On November 29th we were able to have our second ACLC Sports League Basketball Tournament. With each action step of the Sports League we are generating a growing excitement in the communities that we serve.

What makes our league unique is the promotion of the 12 Diamond Principles. The 12 Diamonds are the fundamental truths, values and principles resonating with the Bible and rooted in the teachings of our True Father.

The Twelve Diamond Principles of the ACLC Sports League are:

These basic principles form the foundation of our league teaching curriculum. Every youth member of the league is required to complete the course of study.

Bishop C. Phillip Johnson teaches "The 12 Diamond Principles" Bishop C. Phillip Johnson's New Prospect Family Praise and Worship Center Championship team

Our objective is to recapture the public arena for God. We are not just seeking to only preach to the choir. Youth already involved in their faith are, of course, an integral part of our league, but our true target is the "unchurched." That is, the youth that look to the popular culture for their guidelines about behavior. Those are the ones who most desperately need to be exposed to the curriculum.

Unfortunately, over the years, God’s forces have become divided. One of God’s three major "headaches" revealed to Father was the division of Christianity. One of the consequences of that division is that the Church lost its focus on the environment of society, the public good and, instead, only focused on the well-being of their own church community and building their own church foundation.

As a result, public life outside the immediate church community became increasingly pragmatic and ungodly. Morality declined, families fragmented and social ills burgeoned.

This decline was accelerated under a misappropriation of the idea of the separation of church and state. It has now led to the separation of America from her soul.

We must get God back into public life, including schools. One of the core Diamond Principles stresses that "Faith in God is an essential component of character development." We want to press the envelope on asserting the existence and nature of God as a founding principle of our national life.

We are trying hard to orient our ACLC ministers to a vision that transcends the interests of their own church bodies. What finer example to uplift than that of True Father who sacrifices his own foundation for the sake of all churches and religions? Conversely, what greater symbol of the tragic decline of America than the death recently of a 19 year old young man, the shining "diamond" of our league, gunned down on his own front porch? This was not the national climate God wanted to see in America.

Today, the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry leads our youth down a path of self-destructive behavior. The convergence of the porn industry and pop culture continues unabated. Where are the clergy voices crying out as one?

If there is to be hope for the nation, then that is what ACLC must become! That is the "New Future of Christianity" that Father spoke about so many years ago.

Ministers are being trained to teach the Divine Principle. That is the real hope of revival in America. At a recent revival in Bishop C. Phillip Johnson’s church, the words of Divine Principle started a holy fire of spirit amongst his congregation. Jesus’ mission, his tragic death, his broken heart at Calvary, the failure of John the Baptist were all clearly proclaimed from the pulpit. The service leader afterward was literally speechless, so lifted up in the spirit by the content of the Principle. She even had to apologize to everyone as there was a pause in the service for her to catch her breath. Everyone came alive with spirit to know the deeper truths of the scripture revealed to them by Bishop Johnson.

Bishop Johnson, as our ACLC co-chairman, also taught the "12 Diamonds" at center court during our half-time ceremony at our recent tournament. Everyone now believes we can teach youth to move in the right direction with the 12 Diamond curriculum. And in what could be seen as a reciprocal relationship with God’s grace, Bishop Johnson’s New Prospect Family Praise and Worship Center’s team also was crowned tournament champ!

Also, at a recent memorial service held by Rev. Gregg Thomas for the late Diamond Teague, the star of our sports league who was killed, the 12 Diamond principles were taught by Rev. Thomas. One participant in the service was the principal of the school attended by Diamond Teague. When she heard the content of the 12 Diamonds conveyed so powerfully by Rev. Thomas, she became so excited. She approached me after the service, we exchanged cards and then she told me, "get ready to start multiplying the 12 Diamonds." She said that she was going to do whatever was possible to get the 12 Diamonds taught in the public school system.

We’ve only just begun.

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