The Work of Satan in Mexico
In light of the public prayer topic for our ubfriends in Mexico, I would like to share some news so that you can pray more clearly about the situation. The recent public prayer topic was announced this way on ubf.org: “Pray for M. Timothy, Mexico and his sock factory closed since last 3 weeks. Now he earnestly requests our sincere prayers that by next Tuesday (Feb. 24), he may submit all the necessary documents the labor department required after doing what they requested in the factory, and the factory may be allowed to reopen!”
My First Few Days in Chicago
Last Friday Chicago held a campus mission night. I traveled from St. Louis to Chicago for the event. My pastor had the missionary meeting so he was not present. To be truthful I was not entirely sure why I went. It is prohibitively expensive to travel there, since I currently only make $100 dollars a week as a graduate student. I found that I could take a bus there for only $20 and my spring break started the following week so there was no homework to worry about. I left Thursday around 2pm and arrived late. I will try to be protracted in parts I think readers will want to hear, and brief in other parts. I encourage any reader to leave any questions in the comments, a lot can happen in three days after all.
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The Good and the Bad of UBF
The title is intentionally provocative, even if I genuinely mean it. It probably displeases “both sides.” (Sorry to say but there are “two sides,” as is often invariably and understandably the case.)
On “the UBF side,” there are countless reports over five decades of just how wonderful UBF is and how much UBF missionaries gave up their beloved homeland and family in order to suffer and sacrifice endlessly for world campus mission sparing no cost. But the UBF side does not mention anything bad or any wrongdoing. They also usually have much anger, displeasure and a defensive and offensive posture whenever anything bad is brought up regarding UBF. Continue reading →
Vox Populi Vox Dei
In times of trouble and conflict we are accustomed to call upon the practical man. Unfortunately the opposite is needed. For the practical man can only do the things he knows and when conflict and trouble arise he has neither the means nor the aim to fix an unexpected conflict. The impractical man is what is needed. Some may tell us that the impractical man fiddles while Rome burns. We are told that he ought to go put out the fire, but what we really need is the impractical man who invents the firehose. Then we can quell the flames forever.
Do (not) Read Ubfriends
If I had a nickel for every time someone told me not to read this site or talk to BrianK or Ben Toh, I’d probably be a dollar richer. Unfortunately, for the naysayers, my personality is the type that if I am told not to do something, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. (My mom has figured out that trick and now she uses reverse psychology. She tells me not to do things i.e. don’t get married, don’t have kids and I can never tell if she is genuine or not telling me to do those things because she knows the moment she tells me to do them I disobey. My mom has realized the best thing is simply not to tell me what to do, but pray. Our relationship is complicated:))
The Symposium
I have only been in my current chapter for a little over a year now, but I feel like what happened last night was something, by accounts of many former and current long standing members that at the very least was very new. Instead of having a bible study, testimony sharing bible symposium my pastor decided that we should do something to minister to non-believers, or sceptics. This was a key idea in Stephan Lutz’s book that was required reading for UBF leaders recently. The idea that book, of which I cannot recall the name, is that if only minister to the churched we are not really fulfilling the great commission. As followers of Christ we must take the message to the places that need it the most and this includes hostile arenas. In my experience colleges offer the most hostile arenas for the modern evangelist. I can recall just two days ago a pastor coming to SIUE to preach on the quad. He was assaulted by an atheist after affirming that Levitical Law was the word of God (to be fair to all involved, his wording could have been a little bit better in light of Galatians…) I was very inspired by the change I saw in my pastor’s move for this. Here are some things of note. Continue reading →
A Gentler and Kinder UBFriends
Gentle and kind. This follows my earlier comment to state again my simple (and perhaps naive) contention that the greatest likelihood of effecting positive change in the church is not by relentlessly blasting away and pummeling others (even if they deserve it), but ultimately through gentleness and kindness as exemplified by Christ (even if they don’t deserve it).
Boring and predictable. Many have stated that UBF tends to be boring and predictable in the way the Bible is taught and presented over the decades. I hope that UBFriends does not similarly become boring and predictable by unrelentingly blasting away against UBF. Continue reading →
My Letter to the Committee
This week I sent the following letter to the UBF Ethics & Accountability Committee. I received an acknowledgement from one committee member that they have received my letter. I am posting this publicly so that we can check back in a month or so after the committee meets and discuss any follow-up. Here is their email if anyone is looking for it: ubfethicscommittee @ gmail . com
Obedience and PTSD
“Just obey” may cause PTSD reactions. Obedience might be a favorite word and teaching in UBF (and many other churches). I recently realized that it is also a word that causes PTSD reactions from some people who have negative UBF experiences. This is partly because of the unbiblical and authoritarian ways that obedience is taught, communicated and practiced in certain UBF chapters. This is not uncommonly expressed by the imperative statement, “Just obey!” Obedience is also communicated implicitly even without saying, “Just obey.” The implication is that you should obey God as the Bible commands and teaches. But the practical reality is that you should obey what your leader or shepherd tells you…or else… Continue reading →
Generation: Found
What was the originally intended purpose of Ubfriends? The mission statement of the site says:
Our purpose is to foster open interpersonal communication on spiritual matters that leads to Christian community:
Christ + Communication = Unity
Unity is not the same thing as uniformity. Christians do not all think alike. There are some basic beliefs that we hold in common, but there is a diversity of opinion on many issues within the Body of Christ. As the gospel welcomes people of every tribe and tongue and nation, it also challenges us to stretch ourselves beyond what is comfortable. The degree to which we imitate Christ is not measured by how much we love those who are similar to us, but by how much we embrace those who are different.
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