The article is about an on/off member of Bonn UBF chapter who left the chapter only to be entangled in UBF again. You can see by his writing the effects of being in UBF and why you should leave it for good.

Testimony by Joachim D. as of May 11th, 2001

On May 10th, 2001, Joachim D., like Andreas P. a long time member of Bonn UBF whose wife also was devoted to the chapter director Peter Chang, confirmed to the director of Germany UBF at that time, Abraham Lee, that the testimony given by Andreas on April 15th 2001 was in accordance with the facts. Joachim supplemented that testimony with further observations he made in Bonn UBF and gives an impression of the circumstances under which the members of Bonn UBF have to live.

What I have seen, heard and experienced in Bonn UBF.

One can say that coworkers are required to show absolute obedience in their relationship to M. Peter [the Bonn UBF chapter director].

Here is one of many examples of the absolute obedience facing a direction given by M. Peter:

For this years spring Bible conference, I was to give a message from John chapter 21. All messengers had to write a twenty page testimony and to memorize by heart M. Peter’s message and the Bible text. In addition to this, all the messengers had to meet every day for about six weeks prior to the conference in the prayer house to pray and then to practice out loud from 10pm to 12 midnight. I was supposed to deliver my message once beforehand at the Sunday service. During that week I wrote about a twelve page testimony and could recite the message to some extent by heart. Nevertheless, on Saturday evening M. Sarah [the wife of the chapter director] explained to me that I would not preach tomorrow. Then she said, that I could continue writing my testimony that evening and laughed scornfully. When she left, I asked what was so funny with that. M. Petrus, her son, who also was there, answered immediately: “Mama is always so happy.” Later M. Sarah returned again and apologized for her scorn. That encouraged me to continue writing my testimony; by Tuesday I had 16 pages and by Wednesday 18 pages, and after another personal prayer time with M. Sarah, where she told me to write 20 pages at any means, I wrote the last two pages on Thursday. After that I memorized the Bible text by heart and practiced the message once again. Shortly before midnight I wanted to leave. M. Peter had come back from Leipzig a few minutes before and sat in the living room eating. I said hello to him and goodbye and went home. I had just arrived and the phone rang. M. Sarah told me that I absolutely must come back and practice the message again because I left ten minutes too early. I said it was enough and that I had to work the next day, and also that I had been working on the message for two weeks every evening and that the heart should be important, and not those ten minutes. When she began to insist and force her point of view on me, I hung up. At half past midnight, the phone rang again. M. Sarah said: “I tell you, that with this attitude, with your self-will, and your individualism, you are destroying the holy vessel of prayer and cannot be used as a messenger of God’s word.”

Once he literally said at the announcements at the end of a meeting: “I am God.” He did not say that he was like God, or that he was God’s servant or God’s representative, but he said, he was God. That was not a slip of the tongue or attribute to his poor German, because right after this statement he deliberately paused, after which he let us decide either to accept this or “go out through the open door now”. At that time no one said a word; all was silent and just stared straight ahead, I did too. In my heart I was shocked and at the same time ashamed to be in a fellowship where the leaders magnifies himself so. Apostle Paul’s words came to my mind where he says: “For I am the least of the Apostles, and am not even worthy to be called an Apostle …” and, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.”

M. Peter occasionally even takes up a wooden club to hit disobedient coworkers resp. to lead them to repentance. The bad thing is not that he hits somebody, thereby showing his authoritative training style (at this point, he likes to distract and to refer to humanists who spoil and ruin their children by giving them too much love – which might be correct, however it does not justify his behavior being complacent in his position and to some extent enjoying his power and authority. I could recognize this motive in his heart, when he once, without apparent reason, except for intimidation and as a demonstration of power, put his club down demonstratively on the desk at the beginning of a testimony sharing meeting of some shepherds. Also, his smiling face in doing revealed to me that he had no interest in serious topics, but that he was simply playing with his power and authority.) When I had previously participated in breakfast fellowship, it happened now and then that a coworker was severely rebuked by M. Peter, and on account of this he had to, for example, run several times up to the nearby “cross mountain”. As soon as the person had risen and had gone out to the door, he was often laughed at. This was all so much different than the seriousness M. Peter had just shown. In my opinion, that was no serious heartfelt sympathy for other’s prayer requests, but instead it bordered on being nothing more than playing with people and arrogance.

According to the direction of M. Peter Chang it is a great privilege when one is allowed to serve him. Also, it is considered good and basic training to serve him so that we can grow and become greater servants of God. His giving and pain suffering spiritual servantship for us (as coworkers always stress in their testimonies) consists downright in helping us to deny ourselves and in developing a close relationship with the servant of God, i.e., in serving him. In this way, he daily leaves the cleaning of the prayer house, his home, to others; every day he lets one of the “house churches” [UBF term for a family of coworkers] cook meals for his family and others at their own expense, likes to be massaged by the woman coworkers after the meals and lets others chauffeur him here and there. For a while I was responsible for providing breakfast. Once, when the meal had not tasted good to him, probably because the bread was somewhat dry, he complained and became angry. I only said, that one was to always give thanks to God. Afterwards I was dismissed from him with sharp words about my sins of ingratitude and self-righteousness, and was immediately excluded from the breakfast fellowship and was degraded to being a spiritual problem. M. Peter and M. Stephanus [his closest coworker] also enjoy going to the sauna. I learned this indirectly from S. Elke [my wife], since she had bought M. Stephanus a bath-towel for the sauna as a birthday gift. I also learned from another coworker that women coworkers had participated in this.

The fact that the so-called “cordialness” occasionally turns into inappropriateness is shown by the following example: S. Elke was already in the last stages of pregnancy with Rebekka. M. Stephanus in front of the coat rack in our center and embraces S. Elke from behind, stroking her stomach and thanking God for the new life in it (or words similar to this, I cannot remember the exact wording). S. Elke was naturally frightened, but tried not to show it. Only in the evening while we were at home, did she tell me about it, and she asked me, among other things, whether I myself would start doing such a thing, for example, to a woman missionary.

“To serve guests,” M. Peter undertook “discipleship training trips“ or “missionary trips” into the alps ten times in one single year. After some coworkers had written about such trips in their world mission letters (every Monday evening), M. Peter one day forbid writing about such trips. A discipleship training trip to Spain had been planned for this April. When the time for preparations ran short, the plans were abandoned. M. Peter briefly commentated after the Sunday worship service: “I repented of my vacation spirit.”

Most households are greatly in debt. In order to sacrifice for the acquisition houses on the Minister Martini road, we were challenged to “voluntarily” give five-digit amounts of money. The house church of S. Peter P., for example, offered DM 70,000 [about $32,000] with the help of his father cosigning for a loan (M. Peter praised this as exemplary at one meeting). Other shepherd house churches offered mostly DM 50,000 [$23,000]. Everyone had difficulty getting credit. S. Elke and I offered DM 20,000 [$9,000]. At that time I was unemployed and thus not creditworthy at every bank. [Joachim reports here that he even had been indoctrinated to do certain illegal things “by faith” in order to get money for Bonn UBF as soon as possible. To protect him, this passage has been removed.]

Through a hint of some coworkers, I concluded a building loan contract. In order to obtain the building loan as credit, I made false appraisals about the actual value of the building inherited from my grandfather. In order to get the credit as fast as possible, I forged the missing signatures of my sisters and father, “by faith.”

Officially, thanksgiving offerings are always voluntarily given. But they are actually always arranged and determined from “above.” Several times M. Peter told me how high my monthly offering for world mission had to be. If the thanksgiving offering is not as high as requested, then one will be put under pressure through one of M. Peter’s intimate coworkers. One time during my student days, when I gave an offering somewhat beyond my means at that time (with the reason for the forgiving grace of to God on an enclosed note), the next day M. Sarah investigated me why I gave this thanksgiving offering, and asked if I might not have offered it for another special reason.

The monthly world mission offering should be based on trust to each other. I found that alright. But soon a form was presented to me to sign, with something like the following wording: “I herewith promise to bring monthly DM … for thanksgiving offering.” I rejected this for the reason that it downright gives the impression of distrust to me, but again and again I was pushed to sign with the reason being that it was quite normal. Only in the first years we heard something like an accounting report at the end of the year, but soon this was discontinued.

When we were expecting guests in the upcoming summer, we were supposed to bring a thanksgiving offering already in December the year before from our Christmas bonus salary. Then when in the summer the guests came, we were supposed to give again a thanksgiving offering. When I pointed out that we had already offered for that purpose last year the only response was: “That offering was used for something else.” I still have no idea what for.

For different events, e.g. the birth of a child, finishing a degree, obtaining a job one applied for, special offerings were requested. Recent examples of such offerings include the new grand piano from S. Xenofon and the new car for M. Peter or M Sarah. For example, some coworkers would need a car because of the children or because of the travel distance to work. S. Peter P. works 50 km from Bonn and his car one day broke down. The train connection to his workplace is difficult, and it takes several hours to get to and from there. He cannot afford a car, because he is highly indebted. Some coworkers again and again had problems paying their rent, getting trouble with the landlords, because they were months behind. From M. Peter’s point of view, this is God’s training for coworkers to become independent of their situation. In addition to this, it was forbidden for coworkers to help each other materially, or in even lending to others. Everything had to be centrally run and controlled.

Everything is owned communally. But M. Peter alone uses everything as he pleases. When my grandfather died, I wanted to drive to the funeral. I asked M. Peter beforehand whether I could take one of our cars. He agreed to this. When I met him, for one hour I had to discuss with him about S. Elke not going with me for being “spiritually unclear”. After discussing this back and forth, I accepted that she should stay. After I told S. Elke about the decision for her to stay, M. Peter told me that I also must not go. After discussing this back and forth for another hour he told me that all the cars were being used (which, as I found out later, was a lie). Finally I stopped the discussion and at the last minute rented a car, in order to arrive on time. In the glaring contrast to this, it later happened that the father of M. Sarah (or M. Abraham?, I don’t remember) was once seriously ill, a special offering was arranged for all in order to pay the flight costs to Korea.

About my married life:

Monday morning is the leaders’ meeting; everyone participates in it. Paul [my son], who is one and a half years old, remains home alone until 11am, sometimes later, then he would be fed. Afterwards, S. Elke [my wife] goes to the prayer house to help out there to prepare the mid-day meal. After that, she shops for and cooks food for the high school children’s evening meal which takes place in the “world mission house”. Often it is 5pm before she gets home to feed Paul again. She must then run off, in order to be ready for the fellowship meeting which takes place at 6pm in the center. After that there is World Mission letter writing. When she comes home again around 10pm, she feeds Paul the third time. Often, she is then so tired that she simply falls asleep wherever she sits down. Finally, she mostly cleans up our apartment far past midnight, because the fellowship breakfast of the leading coworkers takes place in our home the following day. S. Elke participates at the fellowship breakfast from Tuesday to Friday, and lately also several times on Saturday. I have breakfast in the center with M. Sarah and some of the other coworkers. On Tuesday and Friday S. Elke works half-days, because we cannot manage with my wages due to the offerings and debt payments. Most of the time she returns from the fellowship breakfast around 9:30am. Afterwards Paul is fed and S. Elke works until approximately 2:30pm. Paul remains home alone. If ever at all, I have breakfast with S. Elke on Saturday or Sunday, however she most often bakes Saturday mornings to have a cake ready for the Sunday service. In the evening I go most often directly from work to fish sheep and then to the center. Having dinner fellowship with my family is a rare event. Instead, S. Elke often brings something for me to eat at the center.

Presently, in some families, husband and wife live separately (S. Fels, S. Andreas, M. Isaac), some have done this for years. That is M. Peter’s training method, to lead spiritually unclear coworkers to repentance. When I arrived a couple of times too late for “Daily Bread,” also S. Elke (via M. Peter) made the suggestion to me, whether I should not move out and get an apartment by myself.

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20040625204303/http://www.ubf-info.de:80/int/bonn/joachimd200105.en.htm

 In the following you see Joachim became once again entangled in UBF. Notice how he now unfortunately a clone of UBF completely. His mental independence is nearly depraved from him.

THIS MAN IS MY CHOSEN INSTRUMENT: JOACHIM D, LIFE TESTIMONY 2011

“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.’” (Acts 9,15)

Part 1: A meaningless pleasure seeking life

My early days and my family

Hello, my name is Joachim D; I am from Bonn, Germany. I was born in 1962 as the one and only son between one older and one younger sister in an idyllic village in the midst of Germany. During my childhood and youth this region was considered the end of the earth, because before the reunification of East and West Germany in 1989, the iron curtain was very close to this place. My father was an official at the post office. He was a gregarious, good-natured and humorous man who knew everyone in our village and always wanted the center of attention. My mother was not as gregarious as my father. She was a hardworking and loving housewife who did her best for the welfare of their children and the whole family.

My elementary school

When I entered elementary school I was very proud to be a pupil. My achievements were very good; my teacher liked me and gave me much attention. From the third grade on boys and girls were separated in physical education and I got a new gym teacher. Sometimes he teased me because physically I was one of the weakest. Also some of my classmates made fun of me, which hurt me deep in my heart. I didn’t understand why the other boys had more power and bones, almost twice as thick as I had. From that time on an inferiority complex developed. I became reserved and was afraid of people. Also my school performance decreased gradually.

My family was confronted with death

In 1981 I did my A-levels just barely. At that time my family was confronted with death. We were shocked when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42. Her dream of domestic happiness was suddenly broken. She was despaired and cried a lot and no one was able to comfort her. At that time all our family members did their best to help her. My older sister infiltrated her with esoteric ideas, but my mother resisted these. Meanwhile I had to do my military service and one weekend when I came home I heard my mother singing songs of Jesus. Until now I don’t know exactly what happened and how she came to faith in Jesus, but she held fast onto him as her only hope and about two month later she died with this faith.

My college life without orientation

After her death my father was overwhelmed with his job and the education of my younger sister, who was at the age of puberty. After finishing my military service I was without orientation. Because most of my friends entered the university I too made this step and enrolled at the University of Braunschweig for biology. I chose biology not because I would become a famous biologist, but because I thought it would be the easiest way for me. During the week I studied hard and had only superficial contact to fellow students.

Part 2: You are my chosen instrument

God heard the inner cry of my heart

Although I studied biology, I had no clear orientation for my life. After my mother’s death, my heart was more and more occupied by the question of the meaning of life. During my studies I learned a lot about the theory of evolution. I believed in this theory, but I could not find any deep sense in it. Therefore I started to read philosophical books and some esoteric literature. But this caused me only many headaches and confused my thoughts. Finally it was God who heard the inner cry of my heart.

“Do you believe in God?”

In the early spring of 1987 he sent Msn. Mary Shin to this lost sinner. In the canteen she asked me with strong accentuated German, “Do you believe in God?” I was completely surprised and wanted to give her some wise answer, saying, “Oh, this depends on the definition of God.” She said, “Hmm,” and then invited me to study the Bible. She also wanted me to give her my address or phone number, but I rejected and said, “I have nothing to write with!” Unfortunately she had something to write with. Finally I found another excuse not to give her my address, but she gave me her address. It was God’s grace that despite my doubts he led me to Bible study. Through John’s gospel God worked in my heart.

God opened my eyes through John 4:13

John 4:13 opened my eyes and let me come to know that I was a very thirsty person, who vainly tried to quench his thirst with all kinds of worldly pleasures and human love. I realized that the meaninglessness of my life was the result of not knowing God and missing his good aim for my life. At the spring conference in 1987 God planted three passages into my heart: John 20:29, John 19:30, and Isaiah 53:4-6. Through these words God convinced me about the truth of his Word and his unconditional and forgiving love to me. I accepted myself as an unbelieving and lost sinner, who actually had deserved the punishment and wrath of God. It was the Holy Spirit who helped me to accept God’s love, which quenched the thirst of my soul fully. I received God’s grace of forgiveness and as a result of this, true peace and heavenly joy came into my heart. God also freed me from my fear of men and inferiority complex so that I began to witness to God’s love to my old friends, family members, and others. But it seemed to me that their ears were deaf. Through continued Bible study, writing testimonies, and attending the Sunday worship service, God helped me step by step to grow as a shepherd.

I struggled with my fixed ideas about Darwin’s theory of evolution

Although I had experienced Jesus’ one-sided grace, I had to struggle hard with my fixed ideas about Darwin’s theory of evolution. But when I held on to the words of God which I already had received, the Holy Spirit helped me to identify this theory as a false teaching and lie of Satan. And in the following period God blessed me with his promise given in Matthew 6:33. Out of faith I tried to obey this command and did my best. I came to early morning prayer, wrote daily bread testimonies, attended every meeting and also invited his sheep. I moved out of my apartment in the dormitory and began common life with other shepherds and Msn. Peter Chang’s family in our prayer house. Through common life God helped me to realize my sins of egoistic individualism, that I actually was not able to bear the sins of others and have common life with them. But through the spiritual help and prayer of Msn. Mary Shin, Msn. Peter and Sarah Chang, God helped me to come to the cross of Jesus again and again and to grow deeper in a love relationship with Jesus and to be changed.

My shepherd life

When I held on to Matthew 6:33, God was with me and entrusted to me some of his sheep. One of them was a physics student. He lived a dark life in selfishness, sinful desire, and loneliness. One day when I visited his apartment I was shocked, because I found nothing else than a full garbage can. Through Bible study he accepted Jesus as his Savior and the light of life shone into his heart. It wasn’t until almost one year when he admitted that he already had given up his studies a long time ago. He got enmeshed in his lies and all his relationships with others were broken. But through faith in Jesus his relationship with his family was restored and through God’s grace he also could continue his studies. After graduation, however, he stopped studying the Bible with me and ran away. I was very disappointed. Through this God taught me Jesus’ broken shepherd heart to rebellious sinners even to his enemies.

God kept his promise from Matthew 6:33 in my life

When I held on to Matthew 6:33 and sought first his kingdom and his righteousness I really experienced some miraculous signs. God helped me to complete my studies and to graduate with excellent grades, although there had been many obstacles and problems. In 1995 God blessed me by establishing a beautiful house church with the most suitable woman of faith, Sh. Elke from Köln UBF. Just after marriage, the contract with my job at the university expired. I could have found another job in another city far away from Bonn, but through Matthew 6:33, by faith, I decided to stay in Bonn and to live as a campus shepherd for his flock. Although I was  unemployed for almost one year and we did not have enough money, God gave us all we needed. Moreover, when I prayed to God, he gave me a big loan from the bank in order to support the purchase of our shepherd house. It should have been impossible to get it, because of my unemployment at that time. But later God granted me a new job located very close to the campus.

God’s one-sided love for me through his servants

Through the division of our church in 2001, I was tempted by Satan to lay down my cross and seek a more comfortable Christian life. I fell into spiritual blindness and even let myself be persuaded to spread lies about our community and even to slander God’s people. At that time I was a source of pain for many people. But they continued praying for me and served me with unconditional and devoted love. Out of her shepherd heart, Msn. Mary Shin spared no expense and came several times from Korea to Germany to have Bible study with me and to pray for me. Finally, God led me to repentance through John 21:15. I deserved to be rejected and to be condemned forever, but Jesus still loved such a terrible sinner like me. He newly built me up and with Acts 9:15, he helped me to renew the call of God in my heart.

I decided to suffer for Jesus’ name’s sake

Through my sins I had caused many hardships to others; but because of the grace of Jesus, I decided to suffer for the sake of Jesus’ name as a debtor for all people and to be God’s chosen instrument to bring his name to the students in the world and to rise disciples of Jesus among them, wherever God wanted to use me.

Epilogue

Despite all my shortcomings and failures, God blessed my life of faith and my house church abundantly and led us to his good goal. God blessed my house church with three beautiful children, Rebekah, Paul, and Johanna, who are growing gradually in the love of Jesus. He blessed our prayer and Bible study and raised Christoph Tornau and Martin Schreck as shepherds, Bible teachers, and future spiritual leaders. God allowed us to open our apartment for common life together with Sh. Martin since 2007 and to serve him spiritually. During this time God is also working in the hearts of two further students, Jonas and Julian, through Bible study. God gave me precious messenger training through Dr. Peter Chang and raised me as one of four preachers at our Sunday worship service. God also worked mightily through his Word and Holy Spirit through the ABC Fellowship, a fellowship designed for children of missionaries and newcomers, which meets on Wednesdays and for which my house church is responsible. Looking back on my shepherd life I praise God for his marvelous guidance according to his will and plan for me and my family. There have been many ups and downs in my life, but God used everything for me to grow in faith and to be changed into the image of a good shepherd for his flock.

Prayer topics:

To hold on to my life key verse, Matthew 6:33, and to trust in almighty God in all  circumstances and to fulfill my mission.

For good coworking with Dr. Peter Chang and the leading staff members for German and European Campus mission; for pioneering 360 universities in Germany and 1700 in Europe.

For Bible study: to live as God’s chosen instrument and become a shepherd for 12 students.

One word: This is my chosen instrument.

Source: http://ubf.org/testimonies/europe/sh-joachims-testimony-germany