The First Triennial Delegate Assembly was held in Chicago on August 20, 1964 some nine years after the formation of Urantia Brotherhood 42 years ago. The organization's second group of General Councilors was elected at that inaugural TDA meeting, in virtually the same way we will undertake that process these next two days. As was the case then, the Delegates sent to this Assembly by their Societies have been charged with the responsibility of helping the organization achieve its destiny and accomplish the mission on behalf of this revelation it has been given. We will this year elect more than a third of the members of the General Council and submit resolutions for consideration that hopefully represent the ideals, attitudes, and ideas of our fellow organizational members. In order to make this process as effective as possible, I believe that a moment of fearless, honest, and unsentimental stock-taking is in order to provide an historic context in which our selections can be made and our resolutions drawn.

Since 1955, I believe it is fair to say that as an organization, we have manifest both the best and worst of human, collective, evolutionary behavior. From an inside view of our organization, we know how much has been accomplished, how hard we have worked, how difficult some of our decisions have been, how deeply touched we have been by the teachings of The Urantia Book and by the opportunity to work with others dedicated to this revelation. But, how has it looked from an objective, outside point of view? Do we in fact express the best this teaching has to offer? Are we visibly moving in that direction? Are we modeling for the world, which comes to us one by one in the form of each new reader, the spirit fruits and unity that would say to them "come join us in this wondrous work."

As a standard against which to compare ourselves, I would like to read two paragraphs from Paper 99, Section 6, Paragraph 2,3, INSTITUTIONAL RELIGION:

"There is a real purpose in the socialization of religion. It is the purpose of group religious activities to dramatize the loyalties of religion; to magnify the lures of truth, beauty, and goodness; to foster the attractions of supreme values; to enhance the service of unselfish fellowship; to glorify the potentials of family life; to promote religious education; to provide wise counsel and spiritual guidance; and to encourage group worship. And all live religions encourage human friendship, conserve morality, promote neighborhood welfare, and facilitate the spread of the essential gospel of their respective messages of eternal salvation.

But as religion becomes institutionalized, its power for good is curtailed, while the possibilities for evil are greatly multiplied. The dangers of formalized religion are: fixation of beliefs and crystallization of sentiments; accumulation of vested interests with increase of secularization; tendency to standardize and fossilize truth; diversion of religion from the service of God to the service of the church; inclination of leaders to become administrators instead of ministers; tendency to form sects and competitive divisions; establishment of oppressive ecclesiastical authority; creation of the aristocratic "chosen-people" attitude; fostering of false and exaggerated ideas of sacredness; the routinizing of religion and the petrification of worship; tendency to venerate the past while ignoring present demands; failure to make up-to-date interpretations of religion; entanglement with functions of secular institutions; it creates the evil discrimination of religious castes; it becomes an intolerant judge of orthodoxy; it fails to hold the interest of adventurous youth and gradually loses the saving message of the gospel of eternal salvation."

Though some might argue that we are NOT a religion or a church, I would argue that our work IS the socialization of religion and that our constitutional purpose encompasses much of the first paragraph. So, against this measure, how have we done? Here is what I believe someone outside our movement might have seen:

• Contentious confrontation among even members of the Forum;
• Minority control of the majority with ongoing power struggles;
• Using the law against each other; Foundation, Fellowship, and others;
• Sectarian rivalries, splits, fragmentation;
• Apocalyptic predictions of human war and heavenly war;
• Hiding in basements and taking up arms;
• Divorce, child abuse, anger, hatred of one's fellows, and more;
• The desire of some individuals and organizations to harm another;
• Threats to crush one's enemies;
• Removal of members and organizational leaders;
• Competitive antagonisms in structure, mode of study, conference activity, book publishing, translations, book fragmentation;
• Exporting and perpetuating our divisions worldwide, to new readers.

And so on..

Hardly a pretty picture. If it weren't for the truth contained in the teachings of The Urantia Book, is this a movement we would really want to join? Is this a movement that accurately reflects what we are called to proclaim to the entire world? Some might say that all of this simply means we are human, and they would be right. But, now that we know better, the fact of our humanity can no longer serve as an excuse. We must do better, both individually and as a community supportive of the struggles and soul growth of others.

Despite this history, there are some positive signs:

1. We have survived all of this and have learned and experienced much of value;
2. We have the ability to change and grow, by virtue of Supreme decision-making that can set our Fellowship on a new course;
3. The Angels seem willing to work with us at least for now, despite our sometimes animalistic behavior.

But, if we have survived only to continue either by choice or reactivity down the path of recapitulating the evolutionary behavior of past planetary revelations (rebellion, default, crucifixion, sectarianism), our planetary supervisors may decide not to wait for our maturity and the mantle of responsibility will be given to some other group to model what is possible and necessary during this fifth epochal period.

We have a blueprint if we commit to using it. We have a roadmap if we but follow it. We can look around us at sectarianism and materialism and legalism and we know how that movie ends. We can choose to write another story with a better ending. We can take another path, but only by morally self-conscious decision-making; Supreme, soul-building choosing. There are those who say that viewing our organization in this way is defeatist, negative, and worse. But I say that in this realistic view of ourselves there is hope, opportunity, and, most important, the true seeds of growth and accomplishment.

This revelation WILL do its work on our planet. Our only choice in the matter is either to be a contributing part of that process, or, if we fail to master our lesser human natures, to fragment, whither, and die-the certain consequence of the ills of institutionalized religion.

The Triennial Delegate Assembly, this TDA, can contribute to this necessary mastering of evolutionary inertia in two ways:

• First, by choosing new leadership capable of changing our course to accomplish our mission and achieve our destiny; and,
• Second, by presenting resolutions to this same leadership that challenge their thinking and their decisions into higher realms of attainment.

The time for sentimentality is past. The very best that we have accomplished so far is simply prologue. From the point of view of a new reader who comes to this movement imbued with the initial surge of spiritual idealism, are we fragrant, inviting, honest about ourselves, truly supportive and loving of one another? Or, do we appear to be a divided, confrontational, competitive, controlling group more intent on "balance of power" issues than seeking the spirit unity of service to our Father, our fellows, and the work of this revelation? If we cast a truly honest eye on ourselves as a group, do we see the real religion of The Urantia Book being practiced here?

However one answers these questions, we, the TDA, have the opportunity to make decisions that can free this organization from the worst of its past, perpetuate and enhance the best of its accomplishments, and set a new direction for the future. We are called to do that and we must.

In our deliberations, in addition to our personal commitments to do our Father's will in this and all other matters, I propose that we challenge ourselves, those we elect today, and those already elected to manifest these few principles of collective endeavor:

It is the obligation of our leadership to place the welfare and ideals of this revelation as the highest priorities; the self, organizational survival, and ideology are secondary considerations at best. Our deliberations and decisions should be self-consciously moral to the degree possible and not simply reactive to circumstances. We must contribute to the Supreme.

We must not allow sectarian rivalries, fragmentation, vested interests, or the ascendancy of ideology to become a part of our organizational culture. Our commitment to serve our fellow Urantians should be both wide and deep enough to include even those we are tempted to describe as enemies.

We must refresh experienced leadership with new leaders. Our organization cannot be a respecter of persons. Even the very best servers of the past must be asked to give way to the servants of the future. We will not survive if organizational destiny is vested in too few. We must consciously seek to blend a new, higher expression of religion into our daily work to model to others one of the theological dynamics from The Urantia Book: "Religion is not a specific function of life, rather it is a mode of living. True religion is a wholehearted devotion to some reality which the religionist deems to be of supreme value to himself and all mankind." (Paper 100, Section 6, Paragraph 1). If true religion is not woven into our work, then our work will simply become secular in nature.

As individuals our allegiance is to our Father and the active, loving recognition of the sonship of our fellows. Collectively our allegiance is to the Supreme via self-conscious, moral decisions and actions. Temporally, our duty is to do the very best we are capable of with regard to the work of this revelation.

Today, as we embark on our given tasks with courage, intelligence, commitment, spirit responsiveness, and good humor, I would like to end with a paraphrase of Paul Snider's closing at a previous Delegate Assembly: let us openly model our spirit unity and salute the Adjuster within each and every one of our fellows.

Thank you for listening and for the opportunity to serve with you in this work.