You would believe that UBF was based on Korean culture and that the UBF leaders including Lee would have no issues with Koreans. However, that is far from the truth. Below I will share a forgotten story/experience of what actually went down between the Korean UBF reformers and Chang-Woo Lee back in the very early 2000s.
“Author: Surfer
Subject: Meeting with SL on Jan 14
(Taken from Reform UBF’s Leader’s Forum)
The meeting with Dr. [Chang-Woo] Lee on January 14, 2001
As the person who visited the Chicago UBF with the Korean shepherds and talked to Dr. Lee, I feel that it is important to report our conversation so that we can have the right prayer topic.
On the 14th of January, I attended a Chicago Sunday worship service (3:00 p.m.) with the Korean shepherds Bona Hong, Caleb Chung, James Lee and Matthew Byun. Shepherd Ron Ward delivered a Psalm 2 message and Dr. Lee gave an announcement. After the service, we went down to the first floor from the balcony. At that time, Dr. Lee was greeting those who were leaving the center. As soon as he saw us, he sent Missionary David Jung to us. M. David Jung said to me, “Dr. Lee doesn’t want to meet the Korean shepherds. Let them go back to Korea and talk to S. John Jun.”
At that time, I was very close to Dr. Lee, so I greeted him and we shook hands. Dr. Lee said to me the same thing David Jung told me. There were still people in line to greet him, so I waited around the stairway until he finished greeting them. After about 10 minutes, I went in and talked to Dr. Lee.
I pleaded with Dr. Lee to meet the Korean shepherds, saying, “Dr. John Jun couldn’t solve the problem until now and that the situations are getting worse. The solution will come if you talk with the Korean shepherds.” He then said, “NOW, OUR PHILOSOPHIES AND THOUGHTS ARE TOO MUCH DIFFERENT. THE BEST THING IS TO BE SEPARATED. I WILL HELP THIS SEPARATION TO BE DONE PEACEFULLY.” It was a shock for me for I had been praying and still I am praying that we may not be separated but be one and do his work in unity. We need to be reformed for we have so many problems in which we don’t glorify God nor serve God’s flock rightly (all of us agree on this, both reform and non reform groups). So our intention is to reform not rebel or cause a division.
The purpose of our visit was also to prevent this division. So I pleaded with Dr. Lee that since it is the teaching of the Bible for all our efforts to be one, he might meet with the shepherds and seek a solution. I told him that the division would be too painful and too costly in God’s work. I pleaded with him, “As you taught us to reconcile with anyone through Jesus’ love, please show it to us.” Dr. Lee said that reconciliation between him and the Korean shepherds is impossible because the reform leaders insulted him too much through a Web sites. So I pleaded with him again, saying, “I believe that true reconciliation is that we reconcile with Jesus’ love when it is impossible practically.”
While I was talking with Dr. Lee, about 15 missionaries were around us and listening to our conversation. Dr. Lee’s response was that if the Korean shepherds want to reconcile with him, they should first shut down all Web sites (ubfnet.com; ubfhope; reformubf; rescueubf) and come to him. As I kept on pleading with him to meet the shepherds since they came all the way from Korea to meet him, his final response was to choose one representative and come to him the following day since he was so “busy” on that day. He said that God will punish him if he did anything wrong.
What we need to know here is that Dr. Lee and the non-reform leaders’ intention are that they really want to be separated. It is very significant that Dr. Lee himself said in public that we might be separated. Since division is his idea, non-reform leaders are driving our ministry towards its end. After meeting Dr. Lee, the Korean shepherds were somewhat disappointed with Dr. Lee’s response. But they told me that they have no intention to divide nor leave UBF. Now they want to focus on the reform over some issues that we need to change. So we can clearly see who wants to divide UBF.
After visiting the Chicago center, some missionaries in Chicago called me and shared their deep concern about the possible division. I could feel their pains. It is also my pain and many co-workers’ in UBF. However, Dr. Lee is making the steps toward division. One thing he did recently was that he decided not to invite our reform chapter directors to the February staff conference. This matter has been one of the major reform issues that Dr. Lee dominantly controlled in our staff conferences. Some of the staff members are never sure if they would be invited or not. One of our coworkers had to pay almost $1,000 in buying an airplane ticket because he was informed just two days before the conference. I had been participating in the staff conference since the Toledo meeting in 1984. During the past 16 years as a USA UBF staff member, I had seen many things in our ministry. It was wonderful when we were full of vision to pioneer 561 American campuses and send pioneers every year. It was beautiful to fight with one heart when deprogrammers attacked our ministry. But it was a sad thing that we lost God’s vision and stopped the pioneering work.
It was such a painful thing to see our precious co-workers leaving. Peter Chang [former chapter director of Columbus UBF], (late) James Kim, Gus Park, John Shin and Jacob Kim were former chapter directors and pioneers of USA-UBFs. I was close to them and shared many things and agreed with their reform issues. They knew that our ministry needed to be reformed so they spoke out with reform voices. The result was that they were all branded as rebels. I chose to remain in UBF because I still respected Dr. Lee as a servant of God regardless of his weaknesses. I also believed that our reforms would succeed if we remain in UBF. Although two times I had major conflicts with Dr. Lee (the marriage of Rebekah and sending Paul Laska as a missionary), I did my best to make a holy vessel with Dr. Lee over the past 10 years. I don’t mean that it was all through my efforts. I really admire Dr. Lee’s patience and efforts to bear with me as a servant of God. So our relationship has been remarkably restored. I wonder why Dr. Lee can’t show the same patience and efforts he showed to me and make peace with the Korean shepherds. It is a sad thing to hear his decision to divide UBF. It is very sad to see his hard heart, refusing reconciliation and not even wanting to talk to the Korean shepherds.
In Christ,
Mark Hong
Madison UBF
No Comments Yet