GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Empty. Vague. Hopeless. Christ-less. That’s how this message left me feeling. It’s just not worth it to review such material. I’m going to stop wasting my time. Colossians 2 is a foundational passage of Scripture that transformed my life recently. So perhaps my expectations were too high for a ubf messenger to grasp this passage.

The message can be downloaded here: Continue to Live in Him

TITLE AND SCRIPTURE:

“Continue to Live in Him”
Colossians 2:6-23

MESSAGE CONTENT:

Question: What do a TV advertisement, Sequoia trees, the new World Trade center building, Matthew Henry, Socrates, Winston Churchill, losing our spiritual possession to the bad world, a telescope, insects performing their duties, Florida A&M’s loss to Ohio state, poison oak from a cat, Francis Schaffer, and selected verses from Colossians 2 have in common?

Answer: This Toledo UBF Sunday message.

This line pretty much sums up the theology you’ll learn from this message: “Now when we sin, our fellowship in Christ may be broken, and we must confess and repent, but our relationship to Christ is never broken.”

CONCLUSION:

Let’s read our key verse. And let’s read this passage and talk about it.

RATING:

Zero stars.

Good-bye ubf. I leave you to your own vomit. I can’t bear to review any more of these messages. Until ubf people get some actual Christian seminary training, they might as well watch TV on Sunday. Oh wait, TV is evil and secretly subverting our children, along with that darned internet.

The first thought that came to mind after reading this message was… I can’t remember. The thoughts presented here are so vague that I fail to grasp any meaningful teaching. The messenger seems to be performing as a cheerleader, trying really hard to rally the troops and generate some sort of „amen“. This is doubly discouraging because the bible text has some rather extraordinary teaching.

The message can be downloaded here: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

TITLE AND SCRIPTURE:

“Christ in You, the Hope of Glory”
Colossians 1:24-2:5

MESSAGE CONTENT:

Dictation of ideas. One of my pet-peeves with ubf messages is that they just throw out thoughts without thinking or allowing the audience to think for themselves. The shallow introduction of this message gives us a classic example of this. The first sentence of this message declares: “The main theme of Colossians is the supremacy of Christ.” Ok Christ is supreme. But what does that mean? How do we know that the “main theme” of Colossians is about supremacy? We are only on chapter 1. Where is the reasoning ability that we all possess?

Gnosticism? Right away this message takes a swing at the terrible Gnostics. If we want a one paragraph definition of Gnosticism, I would suggest quoting someone like N.T. Wright perhaps, instead of sharing your own basically correct ideas about Gnosticism.

“Paul wrote to the church there around 60 AD because of gnostic influences. The Gnostics taught that the God of the Old Testament was different from that of the New. They taught the duality of spirit and material; spirit was good but material bad. This led to the disintegration of the integrity of a Christian´s life. Followers tended to become legalists or hedonists. Gnostics pretended to have the real truth of Christ.”

So if someone was to speak a lot about order and discipline in a legalistic way, they might be a gnostic? If someone was to share a message that emphasized getting rid of material possessions in order to know Christ better, to imply that watching TV was bad and present a message that spoke of future hope in glory for our souls, that might be a gnostic-influenced message? Perhaps we should keep reading this message and see if anything gnostic-sounding shows up. (Hint: it does but I won’t go into detail about it in this review).

Thought stopping. The shallow introduction continues:

 “Why were Christians tempted to follow Gnostic ways? Perhaps it was because the church was a little weak being founded by Epaphras rather than Paul. Perhaps it was their depressed economy? Maybe the answer is revealed in Paul’s emphasis on Christ? Paul urges them to focus on faith in Christ. Like the Colossians we often feel week, tired, and even bored with our Christian lives. We think we need a new teaching. Christ wants us to live dynamic Christian lives full of power, excitement, expectation as well as influence. Christ shows us it is possible even in a Roman prison. Through this passage, let’s learn how to live a joyful, and meaningful life in Christ.”

This paragraph is a classic red flag, called “thought stopping”. The messenger asks questions that confuse the listeners. I would ask, “Why are we asking these questions?” We don’t really know but our thoughts are stopped as the messenger gives his own answers.

After asking some vague questions, the messenger then ties our minds to some supposed problem: “Like the Colossians we often feel week, tired, and even bored with our Christian lives.” Really? The Colossians felt weak, tired and bored? I don’t feel that way, but my mind is stopped from recalling my own reality and this problematic reality is inserted in place. In this way, ubf messages often spin a web of fantasy, and ubf members often live in a state disconnected from reality.

The last sentence in the introduction is a classic ubf thought-stopping technique. The messenger tells us the “one word” that we must learn “how to live a joyful and meaningful life in Christ”. The trick is that you don’t even have to ever answer “how” or explain “how”. When someone asks you “What did you learn from this message?” (and in ubf someone will ask you this question), your mind is trained already to just say “I learned how to live a joyful and meaningful life in Christ!” The other person will normally just say “Amen!”. But neither of you would be able to actually explain and reason through what that joyful and meaningful life entails.

Shallow text analysis. The message continues with some of the most shallow analysis of biblical text I’ve read lately. Why do ubf messages always analyze the text with their own ideas? Maybe that is why their life is so boring…Yet the messenger plows onward with the rah-rah chants of a cheerleader.

Cognitive dissonance. Merriam-Webster defines cognitive dissonance as “psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously.” That is really the best way to sum up this message. Instead of clearly articulating the hope that the gospel gives us, this message presents mystery at every turn. Yes this passage does mention a mystery, but a messenger can’t just throw anything he doesn’t understand into the “mystery bucket.”

Completely missing the point. The message claims that Paul avoided arguments with people. And that Paul just “spoke positively for Christ”. Really? Are we talking about the man from Tarsus or about the man from Toledo giving this message? Why are we talking about arguments anyways? I think the messenger is perhaps infatuated with Colossians 2:4 and misunderstands the point.

“Paul did not argue against the Gnostics or the Colossians, but spoke positively for Christ. Paul focused more on Christ and less on himself and his situation. Christian’s understanding of Christ begins with trusting that Jesus died for our sins and that we have eternal life in heaven, but does not end there. God wants us to continually grow deeper in Christ daily as more and more of our lives, our thinking, and all we do become engaged with Jesus.”

The sentence that stands out to me in the quote above is this: “Paul focused more on Christ  and less on himself and his situation”. Really? In this Colossians passage? You mean the one that starts with “I rejoice in my sufferings.” Paul talks a lot about himself and his real situation in this passage. We cannot avoid talking about our present reality. Granted, Paul did not go into gory details about his time in jail, but Paul did not hide his afflictions.

More ubf-only examples. Apparently there is no quality example of faith outside of ubf, because week after week the Toledo messengers only present inside references. This is a red flag of cult control that just won’t go away: “For example, M. Samuel H. and Oki Lee amazed me because at seventy years old they are pioneering Zimbabwe! How mysterious and exciting is that?”

Future glory cheer. I’ll just quote this one:

“Christ in us means that this power, ability, creativity and potential are very real. The implications of Christ in us are endless, profound, and deep. Think about it, what are you becoming in eternity? Paul calls this, “The hope of glory.” We have “The hope of glory!” We have the great hope to be glorious, like Christ! We have this hope for ourselves and for others and it is a glorious hope! When we have hope, we have something great to look forward to! Because Christ is in us we have great mystery, excitement, and anticipation. Also, the riches of the knowledge of Christ are not just for a select few. He freely makes them available to all. God wants to bless us all richly with all the knowledge of Christ!…. With the miracle of Christ in us, we already have all of the riches and mystery that life can offer. We do not need new or strange teachings. The mystery of Christ is endlessly exciting because we have the hope of glory! “

Engage with others…but only new people. Again I just quote this horrible ubf philosophy of ignoring building relationships with “old junk sheep” (or people who left) and seeking new recruits whom we barely know:

“Second, when Paul engaged himself deeply with Christ, he could engage with others. Look at verses 28, and 29, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” The excitement and joy Paul felt in Christ bubbled up and overflowed to others. He wanted to share about Christ with others, even the Colossians whom he barely knew. He boldly invited others to know Christ as he knew him. He in turn encouraged them to also share Christ.”

Switching terms. So here is another red flag of cult mind control, called switching terms. This is sometimes called re-definition of words. Please read the following message quote slowly. Notice the red flags. Notice how horribly damaging this thinking is to a Christian community, a community already hurt deeply.

“Look at verse 28, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” He encouraged them to renew their commitment to knowing and growing in Christ and in helping others to do the same. These are the very things the Colossians needed to do to restore the joy, mystery and vitality to their faith. They did not need a new teaching. They only needed to return to a life of growing in Christ and in reaching out to others. Constant personal or corporate introspection leads to despair, while encouraging others is an excellent way to encourage ourselves! God wanted them to focus on Christ and others instead of themselves.”

The message quotes verse 28 which mentions several actions (proclaim, warn, teach, present). But what does the message say about these words? The message says “renew their commitment…helping others to do the same.”

It is difficult to review any more of this horrid message without using swear words. The rest of this message is more of the same…

Order, discipline and no TV! The whole second part of this message focuses on order and discipline.

II. “Good Order and the Firmness of Your Faith in Christ.” (2:4,5) I believe Paul talks more of his prayer for the Colossians than their reality.  Paul hints about discipline.  Some versions of the Bible use the word “order” while others use “discipline.”  Both “order” and “discipline” are good words.  “Order” and “Discipline” seem like bad words because we associate them with rigidity, confinement, and a lack of creativity and spontaneity.  However, the opposite is true; having order and discipline in our lives frees us to focus on things we need to take care of.  Order and discipline give us freedom. We have time and energy to cultivate our relationship with Christ, our inner lives and relationships with others.  Discipline and order in every area of our lives is a blessing whether it be spiritually, emotionally, in our thought life, academically, professionally, relationally, monetarily and even physically.  They do not confine us but free us to focus on what we really want to do.  Discipline and order is a gift from God.”

“You are all marvelously disciplined people or you would be home sleeping or watching TV.  But no matter how old we are we can continue to grow in disciplining new areas of our lives bringing them under Christ’s control.   That in itself is mysterious and exciting. “

“It begins with faith in Christ, but practically speaking how can we order and discipline our lives so that we can be free to pursue real spiritual growth and have time to reach out to those around us?”

“My first thought is to simplify our lives.”

“Second, find order in one thing.”

“Third, learn from others.  Jesus is the perfect example but we can learn from others. Find someone who is more disciplined in an area you want to do better in and watch what they do.  We are all disciplined in some area.   For example, M. Sarah Hong is awesomely disciplined in daily bread and prayer. Ruth Kille is wonderfully disciplined in keeping track of money and making time to help others.  Russell Kille is a master at organizing just about anything including computer networks, conferences, and even offices..  S. Jim Paul is very disciplined in his responses to others.  I learn a lot from them all.  I believe God wants us to humbly teach and help each other.”

CONCLUSION:

This message only has value in serving as a classic example of cultic mind control and traditional UBF messenger tactics. The message amounts to shallow analysis that presents pseudo-truth with harmful thought-stopping techniques with cheerleader gusto.

RATING:

One star. This message deserves zero stars but my rating system doesn’t have a 0 star rating.

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

The messenger makes a rather successful attempt to share his own voice and to talk mainly about Christ. I find this refreshing. I also find this message somewhat difficult to review. Why? Because this messenger requested my input before sharing the message. I find it odd to hear many of my words echoed back verbatim. I was hoping for a personalization of the thoughts I had, not a tape-recording playback. Still if the words were shared with a genuine voice, this message has potential.

TITLE AND SCRIPTURE:

“Christ is Supreme, Sufficient and Necessary”
Colossians 1:15-23

MESSAGE CONTENT:

Removal of imperatives. Perhaps one of the best things about this message is that I don’t see the typical “commands to be obeyed” attitude that is prevalent in UBF messengers.

A personal voice. Sharing a current personal experience should have been moving to the audience: “Story about studying this and naming Christian (C. S. Lewis). As I meditated and was writing a reflection on this passage last June in Chicago, Susan called to report good news and bad news. The good news was we were having a son. He was growing okay and active in her wound. The bad news was that his heart was not beating as fast as it should. He could have some electrical—conduction issue.”

Personal conversion experience. The messenger shines when he speaks of Jesus’ grace of salvation to him: “What does it mean that Christ is sufficient? Sufficient for what? The primary sufficiency is seen in salvation. (talk about Jesus’ grace of salvation to me) Church camp before 6th grade, Walk to Emmaus (2001)”. This unscripted section should have given the message an approachable connecting point for the audience.

Confidence in the gospel of Jesus. It might be said that this message lacks an organized point. I’m willing to let that go due to the repeated confidence in the gospel displayed throughout the message: “NOTHING else is needed for salvation! From first to last it is only the grace of God. For some, this is scary, because we think we need some level of moral life or some level of goodness. For others, it is taken for granted, assumed and loses its wonder and fire. Many are in between or perhaps somewhere else entirely. Personally, I am saved. It is nothing but the grace of God through the blood of Jesus that I have such confidence. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will be in Heaven. I have nothing to cling to except the cross of Jesus. I can only plead His grace and mercy. This grace and mercy is amazing and incredible.”

CONCLUSION:

I’m a little conflicted, mainly due to the verbatim quotes from my private critique. But all in all this is a significant change in direction in the messages from Toledo UBF. And it contains some messages we all need to be reminded of on our journey of life.

RATING:

3 stars – Although this message is more of a lecture than a sermon, the clear confidence in the gospel make this a good, solid 3 star message.

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

The messenger makes a clear attempt to break free from the predictable UBF style “look at verse” message formula. There are even four points instead of three. But no amount of re-arranging or earnestness spares this message from being predictable and robotic in nature.

TITLE AND SCRIPTURE:

The Gospel is Bearing Fruit and Growing
Colossians 1:1-14

MESSAGE CONTENT:

Lack of definitions. The word “gospel” is used 47 times in this message. But not until page 3 do we get a definition, presented almost in passing. “When I say the gospel of Jesus, what I am referring to is what Jesus did to make us right with God, his death, his burial and resurrection.” If we are talking about the gospel (and according to the title we are), this ought to be front and center. The gospel should not be a side comment but presented with utter joy and excitement! Speaking of the title, I’m left wanting to know how the gospel grows and bears fruit. The fruit of the gospel goes way beyond “faith, hope and love”. That answer sounds like a cop-out, as if the messenger couldn’t come up with anything to answer “what is the fruit?” Well, at least he didn’t want to say the fruit of the gospel is UBF heritage. Leaving out the heritage is a good thing to me, but replacing the heritage with “faith, hope and love” falls flat.

Where is Epaphras? I find a highly relevant point in the man named Epaphras. He started the Colosse church correct? Not Paul? Yet Paul accepts Epaphras and has no indication of competition of ministry or of being separated because Epaphras was in a different “denomination.” I think there is a big application here somewhere.

Vague reference to struggles. “Likewise, this is our present reality. There is a spiritual battle amongst us.”   “There is a spiritual battle going on among us. And yet, this same gospel is our weapon against Satan’s lies and deceptions.” Why these vague references? This invokes fear in the audience, especially if they don’t feel such a battle going on. This kind of thinking is bordering on spiritual abuse because fear and uncertainty are planted.

Patronizing UBF people. The one real-life illustration in this message is predictably that of a UBF leader. Are there no other examples of living faith? Why do UBF messengers always look inside the ministry? “…When I listened to Dr. Samuel H Lee’s testimony a few weeks ago (before his return to Africa as a missionary with his wife Anna) and how he sought to grow in the fullness of Christ, I realized that even at the age of 70, he was still bearing amazing fruit as a result of the gospel in him.” This might be very confusing to newer or younger people in the audience. Do they know the difference between Samuel H Lee and Samuel C. Lee? or what about Samuel A. Lee?

Leaving out belief. Using a commentary is good. Relying on a single quote by Matthew Henry is not so good. “Knowing the will of God is a very personal and intimate moment between ourselves and God. It is assuring and emboldening when God’s will becomes clear to us and we have a sense of clear direction. After all, we must know it in order to do it.” Matthew Henry has a lot of helpful insight. But this one missed the mark in my opinion. What is more important than knowing? I say believing is more important. Why do people buy something or commit to something? It is because they believe in it. Paint a picture that people can believe in, then they will seek to know and do. I think this is at the heart of my rating for this message.

So close and yet so far.  The messenger shares his struggle honestly. That’s good. “In one message I was listening to, the speaker talked about the messiness of life and finding herself in these moments of not knowing, of brokenness, of fear. And with every word, it was clear that different people in the audience could relate to a certain kind of messiness. And so could I. As I thought about this real challenge to knowing the will of God, and myself often battling states of not knowing, I found it hard to resolve this issue with the unknown.” Then he laments in the very next sentence: “So I was at a loss of what to say in this message.”  What? At a loss? The messenger just alluded to a heart-moving story about a woman who was talking about something amazing. It sounds rather amazing, but why doesn’t the messenger share it with us? Why not share what you listened to? If it moved you (and it seems it did) why not share that? A messenger must learn how to pull the heartstrings from time to time. Sharing this tearful example might have added another star to my rating.

CONCLUSION:

The honest, earnest struggle of the messenger comes across loud and clear in this message. In that respect, this message is better than most Toledo UBF messages. But I’m left grasping the air after reading this message. I cannot consider this message that of a preacher. And in spite of a good attempt to modify the UBF-standard for messages, this message leaves me wondering the same question the message started with: Why Colossians?

RATING:

2 stars – This message is an honest attempt, and almost gets a 3 star rating. But in he end this message fails to invoke belief in the gospel of Jesus in any meaningful way. Is the gospel growing and bearing fruit? I can’t tell. This message comes across as a dead plant. In fact, the messenger almost sounds envious of the gospel growing and bearing fruit elsewhere, and wishes he could be part of that. The good news is that he could be!

The standard rating system applies to my stars. But I think this is too boring. So I’m going to spruce things up a little.

My 5 Star Rating System

1 star – monkey (flawed, confusing, disheartening)

This messenger doesn’t know what he or she is doing. They have major flaws in their understanding of the material they are presenting. They don’t speak or write well. Typically this kind of messenger is just putting on a show, trying to perform. These messages are just lectures giving information. This messenger has a lot of learning to do and really shouldn’t be in the pulpit.

2 stars – robot (structured, predictable, uninspiring)

This messenger tries to follow some sort of prescribed formula for deliving a message. They often share a message that stifles the audience. They may state the gospel but don’t know how to reveal or articulate the gospel of Jesus. The message may inspire the messenger to a degree, but the message falls flat for most of the audience. This messenger usually has potential to become a preacher, but falls short of preaching a sermon.

3 stars – speaker (hopeful, heart-moving, lively)

This messenger knows how to speak to people and how to move them. He or she speaks to people’s hearts as well as their minds. Although the gospel of Jesus may be hidden or not well articulated at times by this messenger, he or she knows how to inspire hope. This kind of message is rarely boring and offers a richness that should be the norm for any preacher. This messenger has had some good training. He or she often shares a sermon but may be prone to just deliver a message.

4 stars – preacher (inspiring, Christ-centric)

This messenger understands how to reveal the gospel of Jesus, as opposed to merely stating the gospel. He or she articulates the gospel themes and uses the gospel principles correctly. This messenger delivers a sermon that deeply moves people toward Christ. This messenger is a highly skilled wordsmith who could easily earn a living as a preacher.

5 stars – Spurgeon (vulnerable, humorous, inspiring, Christ-centric)

The 5 star rating is reserved for those rare gems that reveal the gospel like a Mozart symphony. This is a messenger who shares a sermon with the vibrant life of a Handel chorus. The bar for this rating is the 2013 Global Leadership Summit sermons by Andy Stanley and Chris Brown, both of which get 5 stars. This is a sermon that speaks to the soul on a deep level.

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

The first noticeable characteristic of this message is that it is in the standard ubf-style format called the “Look at verse” format. The message content is chopped up by seven “look at verse” statements. This makes it difficult for listeners of the message to comprehend the message because the mind is not allowed to formulate thoughts or to connect the points. The listeners of a “look at verse” style message generally hear the final thought or cling to something that caught their interest along the way. I find it rather difficult to review a “look at verse” style message because the message seems to fly off the page randomnly. This kind of message always lacks a cohesiveness of thought that feels like a rabbit hopping through tall grass.

TITLE AND SCRIPTURE:

“Treasure in Jars of Clay”
2 Corinthians 4:1-18

MESSAGE CONTENT:

Odd movie reference. The message begins with an odd reference to the movie “National Treasure”. It is mentioned that the character in the movie “had to steal the Declaration to find the map.” The character’s justifcation for this theft is then turned into the main point of this message, teaching us what God does with treasure: “He places it in jars of clay to give to the world.” I find this confusing at best, and highly troubling at worst. Why mention the theft in a movie and tie that to God’s treasure? This doesn’t make any sense and immediately turns me off to this message.

Universal calling. The messenger soon presents us with the standard ubf dilema: Someone out there is tempting us to disobey our mission from God: “…In C.S. Lewis book, “The Screwtape Letters,” we see the various ways in which Satan and his subordinates tempt Christians to not get from point A in their life to point B. We must all watch out for this.” Then the universal calling answer is given as the solution for this dilema: “…So what do we do? We overcome the veil Satan has put over unbelievers minds. God calls us to preach.” Is a calling to preach the only answer? Is the messenger’s dilema real for all of us? What if I don’t preach?

Technically correct. In part II, we find a definition of “God’s treasure”. The definition given by the messenger is that the treasure here is 1) the gospel and 2) the face of Christ and 3) the power of the gospel. I would consider this to be technically correct but articulated in a choppy manner.

Death march. Part III takes us on an unusual turn, probably because of 2 Corinthians 4:8-12. “…in order for this treasure to have impact we have to carry around something else within us. That is the death of Jesus…. To carry in our body the death of Jesus, means to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily and follow him. But this is not as unusual or difficult as we may think. …As we carry the gospel, we carry the death of Jesus, so that his life may be revealed in others. We all are carrying the death of Jesus, ahd the treasure of the gospel according to our unique gifts and abilities. …Remember the old sayings, “no pain, no gain”, and “no suffering, no crown.” In a sense our suffering of this present time are like paying 1,000 dollars on earth for a ten billion dollar mansion in heaven.”

CONCLUSION:

Keep on keeping on even if you are broken. “In conclusion, we look to the invisible God who gives to us a priceless treasure, salvation from sin and death, and the ministry of carrying this priceless treasure to the world in our jars of clay whether we are strong or a cracked pot.”

God values you..almost. “God values us as jars of clay. However, he does this to show that the all surpassing power of the gospel is from him and not from us.”

Be filled with death but keep smiling. “But how can we accomplish this great task? It is by carrying in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will appear in those we are helping. This does not mean we don’t have joy in this world. There are many joys, a wedding, a newborn baby, a new semester for students – I think. There are the joys of spending time with those we love and who love us. But the greatest joy perhaps, is that when as servants we carry the death of Jesus in our body, the life of Jesus will appear in others.”

Be confident and excited! “We will see a new conscience, the veil lifted, and new light of Christ in others. As I worked on this message, I was able see more of the glorious face of Christ. So I am joyful and excited about this. Are you? What a great treasure we carry to the world! Amen.”

RATING:

2 Stars – This message has quite a few technically correct statements, but like a dry, dusty, broken pot, the message fails to reveal Jesus or His gospel or move me in a meaningful way. That is highly unfortunate because there is an amazing story to be told about how God uses broken pottery.