Becky's UBF Roots

1. Spiritual Fodder
2. Cultic, Aberrant, or Abusive?
3. Role of Women in Ministry
4. Then What's a Good Church?
5. Why So Quiet?
6. Becky's UBF Roots
7. The Letter
8. Dissecting Ed's Brain
9. Shepherding/Discipleship Movement
10. Exit Strategy
11. Moving On

This post contains criticisms of University Bible Fellowship, copied unchanged from http://www.ubf-net.de/ubf/problems.en.htm#4 at a much later time than when I finished writing the four previous posts for this blog. My point in doing so is to demonstrate how BBC is a derivative of the UBF ministry through Rebekah Kim (she was a UBF member during her Seoul National University days, but has since distanced herself from the organization as it gained notoriety as a cult). In response, someone sent me a different perspective in regards to BBC's connection to UBF:

"I don't think it's fair to use someone's past to draw comparison to what they do later on in life, especially if Becky chose to distance herself from her UBF days. UBF could very well have been the only Christian group at SNU back in the 70s, maybe it was the only way for her to know Christ then. Korea was also a very patriarchal society then, so it's not surprising to find women who want to make a difference in this world going into Christianity. Only avenue for them to excel. In fact, the whole Christian movement in Korea had something to do with "making something of yourself" for a people long oppressed by colonialism and poverty. You can't fault her for wanting to be a part of a group like that as a freshmen in college.

With that said, a lot of what she knows to be the norm of church and ministry practice were taken from the UBF book. The chief of which is the cult of personality. The presentation of leaders as larger than life spiritual figures. The second of which is the control tactics under the name of accountability.

It's not nearly as bad as UBF from the forced abortion and suicide accounts I have read. In fact, there are UBF people who have left to come to BBC, because they find it to be a healing place. Maybe the BBC system is just too hard to swallow for our "unbroken" American souls.

Five years ago, Ed was asked the question why there was an A in ABSK and his answer was "White folks just aren't ready for this kind of leadership." I don't know whether it means being led by Asians or having too little brokeness in them. But I do know that Gracepoint is aware of this and the strict accountability is only to the people on the "fast track." You can enjoy your YA life, but don't expect to be taken too seriously. For the people who can bear with the control over their lives by the church, then you are qualified to serve. This is how I interrupted John 21:18 for a long time (Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.). Not until I reread the passage after BBC did I realize the passage refer to Peter's obedience onto his own cross and not surrendering of himself to church authority. He was the leader of the early church!

Back to Becky. She is certainly a very gifted person. What other Korean immigrant can you think of can build something like a BBC from scratch. Was God's hand on her? I think so. People like Andy and Chris Pak, Max, Ed, YB, Daniel Lee...they are not your UBF leaders who can't make it in the world. Actually, all of them should be millionaires by now given their talent and work ethic should they not chosen to serve. They obviously didn't do it for personal gain. What kind of a leader is Becky that she can have these men follow her the way they do to the point of naming their kids after her? Not through hypocrisy obviously, these men saw her vision and signed on to accomplish it. When Becky left for Boston, Ed quit his law firm job at Thelen to follow, had to take the bar again in MA, and basically gave up "making partner." All the more tragic the split has to happen. He used to say if Becky was white and male, she'd be bigger than Billy Graham. And I believe it. It's all the more tragic when someone as gifted as her should stumble.

You couple a magnetic personality with a controlling hierarchy, then you are just asking for trouble. No one dare say anything constructive to leaders and everyone wants to present the best face forward. You get rampant hypocrisy in the ranks and buoyant pride on top. Small sins on top go unchecked since no one dare say anything and you get something as ugly as the split that just happen. If things don't change, you are going to have splits in Gracepoint 25 years from now too.

If the Becky and Ed take out the leader worshiping and return to humility to one another, then this church can still do mighty things. You don't need UBF-like leadership to motivate when you really have the gospel and the Holy Spirit. If tomorrow Becky or Ed comes out and apologizes with tears for the wrongs done and asks for forgiveness, perhaps this blog should shut down. The problem is when you know something is wrong, but not admitting it out of personal pride. Then someone has to let you know. When this is done shepherd to sheep, it's called love. Too bad it doesn't work the other way around.

Here is the comparison list between UBF and BBC:

1. Despite the letter “U” in “UBF” standing for “university,” UBF in no way addresses the special needs of students or offers an intellectually attractive Bible study.

No similarity with Berkland, which provides Bible studies that would attract university students.


2. Despite the letter “B” in UBF which standing for “Bible,” there is an alarming disdain and ignorance of any systematic theology. The “Bible study” in UBF is extremely superficial and can hardly called such. The basic principles of hermeneutics, historical environment and classic interpretations aren’t studied, not to mention the original languages of the Bible. It is only about internalizing more deeply the wrong or one-sided UBF interpretation of the Bible with the help of predefined “questionnaires.” The official confession that the Bible is the foremost guideline is only lip-service. In reality, biblical commandments and guidelines are regularly annulled by UBF leaders.

Becky is known for giving unprepared, train-of-thought sermons, which she justifies by pointing to how the prophets did the same. The west coast leader developed an introduction to Christianity course called "Christian 101," which exerpts from reputed Christian sources and has been largely used in the west coast. In response to the popularity of these courses, and never to be second fiddle to anyone, Becky developed our own introductory course based on the book of John, adapted from UBF. Need further input from former Berklanders who may provide greater insight on this point.


3. Despite the letter “F” in UBF standing for “fellowship” (or “friendship” in Germany), UBF is dominated by an atmosphere that prevents the development of real fellowship or friendship. Granted, you will suddenly have many “friends” in UBF, but these friendships usually are superficial and coupled to your membership in UBF. But there hardly are genuine, reliable and deep friendships. Reasons for this are the frequent abuse of confidence in UBF, the formal salutation with titles, the time demands on the members, the schematic, hierarchical mode of co-working, the lack of spontaneity, the “testimony sharing sessions” that don’t allow real exchange of ideas and feelings and the competitiveness promoted by the leaders. There is also the belief that, as a missionary with respect to a native co-worker or a shepherd with respect to a sheep, you shouldn’t establish a friendship that is too close, because you would lose your authority by doing so. There is also a lack of tolerance of views that don’t conform to the UBF party line. The result is a lack of openness and too much timidity in conversations.

Very similar, but I would not call their relationships superficial nonetheless. It is superficial in the sense that many times, the life of the relationship entirely depends on the status of membership. For example, during the recent split between Berkland and Gracepoint, relationships were broken along church loyalties.


4. Members and students who have been targeted as members, regularly report about the extreme intrusiveness of UBF, harassment, bullying, the frequent guilt-tripping, as well as control and coercion. Critics who have dropped out sometimes reported harassment through phone calls even after leaving UBF. Others, who seemed to be less of a threat to UBF, reported how they have been completely forgotten and ignored by UBF after leaving. All the facets of spiritual abuse, for example as it is covered in books by David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen, chronically takes place in UBF, often subliminally or seemingly harmless, but sometimes also in overt or extreme forms. The typical methods of manipulating members known in other cults, as they are described in the books by Steven Hassan for instance, and the correspondingly negative effects on members’ personalities can all be found in UBF, too. Instead of developing their own, individual personality, members develop a “cult personality” typical for the group.

Very similar.


5. Marriages are arranged and controlled; they are allowed exclusively within UBF and only the leader may decide who may or must marry whom and when. This extreme paternalism is embellished in UBF with the term “marriage by faith.” This term also pushes members to put up with it because who wouldn’t like to show that they have faith? Of course what faith actually is and in who or what members put their faith in doing so is a different question.

Similar to very similar. Some couples hit it off without intervention, and these relationships are showcased as the norm. But the general procedure is as follows: A list of 3-4 sisters is given to a brother (not the other way around mind you). The brother decides upon a sister and the leaders relay this information to that sister. The sister then makes the decision to respond.


6. UBF teaches and propagates many more obviously wrong or dubious concepts which are usually referred to with positive, seemingly biblical expressions. Biblical terms and concepts are reinterpreted or newly coined in phrases like “marriage by faith.” One could actually write an article individually on each of the following concepts and the more or less strongly twisted and distorted meanings that are connected with them in UBF: shepherd, disciple, fruit, love, faith, calling, obedience, marriage, royal priesthood and holy nation, church, house church, world mission, missionary, “vision,” “Abraham of faith,” “mother of faith,” “God’s work,” “servant of God,” “absolute obedience,” “spiritual order,” “spiritual heritage,” “manger ministry,” “shepherd heart,” “raising of disciples.” The redefined and loaded language that is created in this way makes it impossible for the members to think clearly and in an unbiased way. If you are reading the Bible in UBF, words and phrases are immediately associated with the body of thought of UBF and understood in the context of the UBF interpretation.

I still remember parts of the chorus for "Worthy Life":

"There is no other way (1)" "To lose your life's to gain it back again (2)" "...forgot..." "I have found a life worth living for (3)"

(1) Derived from John 14:6: "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Double meaning: follow Jesus through a Berkland-style ministry.

(2) References verse appearing all four Gospels: "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Completes the thought began with (1). Double meaning: you should lose your life here at Berkland, since it follows the way God intended.

(3) Becky liked saying this platitude, "If you have nothing to die for, you have nothing to live for." Life is not worth living apart from living it for God. Double meaning: I have found a worthy life here at Berkland, apart from which my life would not be as worthy.

Decidedly my interpretation is biased; anyone else read between the lines this way?


7. There is a completely wrong understanding of authority in UBF: The leaders simply have authority by the fact that they are leaders; they don’t have to earn it, and the authority extends far too much in unreasonable areas. Leaders interfere in personal life decisions and matters of conscience and faith that only the individual believer should decide; they take on the role of a mediator that belongs to the son of God Jesus Christ only, the role of counselor that only the Holy Spirit should have; they demand obedience in a way that only God, the Father, can do.

Very similar.


8. The concept of “absolute obedience” is popular in UBF. Such an absolute and blind obedience is repeatedly demanded by leaders and shepherds, often only on the basis of their position in the church. Obedience should primarily arise from trust in a leader, and such trust must grow and cannot be coerced or demanded. Most of all, no absolute obedience may be demanded that requires acting contrary to the person’s understanding and conscience. The direction of a leader should never be presented as the unquestionable direction or will of God, that must be followed absolutely. But this is exactly what happens in UBF. Sometimes UBF leaders also say that absolute obedience is only due to God. But since the leaders and shepherds in UBF convey “the will of God” to you, in the end it always results in absolute obedience towards these people.

Very similar.


9. Leaders in UBF believe they have to give no account for their behavior and their decisions. They won’t accept any responsibility either if their authoritarian instructions and directions should lead to problems. For instance, if the “training,” the exerted pressure to perform, the guilt-tripping or missing and wrong counseling of an emotionally unstable or mentally disordered member leads to his suicide, or if the partners in an arranged marriage should turn out completely incompatible with each other, and such a marriage becomes a hell or ends with divorce. There have already been such cases repeatedly. The higher a leader’s position is in the UBF hierarchy, the more power and responsibility he has, but the less he is held accountable. While every “sheep” has to give account why he or she does not “invite” on the campus often enough, or bring “the whole tithe,” or missed “writing testimony” or coming to the “one-to-one Bible study,” a leader only needs to give account to his next superior leader; the top leader accordingly being in a position where he does not need to give account to anybody anyone at all – a world that is completely upside down, but accepted by the members as God-given.

Very similar.


10. In particular, usually no account is ever given for the amount and use of the collected offering money. Already at the local chapter level, insight into finances is usually not provided to the members, and the higher you get in the hierarchy of chapters, the more intransparent the cash flow gets. Nobody knows exactly how many millions of dollars have been accumulated in the headquarters, where all the cash flows come together. The topmost leader, who alone knows about these cash flows and the secret bank accounts, can have the money at his disposal and use it for the strengthening of his power or for the enrichment of himself and his most faithful followers. The children of these people are often sent to expensive prestigious universities using this money. On the other hand, needy people and members who often devote all of their time to the UBF mission or put up with bad jobs because of UBF, are practically never supported financially.

Two claims: 1) BBC-B held annual business meetings, where the numbers were handed out on a spreadsheet, etc. The pastors took modest salaries based on need (number of dependents, etc.). 2) Becky has sole control over pastor salaries.


11. The leader and the organization try to remain non-committal in all things, so that the question of accountability doesn’t arise at all in the first place. There are no official or binding guidelines or by-laws for church leadership, no specified doctrine or ethics, no official theological system, also no written elaboration of the principles and methods upon which UBF is operating, which are regarded as an indispensable, precious tradition and “spiritual heritage” of the late leader, and to which the current leadership wants to cling even in the future, regardless of the consequences. Nothing of this is, however, put on record officially. The crucial things are preached “between the lines” and the most important rules remain unspoken. The goal of this is that the leaders are able to decide arbitrarily in every case, without being bound to any standards or principles. On inquiries to the leadership, you will also never receive any clear, obligatory or written information. This modus operandi of not wanting to commit oneself is often even regarded as spiritual. However, everybody who holds such a view should realize that the very thing that makes the Christian God so outstanding is the fact that He is binding Himself in written covenants and in His Word towards man. He doesn’t exert arbitrary power in which He is not accountable to any man, and where everyone must merely knuckle down without questions, as in the case of the Islamic God for instance.

Very similar. I independently wrote something similar to this in "Cult Characteristics" under "Programming," but I wrote "transitory directives."


12. From these missing principles, an extreme form of situation ethics results: Things are only important, if they are profitable for UBF. The end justifies the means. Everything that is effective is good. Outward appearance is more important than reality, heart and mind. Image is everything. The image needs to be held up at all costs, and all negative things must be covered up. In doing so, telling half-truths or twisting of the truth, and, if need be, direct lies are considered legitimate means.

Very similar. Similar to what I wrote in "Then What's a Good Church?"


13. A German cult commissioner explained it in a nutshell: “The ethics of UBF can be summed up in one single word: Obedience. Or more exactly: Blind, unconditional and slavish obedience.”

Very similar.


14. The problems of UBF have been aptly summarized also as “the total disrespect for human dignity in every sense,” which is indeed a universal hallmark of the UBF.

Not similar. UBF is at an entirely different level in terms of messing up people's lives.


15. A former member summarized her experience in this sentence: “There is no real love in UBF.” Of course this would be vehemently denied by the present UBF members. For sure, there is much talking about love in UBF, of having love among each other and towards the “lost sheep.” It is, however, the question, how real this love is and with which ideas the concept of “love” in UBF is loaded. The word “love” indeed doesn’t have the significance in UBF at all which it has in the Bible. Instead of “love,” on the other hand, UBF frequently uses the word “shepherd heart.” A “broken shepherd heart” permits a UBF leader to train, harass or in extreme cases even beat the members at his own discretion. They say that only the motivation is important which allegedly is love. But very obviously this is not real love as it is described in the Bible in 1Cor 13.

Somewhat similar to very similar. Love is not what drives the Berkland power structure.


16. Another very fundamental problem, though it is questionable whether it is the result or rather the cause of the other described problems, is the lack of interest in the truth in UBF; this is often downright frightening. Truth is meant here in the sense of theological and biblical truth, as well as factual truth with respect to concrete charges of malpractice and abuse. The UBF members don’t seem to be interested in what is true or not, instead they create their own reality, which is an illusion – a kind of “virtual reality.” It is a strange phenomenon, that cult members, who believe they have an exclusive right to the truth and make a great show of it, are usually never really interested in knowing the truth. Instead, reality and truth must coincide with the given ideology of the cult. Even if a cult member suspects that something must be wrong, he or she won’t try to reason it out. On the contrary, they avoid any reality check, questioning or challenging of the things claimed by the cult, e.g. by thought stopping techniques. The ideas to which a cult member has become fond of and accustomed to over the years are often more precious to him or her than the sometimes unpleasant or uncomfortable truth. Sadly, this behavior typical for cult members is all-too visible in UBF members, too.

Very similar.


17. Although “faith” is often emphasized in UBF as well, and although people in UBF always talk about how God does this and that, UBF members and particularly the leaders believe in reality that they must do everything themselves. Everything is manipulated, organized, exercised, forced and trained, but in the end it is claimed that it has been “God’s work.” Of course they know in reality however very well that they have done everything themselves and are accordingly proud as well, even if this wouldn’t be officially admitted. As soon as a leader believes he has discovered a “problem” with one of his sheep (the most serious problem being regarded as lacking obedience), he intervenes in and manipulates or trains the poor sheep. In doing so, he doesn’t give God a chance to work himself, nor does he believe that God is raising his children himself, at it is written in the Bible. While they are permanently demanding the faith of their subordinates, the leaders are showing with this behavior their own strong unbelief.

Very similar.


18. Unlucky arranged marriages and having absolute power over the members, particularly over women, led to cases of adultery or sexual harassment by male UBF leaders. These cases are not as seldom as one may think, and it is an open secret in the inner circle of UBF leaders that Samuel Lee was one of them. However, these cases have been covered up and usually even concealed by UBF critics, because they were too embarrassing for all persons affected, and nobody can be exposed to the public in such a way. Those who knew about it, have been sometimes silenced with money – money, that has of course been collected somewhere as “offering money,” since the leadership has no other income. Image is everything again.

Input from former members.


19. Although the opposite is claimed, UBF is all about people, not about God. Members are showered with too much recognition, especially the top leaders and new members, who are raised up as messengers or fellowship leaders too quickly. The danger for members and leaders of seeking human recognition and honor is substantial. Some leaders have built up real personality cults around themselves. The titles used such as “shepherd,” “missionary,” “Dr.,” “mother,” or “the servant of God” aggravate the tendency in UBF of seeking honor from men or being proud of yourself.

Very similar.


20. Everybody must fit in the same role of a “shepherd” or “missionary.” Anybody who does not fit in this role remains unlucky and will always be a loser. Different human talents and the biblical teaching of different spiritual gifts are completely ignored.

Input from former members.


21. The members are permanently suffering from feelings of guilt, of not having worked hard enough for God. There is an eternal cycle of weekly testimonies in which you have to repent for having failed and promise to do better from now on.

Very similar.


22. There is a strong focus on numbers. You always prays for certain numbers of participants at the Sunday service or conferences, for the number of new shepherds you want to put up, the number of disciples you want to raise, or the number for missionaries you want to send out. An individual has actually no value in UBF. You are only oriented toward success and performance as in the case of a large economic group. Current membership numbers and the amount of collected offering monies are mostly kept secret, though. The membership numbers you are praying for arise from purely wishful thinking, and the members never seem to wonder why God, even after 40 years of UBF, never fulfilled the numbers that have been mentioned in the prayers of the past, not even approximately, but instead, UBF is always putting up new and higher number goals.

Not similar.


23. The lack of education in counseling of the leaders and “shepherds,” the pressure exerted on members, and the feelings of guilt instilled in them have already led to numerous tragedies with emotionally unstable members. Samuel Lee’s mentally cruel training methods led one Korean UBF missionary to drown herself in Lake Michigan and one young Korean if UBF to take his life by jumping off a high building. An emotionally ill man, who been a member of Chicago UBF for ten years, killed his own mother. In Heidelberg UBF alone, there were four cases of suicide. A young student who killed himself with an overdose of sleeping pills had already been appointed as a “shepherd” by the Heidelberg UBF chapter leader. As in the case of the many failed arranged marriages, UBF assumed no responsibility and the whole blame was put on these people, and the leader did not even attend the burials. This is not to say that mainly UBF is to blame for all of the suicides that took place. But by trying to force everybody into the mold of a UBF shepherd, even emotionally unstable people, who actually need professional pastoral and psychological help, great harm has been done. Of course, you will never hear about such cases in UBF; at the UBF conferences you can only hear “life testimonies” claiming the UBF “training” produced positive results.

Hopefully not similar!


24. The problem that is probably worst from a spiritual point of view is that UBF teaches in practice the justification from works. Even if officially sometimes justification by faith is taught, it is drummed into the members anyway that they actually can only attain and maintain their justification and salvation if they diligently engage in UBF “world mission” and comply with their lifestyle.

Many churches struggle with teaching justification through faith yet practicing justification through works.


25. Even though it is claimed again and again that methods are unimportant, members are forced to align their whole life with these methods anyway: Weekly one-to-one Bible studies with your shepherd, inviting more students and doing Bible study with them, writing and sharing testimonies (“sogams”) in endless meetings. Life according to these strictly predefined patterns and the total planning and regimentation of time prevents spontaneous decisions, real spiritual growth, further education and development of personal talents and spiritual gifts, positive influence on the family and outsiders and a life according to the conscience and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Similar to very similar.


26. The life according to methods and schemes and the demanded obedience towards the leaders in almost all areas leads to a strong dependency of the members. If you never have to decide on your own, you are not able and do not want to do it any more eventually. Personal responsibility, self-initiative, critical thinking and analyzing, creativity and spontaneity disappear more and more.

Very similar.


27. In UBF you have an extreme focusing on mission, however mission and evangelizing is always seen in the context of UBF and only in the sense of extending the UBF organization. Everything that doesn’t fit into the UBF mold is ignored.

Very similar.


28. Because of this, UBF also cuts itself off from other Christians and doesn’t cooperate with other Christian groups in the same town, not even those that have the same goal of student mission. Because of this, the impression of being something special is also growing. UBF is ruled by exclusiveness and strong elitism.

Very similar. Similar content in "Cult Characteristics."


29. The family is also considered a hindrance to mission and hardly any value is given to family life for its own sake; parents, spouse and children are neglected. It would be biblical to either not marry at all for the sake of mission, or, if you decide to marry, give your family a central place in your life. The preoccupation of UBF Koreans with marriage, the “marriage problem” as it is called in UBF, is another thing in UBF that obviously has a cultural and Confucianistic background. Although they claim that mission is the most important thing in life, it would be unthinkable for them to abandon marriage, as, for example, the Apostle Paul did. As a result, incessantly marriages are arranged, but those members who want to spend time for their marriage or family are instilled with feelings of guilt. The idea that Christian life can mean family centered life (Tit 2:4-5) isn’t only ignored, but it is even claimed that a family centered life is sinful. In this way, UBF has caused unspeakable harm to families.

Input from former members.


30. The sacraments of Holy Communion or Baptism are regarded as unimportant for the mission in UBF as well. There is no official teaching or regulation of these, and they were simply completely ignored under Samuel Lee and most other leaders. Neither Lee nor Barry were allowed to baptize or give communion while they operated within the Presbyterian Church, as neither Lee nor Barry were ever ordained. This may be another explanation of the UBF disrespect of Holy Communion and Baptism. It has been reported that Lee’s successor Miss Barry organized a mass baptism for her seventieth birthday, just as Mr. Lee liked to have weddings take place on his birthday. Why suddenly, after several decades is UBF practicing baptism, or whether this was only a one-time event, isn’t explained to the members. This is still up to the capriciousness of the leader, and an official teaching about these things is still missing.

Berkland doesn't practice Holy Communion, but honors Baptism.


31. Everybody who knows UBF a little bit more deeply, has surely also come to know the “janus-headed” character of the organization: On one side, you will see a kind face, pretending to be non-judgmental and showering the newcomers with demonstrations of friendship and love. But as soon as you are involved a little bit deeper in the organization, the other face also becomes visible: You are pressured, accused and coerced. The seeming “friendship” turns into authority. Also, you are confronted with double-dealing: Leaders may never be criticized, while the permanent criticism of members is described as “disciple education” and is the usual order of business. You actually have a two-class society. Leaders don’t have to “go fishing,” don’t need to do Bible study, share their testimonies, clean the center and often they don’t even need to earn their own living while they demand all of these things from their subordinates.

Very similar.


32. As a UBF member, you are also subject to a permanent alternating hot and cold bath of feelings. The leaders like to work with extremes here: Somebody is praised, exalted, honored in front of everyone, he is told how important he is, held up as a messenger at a conference and everybody tells him how much they love him. Later, he is rebuked publicly, reproached for laziness, not being spiritual or thankful enough, feelings of guilt are instilled and then the love is withdrawn from him. By turns, he is complimented and then blamed again. In this way, many members permanently waver between a feeling of pride and feelings of guilt, between the feeling of being something special and a sense of shame. They inwardly are confused and become more and more dependent on the organization and its leaders.

Very similar.


33. On the one side, feelings are regarded as something negative and standing in opposition to faith; they are suppressed in UBF, whenever instinctive feelings warn you that something could be wrong, or if you have too much empathy with the “sheep.” UBF members pretend they are only thinking rationally and are making decisions only “by faith,” not based on feelings. On the other side, however, there is the strong effort in UBF, for instance at conferences or during one-to-one sessions, of creating an emotional atmosphere, where the attendants are so excited and nervous that they cannot make a rational decision. Even if it outwardly may not look like it, and if they try to avoid this impression, UBF has to be classified as very “charismatic” in this regard. They are not seeking a level-headed and rational decision after the investigation of the own consciences and the Bible, but rather an emotional, spontaneous “decision of faith” (in absolute obedience towards the “orientation” of the leader) without a real basis or based on “magical thinking.” Such a decision is often enforced in an emotionally heated atmosphere. It is not by chance that the shepherding/discipling movement emerged in charismatic churches; and in the above sense UBF has much in common with charismatic churches. It is particularly problematic that even decisions affecting your whole life, like the commitment of becoming a UBF shepherd, going as a missionary into a foreign country determined by the leader, or marrying an unknown UBF member determined by the leader, are often required from members under pressure without giving them enough time to think it over.

Input from former members.


34. You can also observe a strong legalism in UBF. The weekly participation in the Sunday service in UBF is the highest and absolute duty and one of the reasons why as a UBF member you cannot have any vacation that lasts longer than six days. If you are missing during the Sunday service, you are immediately called or fetched. The weekly Bible studies are also an absolute duty. Overall you can say, however, that it is not so much about keeping the laws, but rather all about the principle of obedience.

Very similar.


35. The atmosphere of UBF nurtures hypocrisy, particularly among the growing children of the UBF members, but also among the adult members. If you keep up appearances, take part in all events, fulfill all your duties and the dress regulations, everything will be all right and you will get recognition – even if your inner life may look dark. Conversely, if you feel inner peace with God and your conscience, you frequently are rebuked and accused nevertheless, because you don’t live according to the ideas of UBF. Generally, UBF seems to amplify many negative characteristics of members, such as arrogance and pride on one side and inferiority complexes on the other side, instead of improving their character and letting them grow to mature Christians.

Input from former members. This can characterize other churches.


36. The mentioned double-dealing of UBF leaders can be found in nearly all areas, and also regarding the claim of being a “layman mission” and the demand of a “financially independent lifestyle.” This is demanded of every rank-and-file members, even of the missionaries in very poor and underdeveloped countries. But the leaders aren’t abiding by these very rules they have imposed on others. They usually let UBF members pay all their living expenses, and most of the top leaders have become completely dependent on UBF. They can’t do anything else besides being UBF leaders, because they have no education or professional experience in order to get a proper job. Other churches cannot use them either, because they don’t have a theological or pastoral education. Therefore, a UBF leader can never step down, since he has nowhere to go. He would not only lose his reputation and his power in UBF, but also his financial base for life. The topmost leaders would not be able to feed their families, pay their houses, and send their children to expensive universities, if they had to step down. That’s the reason why these UBF leaders cling to their positions so much and try to keep them by all means. They are against any kind of reform, already for the simple reason of being afraid they could be removed from their leadership positions as a result. Where should leaders like John Jun in Korea or Abraham Lee in Germany go? Without the UBF system which is feeding them and which is the only place where they are respected , they are not able to live. If UBF would be a real layman mission as it is claimed, such problems wouldn’t exist.

Input from former members.


37. There are also noticeable nationalistic and racial tendencies in UBF: White, blond-hair Americans or Europeans are preferred as members instead of dark-skinned or foreign students; within the UBF, Koreans are respected more. The original motto of UBF was “Bible – Korea – world mission.”

Not similar.


38. It cannot be overlooked that the elitist and authoritarian attitude of UBF has produced over decades above all quarelling, divisions, conflicts between parents and children, between husband and wife, between members and their relatives and friends, between UBF and other Christians, it has produced countless hurt souls and broken friendships, the majority of which did not really happen for the sake of Christian faith, but were cause mainly by UBF itself. UBF bears a consistently bad witness for Christianity to the public, and many people have fallen off from faith because of UBF.

Similar to very similar, but not to the extend of UBF.


39. Leaving UBF is almost always a traumatic experience.

Similar to very similar.


40. To this day, UBF refuses to examine or to check these things, to admit concrete faults and sins of the leaders and to question its own system. To this day, UBF hasn’t apologized to the many former members and their relatives, who have been hurt or abused by UBF, or whose life or marriage has been destroyed by UBF. Instead, the victims of the system are blamed once again as ungodly people, slanderers and rebels. After three failed reform attempts, the complete inability to be insightful and to repent is in itself a bad fruit of the UBF system that can hardly be overlooked any more.

Very similar.