What has been lost has been found. It was believed that upstanders to the perpetrators of UBF and its retribution were silenced or disbanded. However, that is not truly the case. The reformers are still active and mainly together even to this day. In fact with the way events and circumstances are proceeding in current UBF chapters where current members are shaken up and questioning things (like those who are still in the chapter I use to go to) there’ll be a 5th reform movement. This is a theory of course but a very probably one.
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Category: Reform
Never H.O.T always C.O.L.D
I recall Ben talk about H.O.T in an article awhile ago. As a refresh “HOT: honest (criticism is welcomed), open (everything is discussed) and transparent (no walls).” However UBF has never been this way. Instead it has always been C.O.L.D. COLD: Crafty (manipulative and deceptive), Obstinate (stubbornly insisting their own way), Lustful (whether it is power, the opposite sex, murder, or forbidden knowledge), Daily (continuously.)
What is the focus?
What is the focus? That is the question that ex-members of a UBF chapter in California have asked.
On a meeting for bible study with ex-members one of the sisters brought up the question about the purpose of the group. We as a group had a discussion and came to the conclusion.
The conclusion being that our purpose is to be a body of Christ that reveals God clearly and be a safe haven to both ex-members and current members whom have also witness & experienced the abuse and sometimes dehumanization from UBF pastors, seniors, and junior members. Our purpose should not be about just merely exposing UBF problems or be a group of haters. If we do so as the sister pointed out we create more problems and end up effecting and harming everyone especially God.
What she said got me thinking about how for a time I become a perpetrator like the the UBF leaders. This got me convicted of my sins and realizing that it is time to turn a new leaf by having a new beginning.
So me and some of the ex-members created a blog that shows techniques and methods to resist UBF’s mind control and possibly prevent and/or resist Stockholm Syndrome. It is called UBF: Ur Being Flat. The reason for this title is because musically you don’t end on a high note in UBF but the melody is always flat with the constant redundancy.
Here is the link to the blog: https://ubfisacult.blogspot.com/
Also here is my email if anyone wants to get in contact with me personally: eddieisvercetti@gmail.com
Dissecting Marriage By Faith
One of the unique, extra-biblical (and, I would argue, unbiblical) practices of UBF is what they call “marriage by faith”. This statement supposedly means, “By faith, trust God to establish your marriage union.” What it actually means, however, is, “You don’t get to choose your partner. Your chapter director will decide for you, and you have to blindly accept that this is God’s will.” Often, people who hardly know each other or who have never met are partnered in this way. Ultimately, the goal of this arranged “marriage by faith” is not as much biblical marriage as a tool for solidifying the couples’ commitment to UBF doctrine.Examine. Expose. Exert.
A few years ago, I hinted that I was working on a new website, sort of a mega-anti-ubf site. This is moving forward, and today’s article is a taste of the content I plan to publish. My tagline for the new site is this: examine, expose and exert. I plan to examine many aspects of the UBF group, to expose their abuses and to exert continued pressure on the group leaders to step down, shut down or otherwise overhaul their seriously flawed campus ministry. What gives me the right to do this? Why am I qualified to do this? I am in a unique position, first of all. I spent 16 years as a ubf shepherd, 8 years as a ubf chapter director and 5 years as a former member. During this time “out” of the group, I have become a sort of amateur exit counselor for dozens of ubf members. I have written four books about my insider experiences. I have helped build the ubfriends websites, making a major contribution to the 20,000+ comments and the 700+ articles (perhaps exceeded only by Ben Toh!). Here is my summary I’ve been working on. For decades, ubf leaders told me to examine myself. Now it’s my turn. Now I examine them. For decades. ubf leaders told me to expose my sins. Now it’s my turn. Now I expose their abuses. For decades, ubf leaders exerted undue religious influence on my life and their high-pressure authoritarianism ruled my life. Now it’s my turn. Now I exert massive pressure on them.
The Dangers of Testimony Sharing
This week, I reread search16’s testimony about UBF, and this bit in particular caught my attention: “While I lived in common life, I was always under a lot of pressure to conform to UBF standards, and I never felt good enough, so I honestly remember many nights of hopping into my car after testimony sharing and wanting (sometimes trying) to crash my car into a wall.” Yes, testimony sharing, [called “sogam” in the past or more recently “reflection writing”] — the weekly ritual of sitting through three or four hours of identical, pre-written reflections on the same message.
How Can We Work for Peace?
In his 2003 book Finding Peace, Jean Vanier poses some rhetorical questions that seem especially poignant for readers of this website:
“How can we work for peace when we are faced with authority that does not listen, that cannot accept that it is not always right, and that refuses any form of criticism or dialogue? Do we leave, slamming the door? Do we seek to create a revolution? Do we let the desire for vengeance grow? Or do we fall into a form of depression and submission because there is nothing else to do? How can we be true when faced with insolent oppression and might? How can we work for justice in impossible situations?”
Powerful questions indeed.