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Date Posted: 00:52:15 09/25/02 Wed
Author: Anon
Subject: Re: What does UBF have against the local church?
In reply to: S. Rhee 's message, "What does UBF have against the local church?" on 00:42:28 09/25/02 Wed

When I first came to UBF, the coworkers denounced American churches pretty much uniformly. Missionaries said they did not have the word of God, the Holy Spirit, and did not obey Jesus' world mission command. This seemed standard. This seemed acceptable because by and large UBF members came from non-Christian backgrounds or from dead churches. People who came from Bible believing churches did not really want to join UBF because they had a sense of problem, so they were dubbed "old Christians."

So, from the UBF perspective you were either a heathen or an "old Christian."

Things changed in the late 80s and especially after the 1989 reform. UBF leaders tried to attain a measure of respectability among the evangelical Christian community. Missionaries reached out to Trinity College and people like Robert Coleman and Ruth Tucker, and even IVCF. UBF became an official church and even elected church boards. Also, we began to offer money to other Christian groups. Even Korean missionaries tried to go to Bible colleges.

However, I believe the main leadership felt threatened by such attempts because it personally threatened his leadership. As UBF tried to flow into main stream evangelical Christianity the problems of authoritarian leadership and unaccountability became very visable. Facing the prospects of change and maturing the leader decided to scurry back in his shell so that UBF now remains extremely isolated and even more exclusive than any time I remember in the past. It is a shame because a good opportunity was lost because of fear.

The councils, elder boards, and by-laws were abandoned. Each chapter is ruled by an autocrat in Samuel Lee fashion. If there is no genuine reform to make Jesus and God's word the highest authority one of two things will happen. It could shrivel up and blow away as people one by one leave. It could continue limping along for years in its present state but will ultimately disappear. Or, it will become even more authoritarian and human centered so that it becomes more extreme and isolated. Without the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, only human authority and fear will keep people there. However, I do not believe this is likely since there is really no kind of charismatic leader available for this. Only the most dull, mediocre, and unimaginative leaders remain. UBF will probably perish with Sam's death. It has been declining for years anyway. I think it is in its death throws now.

By contrast the modern American evangelical community is undergoing a great revival. While UBF attendance dwindles, Bible believing and Bible teaching churches are packed. There are more Bible believing Christians in America than ever before. God's work is being done by them. It is a pity that UBF chose not to grow and mature and instead is now the "old wineskin" that it criticized for years.

I left UBF after being in it for a long time. It looks sadder than ever because I know that the people there mean very well, but have a very limited perspective of God's word and the community of God's people as a whole. They are paralyzed. Even after being it almost twenty years I am convinced more than ever that it is a cult and not a true church. Still I am hesitant to say even this because in many ways it is too pathetic to even be a real cult. It is more just a bunch of people holding onto an era and time that is long gone. God's history has passed them by and they are still wandering in the wilderness trying to get their bearings straight.

2/9/2001

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  • Re: What does UBF have against the local church? -- Glad-2-B-Out 2d Gen., 00:53:20 09/25/02 Wed
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