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Korea UBF

December 14, 2012

A long-awaited national staff conference was held from December 3 to 5 at Green Fire Insurance Company’s Training Center located in Ansung, Gyeonggi-do. While a total of 83 people attended the conference, there were three main lectures regarding the New Year’s direction, a special lecture by an invited instructor and a mission report as well.

The first main lecture was served by Pastor Abraham Kim, UBF General Director, entitled "Servants of the Mystery of Christ" based on Ephesians 3.  In his lecture, he emphasized that the grand plan and vision God has entrusted to the church is to reveal the full glory of God. Since the mystery of God has been revealed through Jesus Christ, it is a great privilege and the amazing grace of God for us to be established as servants of the mystery of Christ. Especially, he emphasized that our UBF community should know more deeply the depth and breadth and width and height of the love of Christ, and with that love be used as workers who reveal the mystery of Christ in the course of participating in world campus ministry.

The second main message was served by Sh. Deukhyun Kang from Han River UBF, entitled "The Resolution of Ezra” based on Ezra 7. Ezra himself made a decision to study and observe the words of God first and teach them to the people of Israel so that the Israelites may be established as a righteous and healthy God-centered community. Through this lecture Sh. Kang emphasized that all Korean staff shepherds should live a life of studying, obeying and teaching the words of God in the New Year 2013.  

The third main message was delivered by Sh. Joshua Kim from Kwanak-3 UBF, entitled “Fill Your Stomach with this Scroll” based on Ezekiel 2, 3. When Ezekiel preached the words of God, the people of Israel would not listen to him, but rather tried to kill Ezekiel with briers and thorns and even scorpions. God, however, sent them the prophet Ezekiel to let them know that there is a real prophet in Israel. Likewise, God raised us as servants (like the prophets) for this generation so that people of this generation may know that there are servants of God who are preaching the true words of God in the campuses. He said that we should thank God for using us as His servants in this generation, even though we may not have visible fruits right away. And, also, he asked us to fill our spiritual stomachs with the words of God first, digest them well until we taste the sweetness of God’s word, and then let our sheep also taste the sweet words of God.

On the first evening, there was an Indonesian mission report by M. Peter Kim from Indonesia. His devotion, passion and prayer to serve such strong Muslim Indonesians were so beautiful that when we watched the Korean fan-dance and mask-dance performed by the converted Muslims, we were all so deeply moved that we could not stop applauding.  His co-worker, M. Rebecca Kim, is suffering from a retinal disease. I pray that the hand of God may be with her as she receives these treatments.

On the second evening, the guest speaker, Professor Youngdon Park from Kosin Seminary School, gave us a special lecture, entitled "A Distorted Face of the Holy Spirit". In his lecture, he emphasized having spiritual discernment, saying that there is a superstitious trend of pursuing mysterious spiritual phenomena, such as speaking in tongues, healings and prophecy, which is blowing through the Korean churches today; this is not seeking “the beautiful face of the Holy Spirit.” Rather, we can find in these pursuits only many twisted, distorted and even mixed appearances of evil spirits. The “true face of the Holy Spirit” will appear eventually only through correctly studying the words of God and prayer, by which we can bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. His special lecture was very useful for each one of us to have spiritual discernment amidst our times, in which many kinds of mystical spiritual movements are rampant.

All the staff shepherds who attended could have a chance to look at ourselves as servants of God and newly repent our sins and make a decision like Ezra, thanking God for the grace of God who entrusted us as servants who reveal the mystery of Christ through sharing their own reflections based on the three main messages. Shepherd David Kim, the director of Korea UBF, told us to fully devote ourselves to the work of God in 2013 throughout the whole year, saying that he believes that God will help us all when all our staff shepherds keep struggling as servants of the words of God like Ezra and Ezekiel, although the campus situation is not easy at all. I pray that God may bless all our staff shepherds who receive this spiritual direction for the year 2013 to achieve a great work of God by the power of God’s Word in the campuses nationwide.

By Sh. Abraham Suh, Korea UBF