(Related: 1)
Matthew 6:33, Matthew 8:21-22, Luke 14:26, Genesis 22 are just some of the Bible verses and passages that are twisted by UBF in the name of teaching recruits to "give priority to God." But how does UBF want its recruits to observe this biblical principle in practice? If you are already a Christian and attending another church or group, UBF wants you to "give priority to God" by attending UBF functions, by committing only to UBF, by considering UBF to be "God's ministry." If a parent dies and the funeral is on a Sunday, UBF wants you to "let the dead bury their own dead, and you follow me," except UBF's definition of "follow me" is not to miss their Sunday meeting no matter what. In UBF, the definition of "follow me" may mean if your spouse is opposed to UBF, consider divorcing them (contrast with 1 Peter 3:1). In UBF, the definition of "follow me" may mean giving up admission to the graduate school of your choice to stay near the UBF chapter. In UBF, the definition of "follow me" may mean giving up a job that you had been praying for, and instead, going to "pioneer" where the chapter director tells you to. In UBF, the definition of "follow me" may mean risk getting fired from a job or call in sick under false pretenses so that you won't miss any day of a UBF weekend conference. In UBF, the definition of "follow me" may mean an 18-19 year old's moving out of their parent's house to live in a UBF apartment with only UBF people. In UBF, the definition of "follow me" may mean not going home for the summer or for Christmas to stay in the UBF environment almost all year round, so that UBF is practially your new family. The point is this: In UBF "to give priority to God" is "to give priority to UBF." In practical terms, be enslaved to UBF. In effect, submit yourself to spiritual abuse.
The excuse given may be that UBF "provides students with practical ways to follow Jesus." But they reveal their ever-shallow and organization-centered understanding of what it means to follow Him. The challenge for a Christian is to follow Him wherever they are, whether it's in an unbelieving home or among unbelieving friends (1 Peter 3:1, 1 Peter 2:18-21). This runs counter to UBF's agenda for you.
