Maybe we could publish something you submit as an article? For example there stated the difference in structures: I love what you wrote and shared. Effectively, if unintentionally, this put the individual in the position of having two masters Jesus and a personal shepherd. Scary., Result The fruit of absolute obedience to human authority, After a couple of years, the fruit of these doctrines became obvious to those outside of the movement such as Jack Hayford, Pat Robertson, Demos Sharkarian and others, and they confronted the Five in the infamous Shootout at the Curtis Hotel, in 1975. I agree only on condition that I have hard feelings of unforgiveness in my heart. In fact, in Ephesians Chapter 1 Paul gives us an . Have mercy on us!). Scary., Result The fruit of absolute obedience to human authority, After a couple of years, the fruit of these doctrines became obvious to those outside of the movement such as Jack Hayford, Pat Robertson, Demos Sharkarian and others, and they confronted the Five in the infamous Shootout at the Curtis Hotel, in 1975. How can I see my wife and family in a healthy way? Here are some excerpts from another blog that describe two main reasons why the original Shepherding Movement failed in the United States. It emerged in the 1970s and early 1980s. Their wounds have in turn produced wounds in others. * how horrible/sinful/useless you may have been when you first came to UBF, If you like you can hear my testimony on the internet.. When I was a UBF director, my house was filled with crosses and my new house has a cross in every room and I put one on the outside in front and many neighbors told me they appreciated my openness to share the faiththe cross is what Jesus did..the Logo is just another promotional tool for business. The magazine, published from 1969 through 1986, was the principal publishing voice of the five teachers and the movement." The group was joined by Ern Baxter, and the five men became known . On the other hand, those with the Shepherding heritage value order over all else. Jim Wright's Deep Roots in The Shepherding Movement Strong Denial from Jim Wright, was the Tip Off (Note: On March 5, 2015, Jim Wright's Facebook Page, Crossroad Junction, was suspended and possibly deleted for multiple Community Guideline violations.. The Shepherding Movement Comes of Age - Crossroad.to They rejected the excesses of some who had followed their teachings to their logical conclusions, without accepting that the doctrines they were teaching had been the direct cause. Their persistence created a split in the charismatic movement between those who accepted the authority teaching, and those who did not., This split is still evident today but under different names. The Story of Jim Wright and The Shepherding Movement If you feel like that, you are NOT taking up your cross, and I doubt you are following Jesus. 7. Shepherds also need healing and restoration, for our battle is against the devils works. Shepherding is not only being a witness of Christ but also eventually dealing with a whole person. After awhile, you feel so indebted to your shepherd for helping you and feeding you and being there for you like a father or mother. The Shepherding Movement is an ecclesiological case study of an attempt at renewing church structures. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), http://ubfchurchph.blogspot.com/2013/04/shepherds-christian-leaders-are-not-to.html, http://www.slm.org/trtdigst/articles/ppastors.html, http://www.lausanne.org/en/documents/lops/67-lop-24.html. After we native members pushed to have one, they allowed us to put one on the side wall. Some people are starting to go rogue. It was a phenomena that occurred in America mainly in the 1970s. And in time, this creates a system where those who have unquestioning obedience to man are promoted. Doing so led me to the brink of depression. Shepherding Movement - Musch - 2011 - Wiley Online Library Thank God for many Daniels among us. I responded, I dont see any evidence for that position in Scripture, and immediately said good-bye. but I for one received an email that claimed ownership over me because such a person prayed for my wedding to establish my family.. Thanks Chris for your insightful comments. The expression of pure love you mentioned below is beautiful and is exactly my take on the motivation behind what we do / who we are. They rejected the excesses of some who had followed their teachings to their logical conclusions, without accepting that the doctrines they were teaching had been the direct cause. @big bear: Im so encouraged by your sharing. Another conference I helped pick out the retreat center here in Michigan. ), parents raise kids not for payback but for payforward to society, which helps all, Mark..spiritual leaders have only done duty when help others seek God.. very true Mark and they must do it with humbleness and repentancenot looking down at those they help but serving them with fear of Godand not lording it over them for yearsnoone is indebted to people true againmy shepherd and chapter director kept me in fear and always told me not to forget Gods grace..what they were saying is dont forget we helped youI got to the point where I felt if I even did anything against UBF I was condemned to hellI never missed worship service for 29 plus years and still dont but not because I am threatened by forgetting Gods grace but because I love God and I am thankful to Him aloneUBF does not have the best messages most are given by people who have no education of sound doctrine or theologyI feared reading a commentary or to hear someone else preach because for a long time because I was a UBFer and when I came to UBF I did not know the Bible or know Jesus personallybut over the years I began to see some discrepancies from the truth of free grace and works in UBFwhen I started my own chapter I began to discover gradually my error in theology and I was living by works not by gracethis discovery changed my heart and gave me freedomnot long after that my family broke up and God sent me to the desertthere I prayed without any UBF influence while standing in the Ohio River in tears for months..I studied the Bible differently with tears and I went to many churches (100 or so and prayed with many Pastors)as I watched like Job everything taken away from methere I discovered the truthwe are saved by grace not by feeding 12 sheep every week or preaching a UBF messagethis discovery brought me to freedom and restoration in God and gave me new hopeI shared this freedom with many churches standing before them in tearsbut God revealed to me the problem with UBFit is about works and not about grace and freedomI was finally freepraise the LordI had a dream the day before I went to UBF for the last time from God that I would be rejected and my new wife would not be accepted but the Lord told me to go anyway..everything happened as I dreamed it(by the way, UBF will tell you I am Satan agent but no I am a voice for freedom and grace in the desertI suggest everyone in UBF take some time away in deep prayer to reexamine what you are doingI am just sharing what God revealed to me in the deep pain of loneliness at the Ohio river..I am convinced that I must tell the world but I will be persecuted by religious people who only preach works and who do not accept sinners)I pray that the upcoming conference may lift the eyes of all to love and grace and freedom in Christno more rules or requirements to be saved by acceptance of Christ period and what he did on the cross for our sinswe all deserve to go to Hell..but God sent Jesus to save us period not gospel plus. WOWthat is exactly what UBF isa shepherding movementI spent 28 years under this control but did not begin to recognize it until I lost everything.my daughters complained to me that I had learned twisted theology and my ex-wife but I did not see itin someways my ex did me a favor by kicking me to the curb it must have been God favor..God gave me back a life to be a blessing.Ubf is to controling and has gone to far.years ago I was on the news as a cult leader..proudly taking disgrace for Christ..students threw stones at memaybe I deserved it .promoting ubf on campuses. It seems like a innocent question but it seems to bring glory to the shepherd and it makes the sheep forever indebted to the shepherd for what he has done for them. When I was contemplating my future involvement in UBF, I was told something like this: Your relationship to your church is like a marriage. SL did many things right and I can tell you from my personal experience that he generally respected my space and that I did not really fear him. So far I have the impression that many UBF members still think of shepherding/discipling as something positive or at least consider it a viable alternative to what ordinary churches do. Thanks Vitaly. To emphasize this difference, the unbiblical hierarchical, authoritarian form of shepherding has also been called personal shepherding. This may be true to a limited extent. The degree to which the Shepherding Movement still exists today is unclear. You can imagine my amazed looked when I came back to the hall for the first message that evening, and noticed that the cross had been taken down again by a Korean missionary, and the title rearranged to stand alone one the wall. At one of those meetings, I was told by a Korean ubf director his definition of Jesus cross and what that really means.. please lets have a discussion why you think UBF should be so different and the only movement where this paradigm should not lead to spiritual abuse?. In this context, a group of older, more experienced charismatic ministers came together to bring a corrective. And as you say below, I just do the opposite of what ubf taught me and Im much happier and healthy. If we use the word shepherd it should be in the context meant for people in the church (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2). I myself should define about shepherding based on Scripture. Who intended to harm their sheep? What Happened to Occupy Wall Street? - The Atlantic The catalyst that started the Shepherding Movement was a moral failure in a charismatic ministry in South Florida. Most of the Christian church doesnt believe in covering theology. Are You A "Dumb Sheep"? - Exit Churchianity