Frankly, Byron, it is positively painful to see enthusiastic and talented believers stuck on the sidelines because they can't afford to do more for the advancement of the revelation. Do any in leadershipe roles give any thought to the fact that the early gospel teachers were enabled to focus exclusively on outreach and propaganda work as a result of the financial support from the wider community? This is referenced repeatedly in the teachings, even by Jesus. Yet not one writer, preacher, content creator or teacher is supported. Surely, when the brethren are donating to these organisations they are hoping and praying that at least some of those funds will go to support talented gospel teachers who will be able to bring the revelation to the next level. Of course, I completely understand the reticience of the stewards of the funds of the faithful - and how they must be conservative with the resources that have been entrusted to their keeping. No one wants to be guilty of funding a con-man, and wherever there is money then scammers wouldn't be far behind. But I feel there is grave spiritual danger in being TOO CAREFUL - much like the slotful severant who buried the talent. They leadership appear so afraid to spend it they are rendering the funds worse than useless. There will be an accounting one fateful day, and they will be asked: what did you do with the resources we gave you? What did you invest in? What did you take chances on?...Anyway, this is an important topic - and even I have written on it but haven't published. Thanks for getting the ball rolling Byron. Keep up the good work. ;-)
Good brother, always excellent to hear from you. Well, they are moving toward supporting Urantia youth financially, but only in small ways so far. Much too incremental. I think the issue is simple: we don't create heartful worshipping communities. Instead, we create mentally driven study groups. That's the crux of it.
I hope you return to what you have written on this topic, I'll take a look at it if you want.
Thank you for following up with this hard-hitting and genuinely thought-provoking piece. It takes uncommon clarity—and courage—to name problems that many privately recognize but few are willing to state publicly. Your persistence and refusal to accept managed decline are precisely what this movement needs.
To the point, we need someone like you—perhaps you yourself—in the president’s seat. You exhibit what has been missing for far too long: a will to lead, a tolerance for discomfort, and a refusal to confuse preservation with progress. Those qualities are widely respected across the Urantia community, even if many feel constrained from saying so openly.
The “McGuire fellow” you reference sounds like a sharp operator indeed (lol) and the numbers do not lie. When a movement with tens of millions in assets devotes a token fraction of its resources to actual mission-aligned outreach, something is profoundly misaligned. This is not a matter of intent; it is a matter of will and execution.
Let’s be blunt:
It would not be difficult to make Urantia a household word.
But effective evangelism, media strategy, youth engagement, and professional administration cost real money. What we have instead is institutional parsimony masquerading as prudence. The Foundation is not poor. It is chintzy—and in an era of AI-driven culture formation, global spiritual hunger, and collapsing meaning systems, that is inexcusable.
History is unambiguous on this point. Christianity did not spread because it was cautious. Islam did not expand because it was bureaucratically restrained. Buddhism did not endure because it hoarded capital. Living religions invest aggressively in people, message, and momentum.
So let me state this clearly for donors and truth-seekers alike:
Do not give a dime to The Foundation, which stockpiles resources while the revelation stagnates.
If you want your support to matter, fund the people who are actually doing the work:
Byron Belitsos
Jerrold Burden
April Johnson
Charles Lehner
These are individuals producing content, shaping minds, and engaging the world with minimal resources and maximal resolve. They are creating momentum where The Foundation offers only inertia—protecting its wealth, defending its position, and withholding meaningful financial backing from those willing to take risks and labor in the trenches. This is a case study in dereliction of duty. Capital is hoarded, initiative is starved, and the mission is left to survive on scraps.
If you belong to a study group, look around. Identify the person with fire, vision, and stamina—the one organizing events, writing, teaching, reaching outward. Fund that person directly. Then you will know, with certainty, that your resources are advancing the revelation rather than disappearing into the coffers of The Foundation's institutional passivity.
Challenging the Foundation is not disloyalty to the Urantia movement or to The Urantia Book itself. It is necessary.
The Urantia Foundation exists to serve the movement—not to outlive it. When the Foundation's leadership loses its evangelistic nerve, and it has, it forfeits moral authority. What we are witnessing is not stewardship; it is abdication.
To anyone reading this: if you are searching for ways to make a difference, understand this—you already are. Your questions, your dissatisfaction, your insistence on results are signs of spiritual vitality. Do not let that vitality be neutralized by structures within The Urantia Foundation that mistake caution for wisdom.
The future of our movement will not be decided by The Foundation's weak leadership.
It will be decided by those willing to act, fund boldly, and speak plainly.
Thanx Ryan for your patience with my tardy reply...
Well said all the above, though you know me as less blunt and confrontational—an yet I certainly recognize the need for radical action within the boundaries of Jesusonian ethics, including abiding love for the opponent and the effort to fully engage with and understand opposing points of view as part of a spectrum, as we seek unity-in-diversity.
As for me, my role is more on the scholarly and publishing side of things, also as an educator and sometimes journalist and convener. I am what might be called an "engaged" scholar, of which there are many models—my favorite being Rodan! Like Rodan, I see myself as a trainer for evangelists, ministers, thinkers, or leaders, and for readers of my books, except that the Urantia movement has not produced such people in any meaningful volume; the backing needed to develop them as outward-facing representatives of a new revelation has been missing in a way that is truly strange and disconcerting.
Almost all of it is inward-facing, mainly engaging only with fellow readers as we see in the main organizations, their publications, their conferences. Consider the UUI, which teaches ONLY from the UB as if there isn't an established larger universe of meaning around it, including this weird thing called biblical Christianity. The Scientific Symposium is a big exception ...
The Sci Symposium DOES engage with current scientific knowledge, but is almost an exception that proves the rule: "We only talk to ourselves!"
Rodan states clearly that if you don't have an outward-facing mission you are self-deceived. You are just an arm-chair thinker and philosopher. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but you are doing a disservice if you can't distinguish that from true evangelism that is heart-based and all about reaching out in love for the "other," the outsider who sits in spiritual darkness or gridlocked in tradition.
That's why ANY given Christian denomination or church is (in this sense) far superior to the U-movement in that they aggressively fund outreach and missionary workers. It's a GIVEN for all Christians but is not for Urantians. Why is that?
I remind you that the charter for direct outreach and missionary interface and public education has never been with the Urantia Foundation. That was the job of the Urantia Fellowship, formerly the Brotherhood, until the split in 1989; until then, they shared an office and worked in harmony, although the leadership of the Foundation was by all accounts in the wrong hands—basically usurpers (long story). They serve for life and are not easily removed.
Look to this schism to see how things have gone sideways ever since, as the funding base for the Fellowship was low at first, and the troops were demoralized for a long time afterwards, but still valiant.
I feel the new generation is hungry for the real truth and with the introduction of AI, people will lose faith in technology and will resort back to books, ei the Bible and the Urantia (that is my personal prediction)
But in fact the last decade, I have seen the expansive growth within the community online, there are many options for readers, however study groups are still sparse. That is where our challenge lies. Young people are very interested in the truth as by evidence in recent surge of young people in church (basically initiated by the death of Charlie Kirk no politics intended) but the truth is revealing its self. God’s will be done. There is a massive wave of followers of Jesus, Urantia nation should capitalize. Sponsor events with mega churches, high school programs, etc. Basically community involvement interaction with local Christians. Christian’s will identify with Jesus in the Urantia book and perhaps atheists will identify with scientific knowledge in the book.. personally I found the Urantia book im 2012 through Christian research, my relationship with Christ instantly became more meaningful. For me, the Urantia book is the Bible on steroids! However, the Bible is the word of God and holy, the Urantia a book is just a document. It’s ironic that the Urantia book is perfect, while the Bible has errors. Created by men inspired by celestials (and the Holy Father) !!
What would a "heartful worshipping community" look like? How inclusive would it be without diluting the central core? How would it be similar and different from other such communities in terms of liturgy, practices, roles, titles, activities, events, outreach, and real estate? How would it maintain a mix of generations, especially young people. An exercise in visioning to answer these questions, like a business plan, could serve as a foundation to attract funding.
Well, I've written a plan for a seminary that would train young people to conceive and create such communities, and this plan is now in its fifth draft—but needs more work! To do this right, one also needs training in church history and ecclesiology, and I am consider a return to academic work to do just that.
Frankly, Byron, it is positively painful to see enthusiastic and talented believers stuck on the sidelines because they can't afford to do more for the advancement of the revelation. Do any in leadershipe roles give any thought to the fact that the early gospel teachers were enabled to focus exclusively on outreach and propaganda work as a result of the financial support from the wider community? This is referenced repeatedly in the teachings, even by Jesus. Yet not one writer, preacher, content creator or teacher is supported. Surely, when the brethren are donating to these organisations they are hoping and praying that at least some of those funds will go to support talented gospel teachers who will be able to bring the revelation to the next level. Of course, I completely understand the reticience of the stewards of the funds of the faithful - and how they must be conservative with the resources that have been entrusted to their keeping. No one wants to be guilty of funding a con-man, and wherever there is money then scammers wouldn't be far behind. But I feel there is grave spiritual danger in being TOO CAREFUL - much like the slotful severant who buried the talent. They leadership appear so afraid to spend it they are rendering the funds worse than useless. There will be an accounting one fateful day, and they will be asked: what did you do with the resources we gave you? What did you invest in? What did you take chances on?...Anyway, this is an important topic - and even I have written on it but haven't published. Thanks for getting the ball rolling Byron. Keep up the good work. ;-)
Good brother, always excellent to hear from you. Well, they are moving toward supporting Urantia youth financially, but only in small ways so far. Much too incremental. I think the issue is simple: we don't create heartful worshipping communities. Instead, we create mentally driven study groups. That's the crux of it.
I hope you return to what you have written on this topic, I'll take a look at it if you want.
Thank you for following up with this hard-hitting and genuinely thought-provoking piece. It takes uncommon clarity—and courage—to name problems that many privately recognize but few are willing to state publicly. Your persistence and refusal to accept managed decline are precisely what this movement needs.
To the point, we need someone like you—perhaps you yourself—in the president’s seat. You exhibit what has been missing for far too long: a will to lead, a tolerance for discomfort, and a refusal to confuse preservation with progress. Those qualities are widely respected across the Urantia community, even if many feel constrained from saying so openly.
The “McGuire fellow” you reference sounds like a sharp operator indeed (lol) and the numbers do not lie. When a movement with tens of millions in assets devotes a token fraction of its resources to actual mission-aligned outreach, something is profoundly misaligned. This is not a matter of intent; it is a matter of will and execution.
Let’s be blunt:
It would not be difficult to make Urantia a household word.
But effective evangelism, media strategy, youth engagement, and professional administration cost real money. What we have instead is institutional parsimony masquerading as prudence. The Foundation is not poor. It is chintzy—and in an era of AI-driven culture formation, global spiritual hunger, and collapsing meaning systems, that is inexcusable.
History is unambiguous on this point. Christianity did not spread because it was cautious. Islam did not expand because it was bureaucratically restrained. Buddhism did not endure because it hoarded capital. Living religions invest aggressively in people, message, and momentum.
So let me state this clearly for donors and truth-seekers alike:
Do not give a dime to The Foundation, which stockpiles resources while the revelation stagnates.
If you want your support to matter, fund the people who are actually doing the work:
Byron Belitsos
Jerrold Burden
April Johnson
Charles Lehner
These are individuals producing content, shaping minds, and engaging the world with minimal resources and maximal resolve. They are creating momentum where The Foundation offers only inertia—protecting its wealth, defending its position, and withholding meaningful financial backing from those willing to take risks and labor in the trenches. This is a case study in dereliction of duty. Capital is hoarded, initiative is starved, and the mission is left to survive on scraps.
If you belong to a study group, look around. Identify the person with fire, vision, and stamina—the one organizing events, writing, teaching, reaching outward. Fund that person directly. Then you will know, with certainty, that your resources are advancing the revelation rather than disappearing into the coffers of The Foundation's institutional passivity.
Challenging the Foundation is not disloyalty to the Urantia movement or to The Urantia Book itself. It is necessary.
The Urantia Foundation exists to serve the movement—not to outlive it. When the Foundation's leadership loses its evangelistic nerve, and it has, it forfeits moral authority. What we are witnessing is not stewardship; it is abdication.
To anyone reading this: if you are searching for ways to make a difference, understand this—you already are. Your questions, your dissatisfaction, your insistence on results are signs of spiritual vitality. Do not let that vitality be neutralized by structures within The Urantia Foundation that mistake caution for wisdom.
The future of our movement will not be decided by The Foundation's weak leadership.
It will be decided by those willing to act, fund boldly, and speak plainly.
History always belongs to them.
Thanx Ryan for your patience with my tardy reply...
Well said all the above, though you know me as less blunt and confrontational—an yet I certainly recognize the need for radical action within the boundaries of Jesusonian ethics, including abiding love for the opponent and the effort to fully engage with and understand opposing points of view as part of a spectrum, as we seek unity-in-diversity.
As for me, my role is more on the scholarly and publishing side of things, also as an educator and sometimes journalist and convener. I am what might be called an "engaged" scholar, of which there are many models—my favorite being Rodan! Like Rodan, I see myself as a trainer for evangelists, ministers, thinkers, or leaders, and for readers of my books, except that the Urantia movement has not produced such people in any meaningful volume; the backing needed to develop them as outward-facing representatives of a new revelation has been missing in a way that is truly strange and disconcerting.
Almost all of it is inward-facing, mainly engaging only with fellow readers as we see in the main organizations, their publications, their conferences. Consider the UUI, which teaches ONLY from the UB as if there isn't an established larger universe of meaning around it, including this weird thing called biblical Christianity. The Scientific Symposium is a big exception ...
Continuing ...
The Sci Symposium DOES engage with current scientific knowledge, but is almost an exception that proves the rule: "We only talk to ourselves!"
Rodan states clearly that if you don't have an outward-facing mission you are self-deceived. You are just an arm-chair thinker and philosopher. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but you are doing a disservice if you can't distinguish that from true evangelism that is heart-based and all about reaching out in love for the "other," the outsider who sits in spiritual darkness or gridlocked in tradition.
That's why ANY given Christian denomination or church is (in this sense) far superior to the U-movement in that they aggressively fund outreach and missionary workers. It's a GIVEN for all Christians but is not for Urantians. Why is that?
I remind you that the charter for direct outreach and missionary interface and public education has never been with the Urantia Foundation. That was the job of the Urantia Fellowship, formerly the Brotherhood, until the split in 1989; until then, they shared an office and worked in harmony, although the leadership of the Foundation was by all accounts in the wrong hands—basically usurpers (long story). They serve for life and are not easily removed.
Look to this schism to see how things have gone sideways ever since, as the funding base for the Fellowship was low at first, and the troops were demoralized for a long time afterwards, but still valiant.
To be continued and see you on Wednesday.
I feel the new generation is hungry for the real truth and with the introduction of AI, people will lose faith in technology and will resort back to books, ei the Bible and the Urantia (that is my personal prediction)
But in fact the last decade, I have seen the expansive growth within the community online, there are many options for readers, however study groups are still sparse. That is where our challenge lies. Young people are very interested in the truth as by evidence in recent surge of young people in church (basically initiated by the death of Charlie Kirk no politics intended) but the truth is revealing its self. God’s will be done. There is a massive wave of followers of Jesus, Urantia nation should capitalize. Sponsor events with mega churches, high school programs, etc. Basically community involvement interaction with local Christians. Christian’s will identify with Jesus in the Urantia book and perhaps atheists will identify with scientific knowledge in the book.. personally I found the Urantia book im 2012 through Christian research, my relationship with Christ instantly became more meaningful. For me, the Urantia book is the Bible on steroids! However, the Bible is the word of God and holy, the Urantia a book is just a document. It’s ironic that the Urantia book is perfect, while the Bible has errors. Created by men inspired by celestials (and the Holy Father) !!
What would a "heartful worshipping community" look like? How inclusive would it be without diluting the central core? How would it be similar and different from other such communities in terms of liturgy, practices, roles, titles, activities, events, outreach, and real estate? How would it maintain a mix of generations, especially young people. An exercise in visioning to answer these questions, like a business plan, could serve as a foundation to attract funding.
Well, I've written a plan for a seminary that would train young people to conceive and create such communities, and this plan is now in its fifth draft—but needs more work! To do this right, one also needs training in church history and ecclesiology, and I am consider a return to academic work to do just that.
Great! From advocacy to activism, with a detour through academia. Sounds like the right path. Godspeed!
Maybe others will take up the torch too, including readers of your work.
I’m appreciating this conversation….I will be watching for the continuation.
I think the Romans had paved the road from Alexandria to Jerusalem 🤔🤔🙄😂