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Dear Friends:

Years ago I entered the General Council As one of the first "outsiders" or persons not indigenous to Chicago or Forum experience. Sometimes this helps one view more objectively but at the same time such a person may be handicapped by not participating in critical group experience. At any rate, I have always been aware of two dangerous tendencies in Urantia Brotherhood: aspects of cults and areas of dogmatism.

We have often operated in an oligarchical manner (rule by the few in the power structure) and been preoccupied with in-group concerns, including political maneuvering. Outreach service and evangelism have been given lip service but little dedicated planning or action. Fortunately, As we have grown in experience the democratic process has assumed a dominant role in our attitudes and procedures.

There is, however, one important area in which oligarchical-cultish control has not given way to democratic procedures: nominations for offices in Urantia Brotherhood. Only one name is presented. This is the way elections are run in totalitarian societies. At best such a methodology psychologically presents one "power structure" nomination and one "outside" nomination. This is both unwise and organizationally unhealthy. The practical result is that people are re-nominated to committees term after term (and more or less automatically elected) while younger and often more capable people are frozen out of service by this oligarchical methodology. There is a growing awareness among members of the Executive Committee that this procedure leaves much to be desired and a committee is being appointed to study ways of improving this nominating procedure. In time, I hope the General Council will pass a motion to end this undemocratic nominating procedure. The General Council over the years has often failed to adequately assume its responsibility As a policy initiating body.

The other basic area which seems out of harmony with spiritual principles and I do believe we must also be realistic and practical--is our tendency to be dogmatic, authoritarian, and even coercive in some of our attitudes. Probably the best example is regarding outreach practices, especially advertising. It is proper and good to express our group wisdom in such matters. I happen to agree with our policy. But I fear the dangers of dogmatism may be greater than the dangers of advertising or other outreach methods frowned upon. The latter tend to be self-correcting while the former tend to be self-perpetuating. We have often emphasized the "don'ts" louder and longer than voicing our encouragement in the freedom of service in the Kingdom of God. I hope the future will temper our rigidity. Next to the Father's indwelling presence, our greatest source of wisdom is through experience. We should take care that our dogmatism does not rob us or our fellows of the opportunity for receiving this evolutionary experiential wisdom.

Over the years I have been concerned that we have no age limit for General Councilors. Institutional boards with non democratic procedures, like the Roman Catholic Curia, tend to be dominated by its elderly members. Awareness of this possibility has caused me years ago to plan to resign from all offices in Urantia Brotherhood on my seventieth birthday (next year); as this will be the last General Council meeting I will be attending. I am confident, however, that if we revue our nominating procedure and have the nominating committee presents two names for all offices this threat of oligarchical-elderly domination will be avoided.

Although I would like to avoid it, I must speak to the most divisive incident and the most serious challenge to the future of Urantia Brotherhood yet to appear. It has been my good fortune and pleasure to have introduced The Urantia Book to many young people over the years. I have been delighted to see many of these gifted people make significant contributions to Urantia Brotherhood. Among these people who I have tended to regard as spiritual sons and daughters, N.S. and V.B.G. have attracted particular attention because of unusual religious experiences. They have received "special messages" which have involved other students of The Urantia Book and because of differences of opinion regarding the source of these messages considerable controversy and divisiveness has arisen in the Brotherhood.

We should realize these are sincere and dedicated men. They greatly desire to be used by the Father in service. Even though we may not believe in the "divine origin" of their special messages, we should reach out to them in brotherly love and warmth of fellowship. The nature of the unusual religious experiences which they have had with their invitation to cult (centralized and esoteric) control has been instrumental in bringing to us some of the most important experiential group wisdom which we have received in the entire history of Urantia Brotherhood. (The early Christian Church in the challenge of Gnosticism and Montanism were similarly tested in the second century.)

Individually and collectively we are unable to experience some spiritual insight and truths except in the midst of suffering and crises. In this sense we have had a particularly helpful enlightening and maturing experience. Unknowingly and unintentionally Urantia Brotherhood has attempted to establish a cult unity which requires oligarchical methods and control and stresses certain "do's" and "don'ts" germane to the cult conviction. The soul searching and suffering generated by the Clayton incident has opened our eyes to the dangers and illusion of cult unity on the one hand and the threat of division, bitterness, and vindictiveness on the other. But it has also presented us with the opportunity for a new beginning in true spiritual unity which allows for great diversity and freedom and requires the full and open operation of the democratic process for its dialectical maintenance.

On the surface cult unity and spiritual unity often have the same appearance but they are actually opposite types of unity. One is based on the guidance and control of the social group; the other is rooted in the radical freedom of the spirit which directs from within. Cult unity requires conformity to exterior group rules; spiritual unity dares to live by the freedom of spirit guidance within and encourages creative diversity. Let us give thanks that through the suffering, anxiety, and frustration of the past year the dangers of cult unity have reached the conscious level in Urantia Brotherhood and that we see its dangers and illusion. We are now free to actualize true spiritual unity which is always in touch with reality and governed by wisdom and love.

As a General Council I believe we need to take one more step to consciously verbalize the learning of the past year while at the same time reaching out in love and understanding to those living in the vortex of this polarization and then forgetting the antagonisms and irritations of the past, reach out to actualize true spiritual unity. For this dedication purpose I should like to recommend that the General Council adopt the following statement. Affirmative Statement:

We support Urantia Foundation and the Executive Committee of Urantia Brotherhood in the "position policy" which they have assumed. Urantia Brotherhood must conduct its affairs through insights acquired from evolutionary experiential wisdom, epochal revelation, and the personal spiritual guidance of individual members As all of these resources find group expression in the democratic process.

We affirm that the closed system generated by cult psychology and behavior or any other kind of arbitrary authoritarianism have no place in shaping Urantia Brotherhood policies and procedures. We further affirm our dedication to spiritual unity and the cultural and religious diversity and freedom germane to all societies acknowledging Jesus' concept of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. We refuse to stand in judgment of the religious experience of our brethren and encourage even those among us who differ intellectually, theologically, or culturally with each other to reach out in love, fellowship, and understanding tolerance as that spiritual unity may become a reality in Urantia Brotherhood and among all people.

I believe the trying experiences of the peat year have resulted in enlarged spiritual insight and growth. It establishes the Brotherhood as a tested fellowship governed by the ideal of spiritually directed experiential wisdom operating in the dynamics of the democratic process.

Cordially, Meredith J. Sprunger