Who’s Talking about ubfriends?
Who are the top commenters here? Who has submitted the most articles? Someone who recently left a ubf chapter mentioned something in a comment that intrigued me. nb93 mentioned a rumor spreading about this website community, that ubfriends articles are “written by people that left UBF and are spreading rumors“. So I thought it would be relevant and interesting to post some statistics about who has contributed to the discussions here.
Consider Both Sides When You Express Yourself
I asked a friend why some UBFers are upset with this post that I wrote: Sin is having an identity other than in God. He explained it to me so well in an email:
Very useful points for me to note are:
Change is coming
Change. Some people fear it. Some embrace it. Change happens, whether we like it or not. Sometimes things around us change the way we want. Other times we have no control over what or how we change. Often we want to change ourselves. Other times we want to change other people around us. Today Ben sent us a “blast form the past” that highlights how various people have changed (or not changed) the past seven years.
My Dilemma Between the Dichotomies
The saddest dichotomy that I have experienced in my 34 years of being a Christian (all in UBF) is between those who are strongly loyal UBF defenders and ex-UBFers who are vocally critical of their experience in UBF and after they left UBF. When I hear both sides as best I can, my glass-half-empty sentiment is “never the twain shall meet.” Of course, I am not denying that God can–and often does–do the impossible.
There are countless dichotomies in Christiandom. Continue reading →
He/She is a Mental Patient
Tragic caricature. The labeling and caricature of anyone is never justifiable. It is certainly not loving nor is it Christ-like behavior. For decades I have heard shepherds and missionaries refer to one of their congregants or Bible students as “a mental patient.” Sadly, I said nothing. Even more sadly, I likely even agreed with them. Though I do not recall labeling anyone “a mental patient,” I have my share of caricatures by referring to others as stubborn, proud, unthankful, lazy, never listening, full of cursed woman’s desire or full of marriage problem. Only by God’s mercy and grace, God has helped me to not label or caricature others anymore. Then again, I think I might consider certain people as “Pharisee,” probably because I am closest to that label myself!
Communication Confusion
How different is the East from the West in terms of communication? In my opinion, a significant problem in UBF is our suboptimal and often unhealthy way of communication. A way to explain our communication conflicts is to explain the differences in the way that Westerners (blue) and Easterners (red) communicate in five infographics. Incidentally, even though I am an Easterner (a bonafide Chinaman from the East!), I am nonetheless quite a Westerner. Maybe it is because I watched too many American movies and TV growing up in Malaysia. Surely, these differences are generalizations. But I think there is much truth to them. See if you agree.
The Leader. The above picture clearly expresses how Westerners and Easterners regard their leader. Continue reading →
Extemporaneous Preaching
Consider preaching extemporaneously. For 30 years I preached by reading from a typed manuscript, perhaps like the way most UBFers deliver their Sun messages. But over the past few years, I began preaching extemporaneously without reading from a manuscript. After proposing 8 ways to improve our UBF messages, I would like to also suggest and propose that UBFers consider extemporaneous preaching as a way that could potentially improve the way one preaches.
My typed recollection of my extemporaneous preaching. Continue reading →
Announcement: Skype Talks
[Admin note: This is not a normal article. This is merely an announcement to the readers here.] I expect and hope the UBF conversations here will continue (I know they will as long as Ben is publishing :). Although I will continue to comment from time to time on such articles, I for one won’t be publishing any further articles about UBF here on this blog. I may publish articles about other topics, but for now I would like to announce something new: Skype talks.
As I shared here previously, I attended the 2013 Global Leadership Summit. I made an offer to share these videos with any UBF chapter or person who wanted to invite me to view and discuss them afterward. That offer still stands. Now I’d like to expand this offer using Skype. So here is my announcement and expanded offer.
Continue reading →
My Letter
As I conitnue my journey of recovery from over two decades as a UBF leader, I sometimes go back and read what I said or wrote in the past. I came across a letter I sent in 2011 just after officially resigning in protest. I had already had numerous conversations before this, which were rather mild comparatively speaking, but I was still looking for a way to be “in UBF”. I received silence in response to this email. So I post it here publicly in hopes that some may respond. Go ahead and react any way you feel prompted to react, no matter how messy it might seem to you. Any kind of response is better than maddening silence.
How To Improve Our UBF Messages
Critiquing our UBF messages (sermons) at the 2013 ISBC is NOT an indictment against the messengers. To say that a message sounds like the “same old same old” tired UBF messages of old is not an indictment of the person preaching, but simply an assessment and evaluation of how the message sounded to their listeners and audience.
My firm conviction is that any preacher or messenger is most helped when they are honestly told how well or poorly they did. If a preacher does not wish to listen to any unfavorable critique of their preaching, then they will not improve as a preacher, even after decades of preaching. (Saying, “You gave a wonderful message helps no one.”)
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