Sin Gathers; God Scatters
Building one’s own kingdom. The sin of every man—including Christians—is to build their own tower of Babel (Gen 11:4). They gather and centralize the power and authority to themselves and to their oligarchy and inner circle. This inadvertently subjugates, binds, disempowers and emasculates those around them, since they are expected to mainly do as they are told. Is this not a major reason why so many people have left UBF over the years? They do not like being subjugated under some authoritarian human figure, nor do they like building up another person’s kingdom and ministry (or building up the kingdom of UBF), in the name of building up the kingdom of Christ. After one, two or three decades of feeling oppressed and subjugated (in the name of (over)shepherding), they either leave UBF outright, or they “go out to pioneer.” Though I love my brothers and sisters in my original UBF chapter where I was for 27 years, I finally also had to “go out to pioneer.” I shared about this previously in explaining from my perspective how West Loop UBF began.
Leave and go. God’s intent and directional flow is for everyone to leave his father and mother and go forth to begin anew by exploring the world as good stewards (Gen 2:24). But after sin was born, every man’s sinful default is to do the very opposite. Instead of leaving and exploring, man stays to build up their own small kingdoms. Sadly, this is what churches and Christian ministries have done over the centuries. A church starts well by the work of the Holy Spirit. They may grow and even explode, as I believe UBF did for a few decades. But after an initial period of growth, stagnation and eventual decline often happens, as seems to be presently happening throughout the UBF world. Why?
So many good churches. There are many reasons. For one, people have many more options, and choices of many great churches to go to. Even around UIC and West Loop, I have become friends with many local pastors, who are truly godly Christian men and excellent preachers, pastors and teachers, who are serving many in the community I live in as well as reaching out to UIC students.
The need to control others. Nonetheless, I maintain that the primary reason anyone leaves any church is because of a weakened or broken relationship, often caused by the need of one person to control the other person. Again, isn’t it true that so many native leaders left UBF over the past decade mainly because they felt that their chapter director wanted to keep their authority and control over them? Isn’t it true that those chapter director(s) simply could not bear to lose their control and authority over their so-called “sheep”? Didn’t they want so badly to keep their sheep under them that God scattered them to other churches?
Let my people go. A major point that I have repeatedly said over the past decade is: “Let my people go” (Ex 9:1). If Christian leaders try to forcibly and coercively hold their church members, they weaken and eventually break their relationship with them. Worse yet, they are resisting the biblical mandate to go into all the world (Mk 16:15). Even if they do not go to all nations (Mt 28:19), at least let them go out into their own community of choice, based on their own initiative and preference without undue interference by the hierarchy of the church. Can we let local leaders lead? This allows for the free flowing organic work of the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:8), which is sadly often quenched by some Christian leaders who act as though it is their right to control the work of the Holy Spirit.
You’re not ready. UBF grew much initially because the Holy Spirit worked mightily. Samuel Lee allowed able young leaders to have stewardship and leadership over their own chapters and churches in their 30s. But these leaders who are now in their 50s and 60s are not willing to allow their own members in their 30s to lead their own chapters and churches. They say, “they are not ready,” or “they need more humbleness training,” etc. Isn’t this simply an excuse for keeping people with them and controlling people under them?
Is God scattering people from UBF, because some leaders in UBF are trying to hold and control people excessively?
Ben, thanks for this article. I don’t know if God is intervening to scatter the flock, or if the scattering is just a natural consequence of bad shepherding as people come to their senses and exercise their God-given freedom of choice. Either way, based on what I’m hearing, there’s a whole lotta scattering going on.
[If anybody out there in cyberspace is a new reader of UBFriends, here is a helpful hint. If you are reading any article by Ben Toh, and you see a question in italics, the answer to that question is “Yes.”]
@Joe: [If anybody out there in cyberspace is a new reader of UBFriends, here is a helpful hint. If you are reading any article by Ben Toh, and you see a question in italics, the answer to that question is “Yes.”] – See more at: http://www.ubfriends.org/2013/09/20/sin-gathers-god-scatters/#sthash.nmNVGw18.dpuf
Oh No, Joe. You’re exposed me! I was reading in many places about good communication that you should pose questions rather than make absolute declarative opinionated statements.
So while I am writing and I notice that I just made an affirmative statement, I simply convert it into a question, so as to express that I would like to know what you think and have a dialogue, rather than just simply state what I think. I guess my secret’s out.
Posing questions is indeed a good strategy. But if the author “tips his hand” by revealing much of what he thinks before he actually poses the question, then readers don’t have much incentive to answer, because they feel the question has already been answered.
I love the way that one of the primary authors on Jesus Creed (a scientist named RJS) uses questions. Whenever she writes an article, she provides a good deal of background material to frame the issues, and then she poses two or three difficult questions whose answers are not obvious. When she poses these questions, I get the sense that she already has begun to form her own preliminary answers, but she hasn’t tipped her hand, and she is willing to be swayed. As readers chime in, she actively learns from them, and they learn from her. When that happens, it is exciting and edifying. Of course, there are many ways to foster online dialogue, but I found her approach to be an especially effective one.
sorry, i prefer to just state what i think:)
(after all the world always does: gain at any cost is good right? wrong!
& religion too often does: the earth/man is the center of the universe right? wrong!)
guess it’s my turn; anyway i may be right..
feels like a ghost town of few comments lately, but it could be the calm before the storm (or the eye of the storm before the other side whirls by); anyway, like jimi hendrix sang: ‘i am what i am, thank God’ (i’ll seize this opp to speak)
‘The sin of every man—including Christians—is to build their own tower of Babel (Gen 11:4). They gather and centralize the power and authority to themselves and to their oligarchy and inner circle. This inadvertently subjugates, binds, disempowers and emasculates those around them, since they are expected to mainly do as they are told.’ yep Dr Ben, you summed it
& my lifelong goal is to battle such (just the equalitarian social worker in me, as well as free in Christ believer)
sometimes i think we blame too much on founder when his proteges are part to blame: despite reprehensible battle tactics didn’t he at least try to send some out (though admittedly he made the ctr a magnet to bring more in);
were the middle men (now ldrs) of too little faith to send/let anyone go out?
by the way, those who have controlled shall be controlled..
‘Is God scattering people from UBF, because some leaders in UBF are trying to hold and control people excessively?’ yes, absolutely true..
@Mark: “Were the middle men (now leaders) of too little faith to send/let anyone go out?” – See more at: http://www.ubfriends.org/2013/09/20/sin-gathers-god-scatters/#comment-10991
In my opinion, everything we do by default, even as longstanding Christian people and leaders, is the opposite of what God intends, because of our fallen sinful depravity.
Every bone in my body wants to keep people in my church or fellowship. When I feel this strongly, I pray that God helps me to let them go wherever they please with the spirit of freedom in Christ (2 Cor 3:17), and by the sovereign blowing of the Holy Spirit (Jn 3:8).
I think that UBF Bible teaching often uses Old Testament thinking that ubf people should gather around the UBF center, as the Israelites gathered around the tabernacle/temple. Or using the Isa 2:1-5 passage to impose on UBFers that just as the Israelites streamed into Jerusalem, then UBFers should stream to the main ubf center or chapter. This only centralizes the power to a few senior ubf leaders who firmly and strongly believe that they should have the upper hand in the church. There is really no New Testament suggestion of this that I can think of.
agreed; it was partly a rhetorical question, mainly giving them dose of own medicine:) (too little practical faith in God, big ones?)