Part 2 of the blue book begins on page 40. The title of this section is “Campus Ministry for Discipleship”.
This part is comprised of five lectures. There is a lot of mention of various UBF works and activities in these lectures, and how much of a blessing those works are. If you have been in UBF a few years, you’ve heard all those lines. So I’ll just share the conclusion of each lecture, which captures the essense of what each person is conveying.
1. The Spirit of Campus Ministry by Elisha Kim (pages 40-43)
“Campus disciple-making is our main goal and purpose… we need to help students find current methods and strategies for disciple-making. We also need to raise professionals and specialists for the next generation.”
2. Discipleship and the House Church by Moses Yoon (pages 44-48)
“The UBF declaration shows well this sense of leadership: ‘One, I am a soldier of my Lord Jesus Christ. I will correctly handle the word of truth and build a Christian outlook. One, I am a soldier of my Lord Jesus Christ. I will participate in the sufferings of Christ for Bible Korea and world mission (2 Timothy 3:3,15).’ Leaders were raised based on this word.”
“We all desire a revival in our ministry. The answer to revival does not lie in group movements… May we walk the road of discipleship, unwaivering in our faith. When we do so God will raise disicples of Jesus just as he has done in our ministry before.”
Ok time out again. So this part was supposed to be about “house church”? There is a small section on “house church” but there is no explanation of what a “house church” is. Just that some leaders formed house churches with other leaders. Clearly UBF values “soldiers” who live as if they were not married. Clearly UBF ignores children in families, for are not children part of a house church? But children are not mentioned here.
3. One-to-one Bible study by Nehemiah Kim (pages 49-54)
“The motto of the world is ‘Faster and more for less.’ But people cannot be mass produced…Besides the labor of love, the grace of God is absolutely necessary for the transformation of souls. May God use our 1:1 ministries to raise influential leaders for Christ and his kingdom.”
4. Daily Bread by Moses Noh (pages 55-59)
“Writing Daily Bread is an important way that many UBF leaders practive living by the word of God on a daily basis, 365 days a year.”
This lecture describes many benefits of doing Daily Bread 365 days a year. It has no conclusion, but ends with explaining four steps of how to write good Daily Bread, which is very similar to what is published on the front cover of every Daily Bread booklet. So the message here is simply: Do Daily Bread 365 days a year.
5. The Purpose and Principles of “Sogam” Writing by John Park (pages 60-64)
“‘Sogam’ (i.e. reflective understanding on particular passages of the Bible) or “testimony writing” began in 1973 in UBF.”
“Testimony writing and sharing is a great way to experience God’s grace and truth in our lives. This is also quite useful in raising up college students as disciples of Jesus… God has used testimony practices in UBF to honor Christ and advance his kingdom in Korea and around the world.”
True. But leaders in UBF have used testimony writing to enslave and burden young people around the world.
“‘Sogam’ (i.e. reflective understanding on particular passages of the Bible) or “testimony writing” began in 1973 in UBF.”
Around the same time, Samuel Lee must have introduced all the other cult-like “training” methods which have been mentioned in the open letter of 7 senior shepherds. It was the time when Samuel Lee took over the ministry from Sarah Barry and started to transform it into a cult and infecting it with his special cult “spirit”. The practice of weekly sogam writing and sharing (by ordinary members, not by leaders) is part of that spirit, it is one of the important instruments for controlling and manipulating people in UBF. That’s why they stress its importance and don’t want to give it up.
UBF is at a “fork in the road”. I see a major split in the coming years. This will not be a reform group being outcast; I see a major split into UBF Korea and UBF everyone else, or something like that. UBF leaders will need to choose between the two paths presented in the blue book– hold onto and promote Lee’s legacy or be a testimony of God’s grace and love to the nations (as presented by Barry). I don’t think Sarah Barry’s direction means rejecting Lee totally; it just means giving up control over people and letting go of the past.