There are “campus shepherds” on over 300 colleges and universities from a new religious group called University Bible Fellowship.
We, the undersigned, call on the leaders of the UBF shepherding system to stop the following:
1. Stop appointing personal, lifelong moral supervisors (aka “shepherds”) over students’ young adult lives.
2. Stop arranging marriages between UBF members, a practice called “marriage by faith”.
3. Admit and acknowledge (and put and end to) the mountain of eye-witness testimony regarding many kinds of abuse the UBF shepherding system has allowed, including, but not limited to:
- Demanding unnecessary sacrifice of students, including ordering abortions as a requirement to become a missionary, cutting off ties with family and friends, and pressuring students to offer money.
- Training students to obey through “dead dog training”, such as by having them walk barefoot 5 miles, to drive 3 hours every week to attend meetings, and to stand in ice water.
- Intruding into students’ lives through undue religious influence, excessive daily, weekly and monthly meetings, and unhealthy indoctrination.
More information about University Bible Fellowship, a Korean campus ministry, can be found here: http://wiki.ubfriends.net/
My thoughts are that UBF has changed somewhat in recent years (though not enough according to some/many).
I think it’s fair to say that the change has occurred as a result of the explosion of social media, which virtually equalizes the playing field.
Anyone in ubf can now publicly share what “their shepherd said” or “told them to do or not do.” This is downright scary for some leaders who are so used to their “my way or the highway” style of leadership and shepherding.
So now few, if any ubf leader, will give “dead dog training,” and they would most certainly not call it that. If they do, it is almost for certain that their own children will call them out on such outrageous language and directives.
In my opinion a major issue, which has been rehashed repeatedly on ubfriends over the past five years, is the issue of authoritarian abuse, which in many instances can be quite subtle, yet undeniable.
It is the implicit (and sometimes explicit) insinuation that “obeying your shepherd” (or “obeying your leader or chapter director”) = “obeying God.” This is a very very sad and sorry teaching, however subtle it might be.
Until this is practically addressed and acknowledged, discussed and dissected, the authoritarinism and so-called “keep spiritual order” and “just obey” expectations will continue.
Ben, I think that’s the point of the petition. Sure, dead dog training is mostly out, but that is from necessity rather than true repentance! What missionary was it that said, “We could control sheep better in the past”?
The fact is, people are still being manipulated into breaking healthy relationships, giving away thousands of dollars, marrying into damaging unions and obeying controlling authoritarians blindly. They think they are putting faith in God, but when they realize that they’ve been manipulated they leave emotionally, financially and spiritually scarred. Many even reject healthy Christianity as a result, and many never recover what was lost.
The fact is, people are getting hurt, the traditional UBF shepherding ideology is very much to blame, and getting leaders to formally acknowledge, plainly and openly, both past and present mistakes is a good way to move forward.
I thank God that you have disbanded heavy shepherding in favor of real relationships with God and others at Westloop; I pray that every UBF chapter–and every “evangelical Christian” cult–might follow suit.
In fact, it may even be harder for people to recognize and escape the spiritual abuse because outright falsehoods like dead dog training are no longer visible; everything is subtle.
now the tables r turned: obey exmembers constructive criticism or lose; HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, Mark, I appreciate your sentiment. But in no way do I want ubfers “obeying” me or any of us. I just want them to listen to us for once 🙂
There is some misunderstanding in what I’m petitioning for here. I am not asking for the UBF ministry to stop, but for the UBF shepherding to stop.
Can you have a valid Christian ministry without the authority of personal shepherds? Surely you can. Can you have a healthy Christian ministry without arranging marriages? Yes of course. Can you have a vibrant Christian ministry without repentance? I don’t see how you can request students to repent and yet not repent yourselves as leaders.
Christianity has thrived for over two thousand years without personal shepherding and without arranged marriage, but what kind of Christianity exists without leadership setting the example of repentance?
(it was ‘they deserve a dose of their own medicine’ comment:)
& I agree a ministry could continue if corrected, or could end if unwilling to correct…but yes ending would be better than not correcting & so continuing to dishonor God/damage people
in other words isn’t it reality that leaders don’t have an inherent right to lead, groups don’t have an inherent right to exist, unless done ethically/morally so to speak?
group rights vs individual rights, ‘that is the question’
by the way, modern ministries seemed to have dealt with ethical crises by dealing with leader(s), thus ‘saving the ranch’/regaining credibility as an organization:)