Where is the $13 million ubf stash going? It is going to South Korea for magnificent “center” buildings and now a museum.
They want a memorial forever?
“On November 25, the opening ceremony of UBF history museum was held at Kwangju UBF center. All Korean staff shepherds attended. The opening ceremony began with the prayers of Dr. James Suh, Dr. Paul Hong and S. Joshua Lee (Daejun UBF). Dr. John Jun delivered a main message with the title, “A memorial forever” on Joshua 3:14-4:24.”
They are acting out the Old Testament
“It was a miracle that Israel people crossed the Jordan River as on dry land. God wanted his people to remember God’s history.”
Who is compromising with Gentile culture?
“However, when Israel people entered the promised land flowing with milk and honey, they forgot God and compromised with the Gentile culture. Therefore, God built up 12 stones as a memorial forever so that they may remember God’s history and teach it to his descendants.”
They are no longer able to distinguish between God and ubf
It was followed by a special song by S. Kim Woojin, “The Lord’s prayer.” Then Mother Barry delivered a blessed message with the title, “Bible Korea, World Mission, Enlarge the Place of your Tent!” on Isaiah 54:2. In summary, Mother Barry explained that we can carry out Bible Korea and World mission through deep Bible study and prayer. It was followed by P. Abraham Kim’s welcoming address.”
They only have one mission: pass on their legacy to their Korean children
“Announcements and prayer topics were given by S. David Kim, Korean UBF director. First of all, we praised God who opened the UBF History Museum by remodeling the original building located at 176-1 Daein-dong, Kwangju, Korea. S. David emphasized the importance of history education. He asked us to pray that God may use this history museum to teach God’s history in UBF and pass on UBF ministry to our descendants. After our ceremony, we visited the UBF History Museum to pray together.”
What did Jesus say?
John 8:54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.”
The Lord Rejects Saul
1 Samuel 15:1-35
15 And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction[a] all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves[b] and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret[c] that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully.[d] Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
An former UBF member summarized UBF’s mission statement thus: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare that you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare that you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare that you are a chosen people, …”
I’m sure Samuel Lee is rolling over in his expensive grave at this latest lavish display of self-glorification by UBF leaders…rolling over in delight.
Hi Ronwad:
I’m not so sure about this:
“I’m sure Samuel Lee is rolling over in his expensive grave at this latest lavish display of self-glorification by UBF leaders…rolling over in delight.”
Before he died in a fire in 2002, Lee made an announcement (in a lecture maybe? or yearly letter?) where he indicated how upset he was with what Korea ubf was doing with the lavish “bible center” buildings. I remember he rebuked one specific chapter in Korea (can’t recall which one) because they were not keeping “manger ministry”.
But you do make a valid point, Lee certainly would have loved the praise and self-glorification.
Some critisim is constructive, your post about this looks like blaten hatre, false accuse and mocking. Where is a magnificent UBF center building in Korea? What is your standard to describe something magnificent? Yes, there are magnificent church buildings of Korean mega churches with magnificent sizes and facilities (btw also in America), but UBF centers are just simple normal buildings. I know one pretty nice looking center, near Kyeonghee University, but that’s because a lot of the members there are doctors and they builded it from their own offering.
As for the museum, they are happy that the same building where the first bible studies started is after 52 years still remaining, so they turned it into a museum, putting pictures in it, how the movement/ministry had started. What is wrong with wanting to have a memorial? Do you think that anyone is worshiping Martin Luther, when they visit the place where he was living and wrote the bible? Is it making him an idol when they turned the place where he was living into a museum and keep simples things of him? No, It’s simply because he was historically significant and it’s keeping those things, that it may inspire the next generations to come. I see the point that it would be better keeping being a movement than to become a museum, considering that Christianity in Germany is not alive as the times back then. But please don’t accuse making an old historical meaningful building into a place to remember putting pictures and old daily bread books etc. into being idol worshipping. They put pictures of people, from bible conferences, mission fields etc, because you can’t take a picture of God, but what they want to show is what God did through the lifes of people. Pls. don’t accuse it because of that to be self glorification.
I came to this place after seeing your facebook post. I wonder why you included a report of UBF that they took the 2nd. Gen visiting tombs, writing if they would put such a tomb into the museum etc. Do you know who’s tombs there are, you were mocking about UBF is taking the 2nd. Gens to educate? Please, what is wrong about to take children to the graves of the missionaries coming from Germany, England, America and Canada, who have sacrified to bring the gospel to Korea and even choose to be burried in Korea than their home country. http://www.yanghwajin.net/v2/mission/mission_list.html
The intention of taking the 2nd. Gens there is to realize that there had been times, where one could not freely read the bible, praise and worship God.
The life of those missionaries, and to appreciate and to learn from it.
Do you think it’s idol worshipping or looking like communism when one takes their children to Abraham Lincolns memorial and his huge statue?
If you have been hurt by some or even several UBF members, I am very sorry for that. It seems that UBF was not the best ministry for you and I hope that Jesus may heal all your hurts. I have many non-christians friends who are hurt and disgusted by churches (which are not UBF). It is sad, but also what is church than a gathering of sinners? And what does Satan love less than to try to break relationships among church in any ways possible. Would God not want us to learn to still love and to start with me to grow more alike Jesus. Pls. think about, when you write a post if your motivation is love and care, or anger and hatre. Pls. think in that moment if Jesus will be happy about how you are using your energy. And if you are using it to bring the gospel to others. To me it seems you are using a lot of it to avoid people to come to UBF. While the majority in UBF ARE praying and doing what they can to bring people to Jesus.
Hi twix,
Thank you for making several of my points for me.
Grace and peace.
Half truth is the method that Satan uses.
“Did God really say not to eat from that fruit? ” First through the question, he plants mistrust. And then comes the lie “No, even if you eat you don’t die.”.
I am concerned for you, since your posts are looking scarily similar.
“Where is the $13 million ubf stash going?” The question to plant mistrust. “It is going to South Korea for magnificent “center” buildings and now a museum.” And here comes the lie. There are no “castle” centers of UBF in Korea, unless you call buildings with bible study tables, chairs, projector and probably instruments a castle.
Yes, UBF took 2nd. Gens to tombs. But it is not ancestor worshipping nor idol worshipping nor communism. That is a lie and wrong accuse. It is to teach and remember about the life of missionaries who came to Korea like Henry Appenzeller, Homer Hulbert, Horace Grant Underwood and many others. To raise concern is okay, but pls. don’t spread half truth or lies, as if that is a fact and the truth.
Hi twix,
I’m getting used to ubfers calling me “Satan”. Your concern is duly noted.
Speaking of truth, you mention something above that is true indeed: “To me it seems you are using a lot of it to avoid people to come to UBF.”
That is correct. I hope everyone avoids ubf. I hope ubf leaders will stand up against the abusive, cultic ways built into the ubf 12 point heritage system. I hope no more young adults in college get entangled by the false ubf ideologies. I hope no more young people get enslaved to ubf Korean masters. I hope no one else in ubf will sacrifce their families. I hope no one ever ends up in the Ohio river homeless like my friend Andrew (former Kentucky ubf director).
I am a true insider into ubf, spending 24 years there unti my wife and I closed the Detroit ubf chapter.
I did not mean to call you Satan, but to be careful in what you do to do it for the Lord. I spent my 27 years in UBF growing up in this ministry and I have not experienced an abusive leader. The ‘leader’ of my chapter is Samuel H. Lee who lives as a silver missionary teaching the bible in Zimbabwe. While growing up, I had 4 different bible teachers both in Korea, Germany and U.S.A. and none of them was abusive or trying to enslave me, but loving me purely as a child and later as a friend and coworker. Yes, my parents had sacrified our family for the ministry, but I saw that it is worth it when 1 person came to believe in Jesus. I don’t know about your friend Andrew, of whom you say ended up homeless. But I know about several students in our ministry who were unable to socialize due to abuse since childhood, unable to do studies, but the shepherdess loved and encouraged them regardless, that they continue now a career. Including my parents, who opened our home to a homeless person. Yes, there are also some characters in the ministry who are simply not perfect. But I love or try to love them, since family you love as they are. However, I am in this ministry not because of my bible teacher, not because of my parents, not because of UBF, but simply because of Jesus. And the majority of people I know, are the same. I am not a leader but I apologize for the hurt that our ministry has caused you. Someone said, you can be hurt only by someone you love. So it seems to be that you loved the UBF ministry very much, what caused you also that much of a hurt. Anyways, I am sorry for whatever has happened for you .But I don’t think you would have spent 24 years in this ministry if everything you were experiencing was wrong. I hope you can remember the good things, let go the bad things and be a blessing in the new ministry you find to invite people to Jesus. God bless.
“Before he died in a fire in 2002, Lee made an announcement (in a lecture maybe? or yearly letter?) where he indicated how upset he was with what Korea ubf was doing with the lavish “bible center” buildings. I remember he rebuked one specific chapter in Korea (can’t recall which one) because they were not keeping “manger ministry”.
This was likely theatrics on Lee’s part. A ubfhistoryx post might shed some light on these types of theatrics on his part:
“This July 1998 event was the UBF “world mission report” during which S. Lee supposedly rebuked the Korean UBF leaders for having too extravagant a celebration of UBF. He was apparently so upset at having such an extravagant celebration that he felt the need to have the empty seats excised from the official photo.”
The issue is self-glorification. Self-glorification is ugly wherever we find it and see it. It’s especially ugly when you find it among alleged Christians.
Does anyone see a Luther museum as a glorification of Lutheranism? No.
Does anyone see the graves of early foreign missionaries in Korea as someone’s attempt at self-glorification? No.
Is the Crystal Cathedral obscenely self-glorifying. Yes! There’s nothing uglier to me than self-glorification by alleged Christians.
A UBF Museum!? That’s not self-glorification? Of course it is. And it’s self-glorification by an organization that has a long history of elitist triumphalism and self-glorification. Where’s the Intervarsity Museum? Where’s the Campus Crusade Museum? Where’s the Youth for Christ Museum? Congratulations, UBF leaders! You’ve “pioneered” another frontier that those other second-rate campus ministries dared not venture into.
Is this how UBF members justify the yearly memorial services at Lee’s grave? By making comparisons to the Lincoln Memorial? GTFO.
BTW, the assertion that UBF centers are just simple buildings with tables, chairs, instruments and stuff is misleading. Property is not cheap, and UBF owns $millions in property all over the world.
Hi Ronwad:
I think you are probably correct: “This was likely theatrics on Lee’s part”.
Hi twix (by the way I know who you are and who you married, but I won’t expose your identity here because exposing you would not be the Christ-like thing to do. I know how much you risk just by commenting here, and I’m glad to have this dialogue.)
However, I do want to respond to some of your words.
“Where is a magnificent UBF center building in Korea?”
>> I have been in Seoul. I visited several ubf “center” buildings. My first reaction was that they were magnificent. Also as I indicated above, I heard (or read) Samuel Lee say the buildings were “magnificent” and then he rebuked the Korean directors for losing “manger spirit”. But as ronwad just mentioned, perhaps this was just Lee’s typical theatrics.
“I did not mean to call you Satan”
>> Well then you probably should not say what you don’t mean. I have a difficult time respecting people don’t say what they mean and mean what they say.
“I spent my 27 years in UBF growing up in this ministry and I have not experienced an abusive leader.” …”Yes, my parents had sacrified our family for the ministry,”
>> You are a Korean second gen obviously. Do you realize how good you have things in ubf? Do you realize the blood and sweat and tears of Amiercans, Germans, Russians, Mexcians, Chinese, etc. that were shed for you to have such a good life in ubf? ubf was built on our backs and then we were discarded as if we were dung. Your Korean parents and Korean missionaries in ubf have NO intention of passing on the ubf heritage to any “native” leader. The ubf ministry belongs only to Koreans and to Korean second gens. The 50th Anniversary Blue Book says that, so did the Lee memorial service lecture this year, and so did the new ubf history dedication announcement.
>> Do you care about what happened in Toledo ubf? What about India ubf? What about Detroit ubf? What about Kiev ubf? What about Taiwan ubf? What about Kentucky ubf? What about Yekaterinburg ubf? You have things so good, but do you care that ubf offering dropped almost 30% from 2008 to 2012? Do you care that ubf attendance dropped by 17% from 2008 to 2012? Or do you think I’m just lying? Or maybe my blogs caused all of this because I’m so evil?
“I apologize for the hurt that our ministry has caused you”
>> I have heard hundreds of sorrowful apologies… I do NOT want any more apologies. I speak on behalf of the Korean reformers of 1976, on behalf of my late friend James Kim who tried to reform ubf ideology in 1989, on behalf of the Abraham of Faith in the USA and his family and numerous American families who left Toledo ubf between 1989 and 2001, and on behalf of the 8 families who left Toledo ubf and all the members of ubf who left the ministry in 2011 until now, 2013. I do not want human sorrow, I seek godly sorrow. I long to see the evidence of godly sorrow in ubf people which by the way PRECEEDS repentance. And I also speak on behalf of my friend Andrew and all the families who have been sacrificed on the altar of ubf because of false theology from Genesis and other passages (note: Abraham did NOT sacrifice his son Isaac!) The Holy Spirit gave me “one word” for ubf people: STOP! Stop and pay attention to the reality around you. Stop the nostalgic Stokholm-syndrom-like defenses of ubf.
“I don’t think you would have spent 24 years in this ministry if everything you were experiencing was wrong.”
>> Then you have completely misunderstood me. Yes there were good things that happened in those decades. And yes my arranged marriage is still valid. But would you eat soup with even one fly in it? No, you throw out the soup. ubf heritage needs to be thrown out because it is like “Lord of the flies”. You likely were sheltered from all this as a precious second-gen.
>> Bonhoeffer describes what happened to us in ubf, and why ubf ministries collapse every few years. This goes way beyond Korean cultural issues:
“a community that cannot bear and cannot survive such disillusionment, clinging instead to its idealized image, when that should be done away with, loses at the same time the promise of a durable Christian community. Sooner or later it is bound to collapse. Every human idealized image that is brought into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be broken up so that genuine community can survive. Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.”
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible, Page 35
Hi twix,
You mentioned above ““I apologize for the hurt that our ministry has caused you”
You cannot apologize for what you did not do. But you can apologize for what you just did here on my blog. Would you apologize for saying that I am doing Satan’s work? I would appreciate that kind of apology.
I wrote: “Where’s the Campus Crusade Museum? Where’s the Youth for Christ Museum?”
Sorry, there’s a typo. I meant “Youth with a Mission Museum”, not “Youth for Christ Museum.” And no, there isn’t a Youth with a Mission Museum either. Both CCC and YWAM have been flagged in the past as having some authoritarian and controlling tendencies, not to the level that UBF has been flagged, but still… Yet, they don’t have this self-congratulating culture that builds a museum as a memorial to themselves.
BTW, guess who else has a museum.