Talk:University Bible Fellowship, USA

Same Group as University Bible Fellowship
The international headquarters for this group is in Chicago, IL USA. So most of the longstanding article already created applies: University Bible Fellowship Bkarcher (talk) 00:47, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

UBF USA in newspapers, books & media
The maintenance tag asks for sources. Here is my research on the topic.

Extensive Former Member Reactions

Since 1975, hundreds of former members from around the world, including UBF USA, have strongly objected to the authoritarian practices and pseudo-Christian theology of the group. Former members have written books, created websites and stored up document repositories cataloging the group. The group has continually rejected this part of their history. They seek to erase all negative material about them on the internet. Here are the primary former member links.


 * https://rsqubf.info/documents/external/external/ (USA)
 * http://exubfjc.wordpress.com/ (USA)
 * http://exubf.blogspot.com/ (USA)
 * http://rsqubf.livejournal.com/ (USA)
 * http://www.priestlynation.com/ (USA)
 * http://www.ubfriends.net/ (USA)
 * http://www.restunleashed.org/ (USA)
 * http://ubfriends.net/archive2015/index.html (USA) * has over 20,000 discussion comments

 UBF USA in books

A Chicago student of UBF USA is used as one of the case studies in the book Churches That Abuse, published in 1991 by Ronald Enroth.

Rebecca Y. Kim, a daughter of UBF USA missionaries in California, wrote a book entitled "The Spirit Moves West" in 2015.

I have written four books about my experiences with UBF USA, documenting the leadership structure, belief system and recent history from an insider perspective. The primary book is "Identity Snatchers" in 2015.

UBF USA in newspapers

"Glen Ellyn panel rejects neighborhood church", Chicago Tribune, 02/10/2012 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-10/news/chi-glen-ellyn-panel-rejects-neighborhood-church-20120210_1_glen-ellyn-zoning-code-plan-commission

"Cult worries surround Bible group", Daily Herald, University of Illinois (UIC) 07/31/2003 http://wwrn.org/articles/4579/?&place=north-america&section=other-nrms — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bkarcher (talk • contribs) 12:51, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

UBF USA in television reports

02/27/1994: the CBS television news affiliate in Chicago broadcast an investigative report about UBF during its prime time news broadcast. This report focused on allegations of cult-like activities in the Chicago headquarters of UBF.

05/05/1997: the NBC television news affiliate in Chicago also broadcast an investigative report about UBF during its prime time news broadcast. This report focused on allegations of cult-like activities in the Triton University chapter of UBF in the Chicago suburbs.

02/21/2005: the CBS television news affiliate in Columbus, Ohio (WBNS) broadcast an investigative report during its primetime news broadcast about the then 3-year old Columbus UBF chapter. This report was prompted by the efforts of the concerned mother of a Columbus UBF recruit.

04/28/2005: the Fox television news affiliate in Toledo, Ohio (WUPW) broadcast an investigative report during its primetime news broadcast about the Toledo UBF chapter. A synopsis of the story is available at the Internet Archive.

UBF USA divisions

The group has divided several times in the USA. These are known by the group as reform movements or crisis events. In 1989, many leaders resigned in protest. In 2000, many leaders left UBF USA to form a new group called Campus Ministry International (CMI). In 2011, many leaders left the group and continue to discuss numerous problems on ubfriends.net. — Preceding

Article Discussion
unsigned comment added by Bkarcher (talk • contribs) 12:25, 9 August 2016 (UTC)
 * since you seem to be familiar with these sources, could you perhaps incorporate this information to the article? – Finnusertop (talk ⋅ contribs) 12:28, 9 August 2016 (UTC)
 * That may be tricky given my openly declared COI (former member now; member for 24 years). I plan to wait a while to make any further edits to this stub. I really don't see the need for TWO articles about this group. Can you explain further the justification for having this second article? If it is a location branch, then much cleanup needs to be done to the main article. Also, this group has taken legal action against former members in the past...so I tread carefully. Bkarcher (talk) 12:34, 9 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I think this article is supposed to be for the local branch. Personally, I don't think we should have separate articles for the parent organization and the USA branch. Indeed this one was nominated for deletion, but the concluding, admin, refused the nomination because this article, saying "does have unique content and is a valid narrowing of scope; though I am cutting most of the duplicate material". This isn't final, and can be discussed further. It's up to you whether you want to edit this article or not – I respect that decision both ways. But the fact is that it does not seem to be a very popular topic and the information you have provided (thank you for that) might sit here on the talk page without attention forever. – Finnusertop (talk ⋅ contribs) 14:07, 9 August 2016 (UTC)
 * This is strange because UBF USA is not a "local branch" but THE worldwide headquarters. As far as not getting attention, just wait a few days. I expect some edit wars to break out... UBF USA has an internet committee watching all of this. They bombarded the old article and lost the edit wars. So they came here Shepherd_abraham (talk) and created a second article. This is what they always do... create a new thing and clean out all the "negative material". I'll see what happens and may make both articles more robust. I can see Graeme's point, and so maybe we just follow that direction. Bkarcher (talk) 14:43, 9 August 2016 (UTC)


 * , if you will be a reality check for my edits, I will gladly work to improve the main article and this branch for UBF USA. I want to work slowly however... Bkarcher (talk) 14:49, 9 August 2016 (UTC)
 * I'd be glad to. I've done that before with editors who were mindful of COI and it worked out really well. Take your time, there is no deadline. Just keep WP:RS and WP:IS in mind and I'm sure you'll do great. – Finnusertop (talk ⋅ contribs) 14:56, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

UBF USA documented by cult-watch groups
While some may discredit these organizations, the following cult-watch groups have large document repositories about UBF USA. Other notable Christian groups, such as Wheaton College, also have documentation about the group.

Cult Education Institute http://www.culteducation.com/group/1207-university-bible-fellowship.html

New England Institute of Religious Research http://neirr.org/ncultlst.html

Freedom of Mind https://freedomofmind.com/Info/infoDet.php?id=543

Apologetics Index http://www.apologeticsindex.org/747-university-bible-fellowship-ubf

Apologetics Resource Center https://arcapologetics.org/comparative-religion/marks-of-abusive-religious-groups/

Bkarcher (talk) 12:55, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

UBF USA Training
The group employs all kinds of training methods, often invented on the fly. The new recruits are guided by a personal shepherd through six specific stages. The goals and length of time is varied per student depending on their individual situation. The stages are strikingly common across more than 30 UBF USA chapters I have observed in person. In the 1970's and 1980's this training often utilized harsh discipline for disobedience to the shepherd, including but not limited to locking a person in a room for days, standing in ice cold water for hours, and walking barefoot for over 5 miles, all to teach obedience. Recently these harmful training practices have been stopped in many UBF USA chapters. The "shepherd training" continues however.


 * Sheep Training (up to 5 years)
 * Stage 1: Birthing (1 to 9 months)
 * Goal – commit to bible study
 * Starts after first bible study
 * Stage 2: Rooting (1 to 2 years)
 * Goal – adopt the UBF worldview
 * Starts after Sunday service attendance
 * Stage 3: Growing (1 to 2 years)
 * Goal – pursue more training
 * Starts after sharing Life Testimony


 * Shepherd Training (2 to 4 years)
 * Stage 4: Disciple Training (about 1 year)
 * Goal – identity as “Shepherd X”
 * Starts after joining common life
 * Stage 5: Soldier Training (1 to 2 years)
 * Goal – obedience to UBF authorities
 * Starts after college graduation
 * Stage 6: Leader Training (about 1 year)
 * Goal – loyalty for life
 * Starts after Marriage by Faith (arranged marriage)

More information:
 * http://ubfriends.net/archive2015/2014/07/06/the-six-stage-ubf-training-model/index.html

Bkarcher (talk) 13:48, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

UBF USA Belief System
UBF USA teaches a religious belief system they call "kingdom of priests" and "holy nation". This has been abbreviated as "KOPAHN". This belief system creates a puritan-like lifestyle called UBFism. The group's theology has been described (In "The Spirit Moves West") as a theology of sacrifice and hyper-evangelicalism. The system of belief is rooted in shepherding ideology similar to the USA groups Boston ICC and Maranatha ministries. The system falls on the edge of fundamentalist Christianity, mixed with Confucian values (loyalty, obedience, nobility) and some Korean cultural ideas (sogam writing, yin/yang principle, saving face at all costs). Here is what my research shows as the summary of the UBFism belief system.


 * Section I – Ideological slogans:
 * (the ubf mindset)
 * 1. Back to the Bible
 * 2. World mission
 * 3. Campus evangelism
 * 4. Manger ministry
 * 5. A spirit of giving
 * 6. Spiritual order
 * 7. Lay missionaries


 * Section II – Behavioral slogans:
 * (the ubf lifestyle)
 * 8. House churches
 * 9. One to one Bible study
 * 10. Disciple-making ministry
 * 11. Daily Bread
 * 12. Testimony writing & sharing

More info:


 * http://ubfriends.net/archive2015/2013/07/05/ubf-doctrine-introduction/index.html
 * http://ubfriends.net/archive2015/2013/07/27/ubf-doctrine-ideological-slogans/index.html
 * http://ubfriends.net/archive2015/2013/08/01/ubf-doctrine-behavioral-slogans/index.html

Bkarcher (talk) 13:57, 9 August 2016 (UTC)