Speaking for myself, I believe that I (and the rest of my family) would be in a much better place emotionally and spiritually if we had not spent so many years in such an unhealthy environment.

Yes, there are too many battles to fight. For me the fight is over. They may do as they wish. If they want to go to SL’s grave today and engage in thinly veiled ancestor worship, I will not try to stop them. But I will speak truth and warn others about them.

Perhaps a better analogy than Tullian Tchividjian is Mark Driscoll. He did not commit adultery either as far as I know. But he has serious character issues that were never addressed, which translated into patterns of behavior and leadership style that caused his church to fall apart. And like UBF leaders, he doesn’t seem to have a clue that he is unfit to lead until he deals with the inner garbage that causes him to act that way. Mark Driscoll is a sincere Christian who should not be leading a church. Many UBF leaders fall into that category. They can and will spin it as a difference of opinion. But if you want to be in a healthy Christian environment, do not look to those people to provide it, because they can’t.

I can think that many leaders would simply think that stepping down is not even a consideration because most of them did not commit adultery. Yes, some/a few did, but that was the minority, and usually not by the chapter director or lead pastor, such as Tchividjian.

As with tradition/ideology (UBFism) trumping Scripture, yes I agree that this unfortunately happens, and surely not just with UBF. Throughout 2,000 years of church history, some favored tradition and ideology has led to serious debates, disagreements and even war.

To some traditional conservative Christians who strongly oppose gay marriages, they could similarly be accused of their tradition and conservative ideology trumping countless Scripture verses regarding unconditional love of sinners regardless of ethnicity, gender or sexual identity. Similarly, with Complimentarians and Egalitarians, Calvinists and Armenians, Pre-, vs. A- vs. Post-millennial positions of eschatology, some staunch Catholics vs. some staunch Protestants, etc.

I believe all of you know that I’m in no way excusing or justifying UBF for pushing their agenda or ideology or tradition at the expense of Scripture. As we all agree, no one ever gets it 100% right.

Perhaps we can stretch out some olive branch of compassion and understanding, while continuing to press on the hard and painful issues at hand.

Also, there are so many or too many battles to pick on, and sometimes we need to pick one or two battles, rather than attack all or many of them at once.

Also as much as UBF was pushing their UBFism onto me for over three decades and counting, God had mercy on me to draw me to Himself through his Word–both the Word, his Son, and the word of Scripture, as I believe that God is doing in many of you and surely in countless others as well, in spite of UBF and UBFism. Again, I am not excusing or justifying UBF, but I’m just saying…

Sorry for throwing in too many things in one comment (which I implied we should not do!), many of which are broad sweeping generalities.

I will also push back against this comment. Yes, one could say that the leaders try to honor the word of God some or even most of the time. But at crucial times, I have seen them willfully and deliberately turn the other way. I told the story of one such incident here. http://www.ubfriends.org/2015/02/28/telling-it-to-the-church-part-3/

They have an ideology (what Brian calls UBFism) through which they try to interpret everything, including the Bible. When reality and Scripture contradicts that ideology, they ignore what they see and keep the ideology. The consequences of those choices have been huge. And the lives of many people have been irreparably damaged by their bad choices.

In general, Tullian Tchividjian seeks to honor God and Scripture. But at one key point (faithfulness to his marriage vows) he willfully decided to turn the other way, with dire consequences for his family and ministry. He is still a sincere Christian as far as I can tell. But his willful wrong choices at key moments disqualified him from ministry and he had to step down. By that standard, there are many who hold key leadership positions in UBF who disqualified themselves and should have stepped down a long time ago.

When even the heathens according to Rom 1:20 have no excuse no for not knowing God, how can UBFers have an excuse for not knowing God?

How is this possible? It is something that the Bible clearly and explicitly disapproves of. Even if one would become an unbeliever, the other one should not divorce, the Bible says. So this clearly shows that UBF does not care about the Bible at all, they care only about UBF itself.

Another example: The Bible clearly says e.g. in Mt 23 that we should not use titles in the church. Still, UBF is using titles exzessively (both secular titles such as “Dr.” and spiritual titles such as “Missionary”, “Shepherd”, “Mother”).

When a friend of mine in UBF brought that up, the answer he got was “then you can leave UBF if you don’t like that”. So clearly UBF honors their traditions more than what the Bible says.

I could give many more examples where UBF leaders disregarded the word of God and promoted lying, neglecting parents and children, even abortions instead. You could say, well, these were only the leaders. The problem with the members is that they did not protest. Well, some protested (the reformers) but they were kicked out and so they are not UBF any more. Over time UBF expelled all those who really tried to take the word of God seriously, and only the corrupt leaders and those who are more loyal to them and their system than to the Bible remained.

Totally agree with MJ, UBF does not honor the word of God as the word of God, but they honor the caricature they made out of the word of God, which is UBFism.

I beg to differ. I would write, “generally desires to honor the UBF hermeneutic/exegesis of the word of God as the word of God.”

God never said anywhere in the Bible that leaving UBF is a sin, unless there’s some miscreant translation out there, that I am not aware of.

Ah, yes. The ultimate UBF insult.

When Samuel Lee wanted to rebuke you, he would poke you in the chest with his finger and say, “That is your OWN thinking!” or “That is your OWN idea!” That line has been used countless times to put people in their place and tell them that they are wrong, with no other logic or rational basis needed. It is the classic technique for stifling dissent and shutting people up. It’s an exercise of raw power by a senior person over a junior person.

If you ever want to drive a UBF leader absolutely nuts, then — no matter what he says to you — just poke him in the chest and say with an authoritative voice, “That is your OWN idea!” Then say, “That is just your HUMAN THINKING!” Then stand back and watch his head explode.

The fact that this would be the ultimate put-down says pretty much everything you need to know about UBF values and culture. The unpardonable sin in UBF: to be a well differentiated human being with independent thoughts and decisions.

But every thing in life that is good is like a double-edged sword. For instance, a godly wife is a wondrous gift from heaven. But she can all too easily become an idol that replaces God as the center of affection.

Similarly, honoring God’s word as God’s word can also turn to something ugly, perhaps somewhat akin to the ugly debates and disagreements and contentious arguments regarding the so-called inerrancy of Scripture.

In my opinion, UBF has sadly turned the wonderful honoring of Scripture to something else. It is to regard the preacher or messenger of God’s word, or the writers and authors of DB as though they are Scripture, or God’s Word itself, which they are obviously not. The preacher/messenger becomes practically untouchable. It is as though they should be regarded as above and beyond reproach, almost to be revered like God.

In my opinion, any preacher, messenger or author of DB who refuses to answer for what they wrote is communicating that they are like God.

The sadder thing is when people do not realize this or refuse to discuss it. Such people invariably regard anyone who questions the sermon or DB as someone who does not honor or accept Scripture as God’s word. What is worse is that they are regarded as some insubordinate, immature, rebellious sinner who obviously has some deep secret hidden inner sin problem!

I have not verified or confirmed this recently, but if I remember correctly from what I was told some years ago, it is interesting that many/most if not all the DB writers may now be Americans, with no more missionaries or foreigners writing or contributing to the DB.

Perhaps it would be helpful to know who penned the various DB passages?

What does that mean?

Did the strangeness of the DB book render him speechless?

Or was he in a state of shock because the quality of UBF Bible study materials was being challenged by an insubordinate American?

Rejection-

One missionary said he was at a loss for words.

Downplayed rejection-
One missionary said it was bad, but said that everyone has flaws

Silence-
One missionary never got back to me.

Yes, it is.

After I stopped doing DB, I became useless, like a mental patient. I lost my joy of life and can no longer eat deliciously.

*Only* his head has been alive for the last ten years (to quote SL).

Well, get ready ubfers, the Spirit has taken away your lampstand. You have failed to preach the gospel.

The massive contradiction between what John 17 says and what the ubf lecturer said was too much for me to take. Seeking your own glory is an anti-gospel.

It is good evidence though of what UBFism teaches.

Don’t we just love to “judge severely,” “totally destroy” and “totally ruin” others by using (misusing/abusing) the name of God and Jesus?

#######

HOW MARVELOUS IT IS!

Matthew 21:33-46

Key verse:
Matthew 21:42

September 30, 2015

First, the rebellious Jewish elders (33-41). As the time for him to be glorified drew near, Jesus’ exchanges with the Jewish elders became sharper and sharper. Their time was just about up, after which they would be judged severely. In 70 AD, Jerusalem was totally destroyed, including the temple. God was about to establish a new order.

Second, how marvelous it is! (42-45) Like the stone that “became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth” (Da 2:35), Jesus is both the corner and the capstone, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. Whether by active opposition or passive apathy, those who reject him to the last will be totally ruined.

Third, the kingdom given to others (43). When we lose our “first love”, the Lord disciplines us so that we are not lost with the world. But as with the Jewish elders and the nation of Israel, if we break faith, and fail to preach the Gospel, the Lord himself will remove our “lampstand”, just as happened in Ephesus (Rev 2:5).

Prayer:
Lord, grant that we may remain faithful throughout our lives, preaching the gospel fully, both with and without words. For Jesus’ sake we pray. Amen..

One word: “If we endure, we will also reign with him” (2Ti 2

When I witnessed a shepherd running-away for the first time, sometime back in the late 80’s, one woman Korean missionary told me: “We used to say those who ran away were going to hell. We don’t think that anymore. But they are losing their faith. If you want to serve God, you cannot run away from ubf. God’s calling is irrevocable.” (I’m paraphrasing from memory of course, but those words seared my conscience)

And they will often not say this in private either. But it is “said” many times by their actions.

What do their actions show? You can do anything you want as long as you are loyal to ubf. The moment you leave UBF, you are cut off and can only be in good graces if you return and/or show praise for UBF.

I literally could have created any kind of ministry I wanted, be it Islam, Jewish, athiest, whatever. As long as I would show up to UBF staff meetings and demonstrate loyalty to UBFims, they don’t care what you believe or what you do.

If we can see past the lecture, and Poe’s law, my comments are real and serious. UBFism does teach that leaving UBF i.e. “running away” is the unforgivable sin.

BUT

if you ever dare LEAVE UBF, THAT is the UNpardonable sin of all sins!

What hogwash…

“Christianity and the loss of traditional values

The decline of Rome dovetailed with the spread of Christianity, and some have argued that the rise of a new faith helped contribute to the empire’s fall. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313, and it later became the state religion in 380. These decrees ended centuries of persecution, but they may have also eroded the traditional Roman values system. Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole deity. Meanwhile, popes and other church eladers took an increased role in political affairs, further complicating governance. The 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon was the most famous proponent of this theory, but his take has since been widely criticized. While the spread of Christianity may have played a small role in curbing Roman civic virtue, most scholars now argue that its influence paled in comparison to military, economic and administrative factors.”

Actual Christianity is NOT about building a priestly nation. Christianity is OPPOSED to empire-building and nationalism. The teachings of Jesus, when obeyed, will thwart all those building pretty organizations with holy paint on the walls.

Jesus stands diametrically opposed to UBFism.

The General Director of UBF, Abe T Kim, wrote: “Indeed God threw the mountain of Rome’s godlessness into the sea.”

So apparently God forgot to remove the godly people and ALL of Rome fell into the sea… After you become a “priestly nation”, your empire will collapse. After your godlessness is thrown into the sea by God, you will also be thrown into the sea. When you adopt UBFism and have no “run-away sheep”, then your leadership is corrupt and your empire will fall…

8 reasons why Rome fell

ESBC Closing Message

The current General Director of ubf tells us this plainly in his ESBC closing message:

“What did Paul do in his situation? He welcomed all who came to him and studied the Word of God with them. He believed that the gospel is the power of God that would transform Rome (Ro 1:16). The soldiers who came to guard him were never run-away Bible students. By faith he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught them about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord worked with him. Many soldiers, officers and their families believed and through them even Caesar’s household came to Bible study with Paul. Paul’s one-to-one and small group Bible study ministry in a rented house seemed insignificant in the eyes of the world. But God did an amazing thing through faith and prayers of Paul and his coworkers. God changed the Roman Empire into a Christian nation 250 years later. Indeed God threw the mountain of Rome’s godlessness into the sea. The life of Apostle Paul and the early Christians testify that faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Heb 11:1).”

So you see, even the great Apostle Paul had to deal with run away sheep and his 1:1 bible study. But all you slacker shepherds need to REPENT because Paul had NO run away sheep! He was the perfect example of UBFism! Amen!!

I love your post on the unforgivable sin from 2012! I have to say that it is “better than mine.” Yeah, my UBFishness of comparing with others will never leave me, I guess. :) Vitaly’s comment on your post is also quite interesting.

I think we need to consider some thoughts:

– How does other Scripture shape our answer, like Deuteronomy 29:18-21, Luke 12:8-10?

– How long is the sin unforgiveable? Does anything indicate it is eternally unforgiveable? Like much of Hebrew thoughts on Heaven, Hell, sin, etc, they are often speaking of this life on earth, not the eternal. I wonder if this is the case?

– Things that are not the unpardonable sin: homosexuality, suicide, gluttony, tatoos, and many more.

– It seems to me the one thing that cannot be forgiven is “going your own way”.

I wrote several thoughts on this earlier:

The Lord will never be willing to forgive him