The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1983
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1983 |
During the week following God's Day, our seemingly-tireless Father spoke several times to gatherings of church leaders in New York, anxious to stimulate new vitality in our movement in western countries. The following is not an actual transcription of Father's words, but a presentation of the major points, adapted by Joy Pople from Joy Garrett's notes.
On January 2, Father met with international, American, and New York leaders in the World Mission Center. He began by talking about the role of Korean (and Japanese) leaders. The elder Korean members who have been serving as itinerant workers on various continents will now devote most of their time to assisting the American movement; as regional directors they will push members to achieve the 1-1-1 goal. Father also announced a mobilization of Korean and Japanese wives living in America and implied that he will be staying in the United States during the next three years and concentrate much effort on building up the American movement.
In comparing styles of leadership, Father finds western leaders more businesslike and horizontal when they give reports; they seem spiritually dry, he observed. In contrast, eastern leaders, especially the Koreans, often talk about spiritual revelations and insights. They are better intermediaries, Father feels, between the spirit world and physical world, connecting current situations to the history of the providence and the development of the Unification Church.
Korean leaders are also vertically strong, Father added, and are not easily shaken; people don't find it easy to relate to them horizontally. "You can get strength by going through them; because of their spiritual depth, they can embrace your culture," Father promised.
Father wants western leaders to be trained under the fullest, vertical tradition of the Korean church, although he realizes that western pride makes it difficult to accept oriental leadership. Still, he emphasized the providential necessity of this relationship; without these leaders, members cannot become part of the main trunk of the Unification Church tradition. "I do not mean that Korean culture should become American culture," he cautioned, "just that Koreans are closer to the heavenly tradition."
Father is thinking of assigning a Korean (and/or Japanese) leader to work with each American or western leader -- in order to establish the tradition he wants. This is not to be a permanent arrangement, however; it would continue long enough for the tradition to take root -- perhaps five years. Westerners have deeply ingrained habits, he explained, which may take a long time to change.
Then Father said he had been postponing certain drastic changes until the persecution in the United States abates. "But the time has come for major changes." As long ago as 1978, he had decided that "westerners couldn't cope on their own." He referred to the membership goal which was supposed to have been achieved by 1978, and the 1-1-1 motto, which he has continually stressed. There is no easy way to accomplish that goal -- just sacrifice.
After reflecting for a long time, Father selected Japan as the best Asian country in which to create the center of spiritual tradition; thus he has been putting Mr. Kuboki, Unification Church president, and Mr. Furuta, Happy World president, through heavy training. The Japanese family has been sacrificing itself almost totally for the sake of the world. In a recent conversation with Mr. Furuta, Father suggested that the Japanese church invest more of its resources in Japan, but Mr. Furuta refused, convinced that to ensure the well-being of Japan, members have to give sacrificially for world-wide causes. His attitude impressed Father.
When Father asks something, the Japanese members jump into action, and if they cannot fulfill a goal, they deeply repent, make a new resolve, and try again. But Father sees in the western leaders a kind of complaining, ungrateful heart that hinders his ability to work with them. The American church in its present form cannot be the model for western civilization, Father asserted, and in this conference he challenged Mr. Kamiyama and Dr. Durst to resolve to make a new beginning. For many years, other nations have sent members and resources to aid the American church -- which should be not only self-sufficient, but able to support the providence in other countries as well.
Then Father talked with each of the European leaders, giving them suggestions and getting each one to make a commitment of how many new members they will gain by the end of the year. He asked some European leaders, including Dennis Orme and Reiner Vincenz, to return to America, and assigned several Unification Theological Seminary graduates to leadership responsibilities in Germany. The meeting closed with reports about American CARP from Michael Smith and Mr. Matsuzaki, and about the Washington Times and CAUSA from Col. Pak.
It was late at night, and Father left the room. Col. Pak took out a thin black book, in which Father writes the outlines for his speeches and sermons and sometimes detailed plans. Father had just written down a list of our movement's objectives and future strategy. Col. Pak translated these into Japanese and English, and those who were present took notes.
At East Garden the following morning, Father began by describing how difficult it is for Koreans to learn English. Even though the new Korean IW's may not speak English, he challenged the state leaders who will be working with them to open up their hearts, seeking to understand them on a heart level, and make what for some will be their first experience with Americans a positive, unforgettable time.
These Koreans have lived many years with Father and are being sent out to "live as Father lived." Father warned the state leaders that the IW's would probably impose more discipline on them, making them rise earlier, perhaps, and pray more. Could they welcome that pressure?
Father referred to his advice to the CAUSA staff when they began teaching Unificationism in Latin America a couple of years ago. "Regardless of what attitude you take, your efforts will be instantly prosperous, and you will gain instant results. But if you do this without heart, the results will diminish bit by bit, and in the end very little will be left. However, if you take up the task with the deepest heart and best attitude, the initial effect will be similar, but the results will become greater and greater, as you advance in heart."
Two speeches or two letters identical in appearance may produce different effects, depending on the level of heart invested in them. Father described the different impacts made by a letter written without deep feeling and a letter written in tears. Even a beautifully- worded letter will soon be forgotten, if its writer shed no tears. Father repeated an often-stressed theme: "Prayer is absolutely vital to your development. The reason why you don't develop more is not because of any lack of ability, but lack of heart. When there is no heart, heaven cannot work with you."
Father compared our task of witnessing and raising people with a farmer's toil in raising crops. "You plow the soil and cultivate it through heart and prayer. However, you cannot plant the seed. Even someone of extraordinary personal ability can never plant the seeds. Only heaven can do that."
He suggested that state leaders visit their state capital and look at the capitol building. [Members can focus this kind of heart on any historical building.] "Think of the past patriots and of all those who labored to construct the building. Before you, there were people who loved that state [city, country, etc.] and sacrificed for its sake. There were many people who cried when they thought of its destiny, and they offered deep prayers for its future. Now you have to dig up that history and link it with the present time. You are the only hope that sustains the past and links it to the present and future. With desperation -- as if a member of your own family were at the point of death -- forget yourself and cry out to God, 'Heavenly Father, do something about this state.' Then God will hear you and work miracles."
Father then apologized for his inability to speak English well, but stressed that he is trying to convey to us something much deeper than words, levels of feeling which we must learn to read. Because of these deep feelings undergirding his speeches, even though we don't understand all his words, we feel drawn to him.
Father stressed that leaders should develop some special quality, which will make people feel attracted to them. Anyone who proclaims God's words should spend three hours in prayer as preparation for every hour of speaking. This was the advice Father gave to the CAUSA staff, and they have been applying it with good results. Father said that when he has prayed for a place, he usually spent seven hours in a row, in the same posture, praying -- sometimes even twelve or fourteen hours in succession.
The most precious thing is intense feeling in prayer. "If you think of this world as a desert, don't try to be a rock, but be a cactus. Birds and animals never go to a desert rock to rest, but to a cactus; even though it has thorns. inside is water which they can drink and through which receive life."
Father urged members to pray using the outline he gave on January 2, pledging to become the foremost ancestor in their home church area. He stressed the need to have some such point or points on which to focus our standard of heart, such as this outline or the yearly motto. Our prayers, sermons, etc., can explore the meaning of this year's motto, "Home Church Is Our Land of Settlement."
Father urged each state leader to establish a video center. The Japanese family has been using video centers for teaching Principle, with considerable success in winning new members, and Father wants to try this in America. He talked about the upcoming national witnessing effort. He also urged the leaders to transmit what Father is sharing with them to their members; the leaders should convey Father's heart to the members, enabling the members, in turn, to pour out their heart and tears for all people.
Father doesn't usually give a talk at a birthday celebration, but this time he spoke to everyone who had gathered at East Garden for the January 6 ceremony. "It's time to draw conclusions about recent reports," he said, and he elaborated on the qualities of leadership. Leaders may be externally capable, but Father said his concern is that they be internally prepared. What they say and what they do should match. The leadership in our church reflects on Father; if people see arrogance in Unification Church leaders, they assume that Rev. Moon is arrogant. Before the public sees Father, they meet his assistants. Likewise, Father said he always evaluates leaders through his contact with the people who were trained by them.
Father then paid unusual tribute to Mother and praised her for being "almost greater than me, because she is so benevolent and wonderful." Mother is responsible for educating the children, and they represent and reflect her. In observing the fruit of her wonderful qualities in the church, Father sees a leadership potential he would like to cultivate.
Many members have been out fundraising, and Father urged those who stayed behind -- "keeping the home fires burning" -- to cultivate a mother's heart towards those who went out sacrificially. Also, he reminded leaders always to cultivate the ideal vertical connection with those above them and those below them, and to maintain both kinds of relationships.
Father commented about some of those present, teaching lessons through them. He urged leaders not to compete for closeness with him, not to criticize the church leaders of other nations (only Father may do that), and when returning to their center or office, to hear public reports before spending time with their wife. He also remarked that no matter how good a public relations job leaders may do in order to sell an idea or project to Father, he knows the truth about the situation.
During the remainder of the meeting, Father discussed Unificationism as a strategy and as an ideology. "I have proclaimed Unificationism, and we have to go through the battle until it is accepted. Our organization is moved by philosophy, heart, people and ideology; but the center of these is heart -- the heart of harmony and compassion. This is what we have to share with the Christian world. The ideology of Unificationism we offer to the communist world. Our challenge and mission is to unite everyone under the banner of Unificationism.
"Americans in general don't want to hear VOC; sometimes they feel frightened of us. But Unificationism is not anti-anything. We are talking about unity. Idealistic people will see it as a way to unite and will adopt it as their ideology. Through CAUSA, Unificationism has had a big impact in Latin America, and I want it to spread to North America as well. People don't have to change their religion to be a Unificationist: one person may be a Catholic Unificationist, another person a Jewish Unificationist, etc. The root of Unificationism is Rev. Moon and the Unification Church, and people will eventually be drawn to the root."
Father asked various department leaders to pave the way for spreading Unificationism in America -- New Future Films should prepare videotapes, for example. During this year, Father wants his message to be more widely publicized, and he plans to travel around the country, meeting with people who understand something of his vision and encouraging them to speak out on his behalf -- and perhaps give speeches himself.