. It must be noted that we are not afraid at all to die for the Lord and we are confident that if we are attacked and falsely accused it is because we indeed preached the gospel with a clean conscience. That is why we have given up everything and come to this land. Do not say that we try to avoid suffering for the gospel. But we feel stupid and dumb when we know we suffer because of our own stupidity and arrogance.) But the Spirit, despite his failures and shortcomings, has kept and preserved UBF and made it grow better through adversities.”

* The document is well structured and thoughtful. The spelling, grammar, writing style and substance are better than much of the material appearing on ubf.org in 2013.

* The language used to describe SL will seem harsh to loyalists, but from my perspective it is accurate (I know this from personal observation) and they didn’t mention many of the most scandalous allegations.

* The problems they identify are spot-on and for the most part are the same ones that the organization still faces today. SL died and now there is no single supreme leader. North American UBF has largely cleaned up its financial accounting to join the ECFA (can’t say this has happened elsewhere). But the other problems they mention still remain.

* This document was written by Korean missionaries and doesn’t show a lot of awareness of the cultural issues at play. If the nine points had all been addressed to their satisfaction in 2001, the UBF ministry would have still had a strongly Korean flavor and would still have trouble making the jump from an immigrant church to an indigenous movement. But it would have been less oppressive to its members and better able to respond to criticism from the outside.

natives are now ipso facto declared missionaries to the missionaries until missionaries have proven trustworthy by Holy Spirit light to minister alongside natives (notwithstanding any tender need for excessive ‘honor’)

prophets spoke, Jesus proclaimed, natives must share: for example daily bread reflection is sharing God’s guidance with all, but especially with missionaries who have proven untrustworthy/bound in legalism/unenlightened by Holy Spirit freedom..
(may Christ the head heal all believers into one body..)