(From http://akktri.livejournal.com/254869.html)
Samuel C. Lee dies in fire
Samuel C. Lee, the head honcho of the University Bible Fellowship organization died in 2002. I just now found out about it, since I left them around 2001 or 2000.
One word: Kookoo.
I just heard a seminar on the faults of the organization. They talked about Confucianism's influence on them, which I haven't noticed, but more importantly, they reminded me of things that slipped by me without me even noticing.
When I joined the organization, I went meekly along with the flow, so I never experienced the physical abuse I've heard about coming from the UBF. I guess abuse was part of the "training" to be UBF "shepherds."
Also, being socially maladroit, I also missed out on their "arranged marriages."
The things I DID notice:
1. I seem to remember being pestered with questions and statements on God's will for me when I didn't want to go to a conference or Sunday meeting or bible study. I often felt I needed a good excuse to get out of it.
2. What caused me to leave was that they argued, from the book of James, that I needed to reach out with good works, to God, in order for God to reach out with His grace. They said that other denominations were "lazy" for believing that they were saved by grace through faith alone.
3. Koreans dominated the organization, even in places like Africa and the United States where the Korean population is slim.
4. "Shepherds" of the organization appeared to be cut from the same cookie-cutter mold. They all tried to behave exactly alike. They dressed the same, taught lessons the same, wrote the same stuff. They'd wear suits even to informal summer gatherings.
5. The bible was presented to me in a menu of lessons, and there was a sense of progression, even advancement, through these lessons. You went through a program rather than doing a special study on Revelation independently or by group consensus. Guys that had been there awhile would be on Revelation while I was in Genesis and they'd comment on my progress.
6. I and other members were strongly encouraged to give a sermonnette/"testimony" about a bible passage at conferences. No one opted out. Nobody.
7. I was strongly encouraged to conform my writings ("testimonies" or Sodong) to a set formula, which included a "one word" statement on the end. I thought it was a lousy idea, but I went along with it. It seemed like they had to be sort of confessional in nature, too.
8. Alternate interpretations of bible passages were strongly discouraged, without any scriptural evidence to support the position. Noah Rhee would often say "I'm sorry, but I believe the correct interpretation is..." So a fresh perspective was ruled out.
9. I never found out where the donation money went. I kinda guessed it went into all those huge feasts they'd have there, with authentic Korean food, but I wasn't sure. Not until I heard the seminar on the UBF, which told me that Samuel Lee had hidden the bank books and even used the money for land acquisition for UBF expansion in some country. Apparently, they have never been audited because the group has been good at hiding the books. I heard money designated for helping the poor in Bangladesh ended up being funds for setting up a chapter of UBF in Bangladesh.
10. University professors were described as "Satan in human disguise." This is an unhealthy position to take when you're trying to spread the gospel to all people.
11. There was a strong emphasis on John Calvin in the devotionals. Noah even named his kid Calvin. This has a lot to do with the predestination and the "Satan in human garb" argument.
12. They go to specific individuals and pester them into bringing people to meetings rather than speaking generally to the group. Never before had I been so extremely pressured to bring someone to a bible meeting.
13. No baptismal font, communion shared only at conferences. But I just assumed they were non-denoms like Youth For Christ.
14. When you took a retreat to somewhere like California or Michigan, you didn't get to tour the city and share the gospel to people in town. Rather, you stayed in the compound the whole time, working on your testimonies.
15. Instead of a variety of spiritual gifts being emphasised, they focused on evangelism. Other gifts were minimized. Everyone was expected to "fish" on campus for students.
16. There was a hierarchy. You were expected to lead one-to-one bible studies with other students (I tried this via e-mail with a Thai student and was unsuccessful), while still attending Noah's one-to-one bible study.
17. You were encouraged to attend their services on Sunday, even if you already went to church earlier that day. They said it wasn't like church, but they lied. It was exactly like church. You sat in hard chairs, listened to sermons and sang. The only difference was the feast that happened afterwards. You will not be surprised that I did not put much in the offering plate.
