Experience with Kook Jin Nim

Tim Elder
June 7, 2010

A number of people have referred to "making a choice of who to follow," and I feel moved to respond.

Since the beginning of November 2009, I have worked with Kook Jin Nim many hours a day on a daily basis whenever he is in Korea or Japan. That probably works out to about 75 percent of my total weekday work time over the past seven months or so.

Thinking back on this time, I realize that Kook Jin Nim has never once asked me to be loyal to him. Instead, he has asked -- indeed, challenged -- me to elevate my level of faith, love and obedience to True Parents.

He has done this through his own example. Whenever Kook Jin Nim meets a politician or other VIP, for example, he tells them straight out: "My parents are the Savior, Messiah and Lord of the Second Advent." At the end of the meeting, he will say: "Please come worship at Cheon Bok Gung." And a number of them have taken him up on that.

I don't see myself as having chosen to follow Kook Jin Nim over any other member of the True Family. I joined the Unification Church, because I saw that by following True Father I could come closer to God, and the same is true today. Through Kook Jin Nim's example, I have been able to elevate my standard of faith, love and obedience to True Parents. I still follow True Parents, and Kook Jin Nim has taught me how to be a little better at doing that.

There was an incident where I felt Kook Jin Nim's faith, love and obedience to True Parents was demonstrated. It deals with confidential matters, but I think it's important for me to share in a way that doesn't violate confidences.

Father made a decision one morning that directly affected one of the Tongil Group's affiliated companies. It came as a complete surprise to Kook Jin Nim. He wasn't present when Father announced the decision, and at first he found it hard to believe the information was being transmitted to him accurately. He couldn't understand Father's reasoning behind the decision.

It seemed to throw a wrench in this company's business plan.

Kook Jin Nim's initial reaction was an expression of animated frustration, and it took him perhaps a couple of hours to work through this emotion. I was with him for a significant part of that time.

During this time, I noticed some points that I found important. First, thanks to God, I found that Kook Jin Nim is not the type of person to vent such emotions on those around him.

Second, there was not the slightest suggestion that he might try to talk Father out of this decision.

And third, once he had worked through the emotion, he went about executing Father's decision. At the same time, he focused on figuring out a way to continue executing the company's business plan, which is also extremely important in accomplishing the mission of the Foundation.

Today, Father's direction has been carried out, and the business plan is still on course.

In the past seven months, I have found that nothing is done in the Foundation without True Father's approval. As Chairman of Tongil Foundation, Kook Jin Nim has been delegated a certain amount of authority. He is careful to stay within the bounds of that authority. Anything that does not fall within that limit is referred to Father for decision. And Father's decisions are obeyed.

In my observation, Kook Jin Nim does not believe that being a True Child gives him any special right to command members' loyalty. Instead, in my observation, he seems to feel that being a True Child places on him the responsibility to be a better Unificationist that the rest of us and to teach us how to relate to True Parents with greater faith, love and obedience.

I did not know Kook Jin Nim prior to November 2009, so I don't know what he was like then. But this is what I have observed in the time I have spent with him during these seven months.

So I have not chosen to follow a member of the True Family. Instead, I have been fortunate enough to find a teacher who teaches me how to follow True Parents more closely.

I don't normally gush about my bosses -- at least not this much. But in the current context, I felt it important to tell my story. I hope some who read it will find it helpful.