What’s Going On?

Rev. Jim Stephens-Bloomington, IL 61704

This opinion piece was first published in Bloomington’s The Pantagraph, under the title "From the Pulpit" in the "Beliefs and Values" section.

Princess Diana. People couldn't get enough of it. Further back it was the O. J. Simpson trial. We studied every minute detail. It took over daytime television. There was the bombing in Oklahoma City, the cult in Waco, Texas, and children murdering their classmates and teachers. Several years ago there was the Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas fascination. There have been numerous natural disasters: hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. Disaster movies are everywhere: twisters, volcanoes, invasions from outer space, and comets destroying civilization.

What's going on here? Could this be the "last days" described in symbolic terms in the Bible? How come these particular things "captivated the nation"? What is the effect that they are having on the "national psyche"? And why?

In the Bible we see that God sends warnings to His children through symbolism and prophetic messages. Could it be that the captivation that we experience with a movie like the Titanic is because there is a message there that God is trying to send over? We are fascinated beyond ourselves by a strange force we don't understand. Perhaps the people in the creative arts are picking up on a theme from God.

The Bible talks about "the sun and the moon will be darkened and the stars will fall from heaven." In Gen. 37:9-10 it shows the sun, moon and stars symbolize the father, mother and brothers. Who are your father, mother and brothers in our society whose lights will go out and who will fall down?

Like the unsinkable Titanic, the whole world around us used to be unsinkable and worthy of our absolute faith. Nothing could happen. The future was glorious. Everything was going to be all right. On the Titanic that's what they were thinking too. It was unsinkable. But against all common sense, it turned out that it was sinkable. We, too, go blissfully about our daily lives assuming that our world is unsinkable.

Yet somehow don't you have a nagging feeling in your subconscious that it could all fall apart tomorrow? Are we as Americans beginning to feel that the end may be near for our great nation? Is this message of impending doom the one that God is trying to send you?

Science and technology were once infallible gods leading us into a glorious, unsinkable future. But now fast approaching is the Year 2000 Computer Bug, just two missing digits that some say threaten to bring down banks, financial markets, Social Security, the IRS, our local utilities and who knows what else. It will be at least a big expensive inconvenience and maybe a total devastation of our whole existence, depending on who you talk to.

Our political system was the most perfect system of government ever devised in human history. We thought it was unsinkable. You're probably wondering now if it will survive our current leaders.

The American system of justice and equality for all was the envy of the world. It could never sink, right? We could always depend on it, right? Is that what you think now after watching the O. J. Simpson trial?

How about your workplace? Ever since Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas there has been tension in the air wherever men and women are working together. Say the wrong thing and your career could be ruined in minutes.

Many people are looking for a "messiah" figure and worship at the altar of various celebrities expecting them to lead the way to true happiness.

Where can you go to be safe? Is there any big city or small town that could not be touched by some disaster tomorrow? Tornadoes, floods, bombs, and children murdering other children at school.

Our schools used to be safe. Not any more. We parents now have to fear for our children's safety. We also have to fear for their minds and futures. We recently learned that American kids rank 19th in Math and 16th in Science out of 41 countries, not counting Asian countries. And it's not going up.

In the back of your mind you are probably thinking, "I don't have to worry. It'll happen to somebody else, not me. I'll be OK." Well, you're probably right. It'll probably happen to someone else. But remember to buy insurance anyway.

Right now Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of our founder, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, is on a very prophetic worldwide speaking tour for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The basic point she is telling everyone is to pray and study truth for an hour every morning. It doesn't matter so much what your faith and religion are, just study it. Or choose some form of faith, truth and inspiration to study.

It's well documented that faith alone, above everything else, provides you with a lifeboat in sinking situations.

Mrs. Moon is also encouraging (actually admonishing) people to study the words of her husband. She believes, as I do, that he is a prophet sent from God with a message for us. His message explains what God is doing in the world and what God wants us to do. It also explains what is going to happen. You can choose not to believe this message but you owe it to yourself to find out what it is. Write me at P. O. Box 1802, Bloomington, IL, 61702.

Don't go down with the ship!

What about the Future?

Letter
Jon Wason, La Crescent, Minnesota

I read with interest the column by Paul Carlson concerning a serious topic we Unificationists should address. The topic was: What happens after the demise of the founder and leader? Carlson’s article was well written and well researched. I found it educational and interesting. We can learn from the mistakes of others. He describes the woes of other groups when the founder passed away and the followers splintered. I am grateful that the writer has brought up these points for us to consider.

What will happen in the future? Will we separate into factions? Will the family be split as sisters and brothers become enemies? My sincere hope is that now we can prepare for that day which is surely coming. We can make a smooth transition.

Viewpoint - The Big Picture

by Simon Kinney-NYC

With all the recent activity in television and the print media giving a generous amount of coverage to our movement, it has become increasingly difficult for many members to see the wood for the trees. People I have spoken to seemed either wounded or confused about what they had heard or seen on television. For at least two people I had met, it meant turning the lights off and leaving the movement for good.

Such a dramatic turn of events seemed almost surrealistic. Only a few weeks earlier some level of confusion reigned in my mind when I approached one church official about a particular issue. This person’s explanation of the situation differed dramatically from a previous discussion I had with another church official. In fact three or four discussions had yielded three or four completely disparaging explanations of the same important question I had posed to them.

Which then was the correct one? The case in point was not a matter of opinion, but of fact. After a short period of consideration, I realized that actually in all likelihood, none of them were accurate.

This experience was nothing new for me. However on this occasion it was undermining the faith of several friends, and since I was not able to access a clear answer, it was hard to help clear their concerns. As in most situations like this, it was evident that a much larger scenario was at play, and any one dimensional explanation of the facts was not going to cut it, even though that was what people wanted to hear.

Without expectation I made my way to Belvedere on Sunday morning, September 20th to hear Father speak. I arrived shortly after 6 am. Parents had not arrived and I took a spot on the grass overlooking the dense fog rising from the Hudson River. The place was jammed to the rafters with the flock, not only in anticipation of Parents, but also of the impending television airing that evening on 60 minutes.

As I stood in thought, I glanced above the roof of Belvedere training center towards the Hudson. I must have been standing still for less than ten seconds when the last movement of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony came crashing into my conscience. Almost simultaneously, one very clear sentence presented itself: "Father only represents God’s viewpoint".

That was it. Since this kind of activity, as dramatic as it was, had happened on numerous occasions, it came as no shock to me. However it managed to clear my mind of the most recent vagrances. Even though Parent’s had not even arrived, I could have left right at that moment and I would have felt completely happy.

If only every day could be so dramatically directional.

UTS Student Wins Templeton Prize

Earlier this year, several students of Dr. Dietrich Seidel’s class on Religion and Science at UTS participated in the Templeton Foundation’s international essay competition for graduate students on that topic. In August, it was announced that Claude Perrottet had won the fourth prize for his essay entitled Can Scientific Research Enhance Theology? A Case Study on the Understanding of Mind - Body Uniduality. The following introduction to Claude’s essay provides a summary of its content.

The many faces of humility

by Claude Perrottet -Barrytown, NY

The injunction to be "humble" should certainly be difficult to challenge for anyone dealing with the complexities of present-day scientific research. And yet, past abuses of related concepts, such as that of mystery, by traditional theologies, do raise some doubts. After all, is it not easy to hide mere ignorance behind a facade of humility before almighty God and his creation?

Our hope, in these lines, is to use the example of neurosciences to show how the "humble approach" advocated by Sir John Templeton makes such reservations superfluous, as long as it is understood as a challenge to the self-content (and self-defeating) attitude of dogmatism that insists it possesses the key to absolute and ultimate revelation.

We are still facing a paradox: as finite, created beings, what claim can we indeed have to ever fully know the infinite something (or somebody) that somehow must be our Origin? And yet, one part of our intuitive self-concept as humans also tells us that we have precisely been created with the ability to resonate with, and relate to, our universe and its Original Being in the most intimate way. This seems to exclude ignorance.

This particular paradox, though, can be elucidated if we compare our growing knowledge with an expanding sphere. While the content of the sphere (assured knowledge) keeps growing, so does the surface of the sphere, i.e. the interface with the unknown, the beyond. In a very realistic way, and without any stretch of the imagination, we can thus affirm that with each new answer a host of new questions appears by necessity (not because the answer is incomplete or inaccurate): the more we know, the more we are faced with renewed ignorance. This ignorance, however, appears as an opportunity for further increase in knowledge, rather than an admission of defeat.

Understood in this way, a theology of humility is closely related to the concept of object-consciousness of Unification Thought. This concept offers a further tool for harmonizing the seemingly contradictory notions of the limits associated to our finitude, and of our potentially unlimited capacity to know, discover, and create. As long as we exist as the visible expression of a Creator, no matter how conceived, the very notion of creation includes both the idea of humility (finitude and submissiveness), and that of inheritance (limitless potential).

At this point, and based upon the assumptions just described, we will proceed with a brief analysis of modern brain research and its implications for a global understanding of the human mind. We will then suggest a possible way of overcoming the dualistic views of mind and brain without resorting to reductionism.

Trust In The God Whose Ways Are Not Man’s Ways

Dr. Tyler Hendricks

"Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"(Mt 7:21-23)The measure of trust is the extent to which you will endure disconfirming evidence. "I trust my son to be responsible." Trust is based upon a promise. "Dad, I promise I will not drink." "I trust you will keep the promise." Then you hear that the party he went to was a wild party and some kids ended up in a car crash from drunk driving. Do you still trust your son? Do you have confidence that he did not participate in that activity?

We read that we should trust in the Lord, for He is good. When you don’t feel Him, do you still trust? God forsook Jesus on the cross. Did Jesus still trust in God? He did; as he said, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit."

Trust is necessary for a relationship to endure. A strong relationship is built upon absolute trust. Trust is a by-product of faith. In a relationship, trust is measured by your ability to allow your partner latitude to risk something of value to you both. For example, my mother encountered a friend who told her of a summer home up in the mountains for sale. She couldn’t reach my father, but time was of the essence and she went ahead and signed and made a down-payment. This means that my father trusted her with the bank account. Also, my mother trusted her friend’s word that this was a good piece of property. There was a lot of risk involved, but it worked out because there was a lot of trust.

And we have to be worthy of trust. Don’t abuse it. If you inadvertently violate it, atone for it, which means be at one with the person again. Restore your oneness with that person.

Trust is measured too by the risk you take with the belief that your partner will be there for you. My mother trusted that my father would be there with her when he found out that she signed that deal. A soldier will take a risk on the battlefield in trust that the air-cover support will be there. A husband will confess his sins to his wife in trust that she will understand and hold them in her heart. In any counseling relationship, trust is an essential ingredient.

Do you have someone you completely trust? Are there many people who completely trust you?

Job trusted God. Satan challenged God to test Job’s trust. God took up that challenge; that means that God trusted Job even before Job trusted God. Abraham also trusted God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. It is righteous to trust in God, because He is worthy of trust. In Him we have our life, our breath, our being. If He ceases to give and provide for us, we will die that instant. How vain, how selfish and vile, to question such a God. This means that distrust of God is unrighteous. Adam and Eve distrusted God. They did not believe that He had a plan for their life and for their family. When it came down to it, they trusted the serpent which led them to follow their own desires.

Their desires seemed more trustworthy than God. How about us? What if God tests us as He tested Job?

Applying this, it means that we should trust God even though the present reality seems to disconfirm His trustworthiness. Look at the Israelites in relationship to Jesus. They did not trust Jesus. They branded the son of God a heretic and blasphemer. It means they called God ungodly! As Paul said, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator.

God told the people of Israel that He would send the Messiah and He gave them certain expectations of a king of kings, a magnificent leader who would vanquish their enemies, a new King David. Then He tested them. When Jesus presented himself as the Messiah, it disconfirmed God’s trustworthiness. But for those to whom the spirit revealed Jesus’ identity, God was proven trustworthy. And when we accept Jesus, we encounter God’s trustworthiness. God is proven righteous.

And this is what I want to stay with: the trustworthiness of God in His Word. The Bible teaches that the Lord will come again. As in the Old Testament, there are many diverse prophecies in the New Testament about this. He will come in the air with trumpets blasting. He will come like a thief in the night. Every eye shall see him and every knee shall bow. Those who are asleep will not know that he came and went. Those who confess the name of Jesus will be saved. He will call many who did mighty works in his name, "evildoers" and cast him out of his sight.

In reality, even the disciples of Jesus did not recognize God in him. If they had, they never would have left him, denied him. It was not until he returned from the dead that they really trusted him. As a man on earth, Jesus was no different from you or I. He told people that to see him was to see God, but they did not trust him. He said that he was the way, the truth and the light, but they did not trust him. They were not willing to risk what they valued for him. Consider the rich young man. They did not trust Jesus when he told them God’s way of life in the Sermon on the Mount. His parents did not trust him when he told them that he belonged with the teachers of Israel in the Temple. His mother and brothers did not trust him when he was teaching in the villages. His disciples did not trust him enough to have confidence that they would not betray him. When he said, "one of you will betray me," each said, "Is it I, Lord?"

They did not trust him enough to stay with him when the soldiers came, or to testify on his behalf in the trial. They did not trust in his power. They saw it in the loaves and fishes, they saw him walk on the water, heal the sick, raise the dead. More than that, they saw him forgive sins and teach truth. But they always came back to the physical reality: he’s a man; he looks just like you and me. He’s not very popular. The scribes and Pharisees, those very respectable leaders, they don’t like him. They say he’s crazy. It was enough to plant the seed of doubt, of fear. It was enough to compromise their trust in Jesus.

Trust relates to love. If we truly love someone, we will trust that person. Love evokes oneness of heart, and when we are one in heart, we know that the other person will be true to the relationship. No one loved Jesus enough to trust him without the big "IF." If you are the messiah, do this. If you are the messiah do that. If you are the messiah, then where is Elijah? If you are the messiah, promise me the highest seat in the kingdom of heaven. If you are the messiah, tell me what is truth? If you are the messiah, fly down from the cross and bring me down with you. If you are the messiah, solve my problems for me. Then I’ll trust you.

The human race never displayed absolute trust in God when He appeared in human form. Am I right? It was always conditional. What a beautiful thing it is when trust is displayed. Think of Isaac’s trust of his father, Abraham, on the altar. Think of Jacob’s trust of Esau as he bowed before him seven times. Think of the Israelites trust in Moses as he led them out of Egypt, into the howling wilderness, and their trust in Joshua as he led them into the Promised Land. But these episodes are few and far between.

Now, think for a moment of God’s dilemma. God wants us to trust Him absolutely for who He is. But as long as God is invisible, we cannot really know who He is. We have our various concepts of God, and even experiences of God’s love in the Holy Spirit, but still we are just shooting at a target that we cannot actually see or touch. Millions of people might be bowing and praying before an idol that is not God at all. They are all facing in the wrong direction, but they are so intent in their misdirected worship that God cannot do anything about it. He has no form, no voice, no body. He sends someone and we reject him, saying that you’re just a man. God wants to say that’s the whole point! Jesus said if you see me, you see the Father-I and the Father are one. We human beings are experts at deception, and the first one I deceive is my own self. Thinking I’m going straight to heaven, when in reality I might be going straight the other way.

This is why God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. He took human form. Why? To pay for our sin? It was not first and foremost to pay for our sin, but to reveal to us His love, His character, His heart, His personality, His reality. To reveal that he’s not so different from us. After all, He’s our father.

I’m a father, too. Let’s say that I died tonight and went to spirit world. Now, my children will miss me. They will talk to me in their prayers. They will cry out to have me next to them. And I might be right there next to them in spirit, but I can’t touch them, they can’t hear me, they can’t see me. They might say, Dad, if you’re here, let me know. And I’m trying and trying but I can’t get through to them. How frustrating! How miserable a father I would be! Then they might say, Dad, it’s okay. I know you love me, and turn off the light. This is God’s situation! And I would watch my son growing up. I would watch him encounter good and evil. No! No! don’t go the evil way! But he can’t hear me. How grateful would I be for someone to intervene. Maybe God wants to intervene through YOU, in someone else’s life. With his love, He mercy, His counsel, His protection, with His chastisement perhaps. Can you think of who that might be? Do you think such a thing would happen almost never? Or, perhaps, all the time? Do you know someone who’s lonely, who’s carrying a heavy cross? How about your wife? How about your father?

So how happy God was to be able to be with us in Jesus. But then what happened? They didn’t recognize him! They didn’t trust him! What anguish in God’s heart. This may be why there is nothing recorded of Jesus’ life until he reached thirty, save one brief, unhappy episode. If it were glorious, don’t you think it would have been recorded, talked about?

So there is some unfinished business. What Jesus did is finished, but we didn’t finish our part. We did not give our complete trust to God when He walked among us. We have proven for 2,000 years since then that we can give our complete trust to God the Son in spirit, so He doesn’t need to return in spirit. He doesn’t need to return in external glory. The Jews thought that the Lord would come in external glory 2,000 years ago and that’s what tripped them up. If he had come in external glory then, they would have had no problem to trust him. If he comes in external glory now, mankind will have no problem to trust him. But that’s not what God wants us to learn! He wants us to learn to trust the internal beauty that He places in each one of us. If He comes in external glory, we can trust Him, but it doesn’t help us to trust each other.

Jesus did not come in external glory. He came in internal glory, the glory of God’s truth and love. God wants us to touch His internal glory, His truth, His love. These are expressed not by a military commander, not by an emperor high on a throne, but by a father teaching his son to fish, a mother helping her daughter pick out clothes, by a brother serving his parents breakfast in bed, by an older sister helping her younger sister ride a bike. It is expressed by a husband and wife sharing their deepest, most personal wants, needs and desires. This is God’s internal glory. It is God’s greatest gift. It is the manna from Heaven, the salt of the Earth. This is why Jesus did not come in external glory; he came in internal glory.

And that is what we missed. He did everything to the point of dying on the cross out of his love for us. The boat left the dock. We missed the boat. 2,000 years ago, the human race missed the boat.

Now, we know that Jesus wants to be with us in everything that we do, in everything I mentioned-our love, our teaching, our sharing, our serving. But there’s a little more to it than that. Jesus doesn’t just want to be with us. Jesus wants to do it himself. God wants to do these things Himself. That’s why Jesus said, the Lord will come again. And He will come again not in external glory, for He already has the external glory. He will come in internal glory, because that allows us to complete our unfinished business. The boat will come back to the dock.

Jesus will surely do this as he promised, and we trust him. Because we trust him, we know that he will come again. But how? Will he assume a new body? The Bible rejects reincarnation, Christianity rejects reincarnation. When God creates a new body, He creates a new spirit within it. He doesn’t create a body empty of spirit to allow somebody else’s spirit to enter.

Before discussing how he will come, let us consider why he needs to come. Hebrews 9:28 says "To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."

Tortured in the Orchard

by Jon Wason-La Crescent, WI

I live in La Crescent, the Apple Capital of Minnesota. The limestone bluffs rising from the banks of the Mississippi River create an ideal location for growing apples. Rows of fruit trees are snuggled into valleys, protected from hail storms, damaging winds and early frost. Orchards cover entire hillsides.

In the autumn, workers come to harvest the fruit. Apple picking is hard work. Not only is it draining physically but it can be a workout for the spirit, too. A person needs to get psyched up and keep a positive attitude to be a good apple picker.

My friend Tim got a job as an apple picker, but he lasted less than a day. The reason was his pessimistic thinking.

Tim was using a half-bushel picking sack. The apple picker fills the sack with apples and empties them into a wooden bin which holds 20 bushels. It takes approximately 40 bags to fill the bin. The worker is paid by the number of bins filled.

That morning, as Tim started working, he kept looking at the bin. It looked so huge. It looked so empty. He picked a few apples and put them in his bag, while glancing at the box and pondering its great size.

When Tim’s bag was finally full, he emptied it into the box. The sound of apples thudding on wood echoed inside the empty bin.

Tim figured if he did that 39 more times the bin would be filled. He felt discouraged, but kept toiling away. He was thirsty and sweaty. Bugs were biting him as he reached for more apples and twisted them off the tree.

One more bag filled and dumped into the big. It still looked empty.

The shade under a large apple tree in the next row looked appealing, so Tim sat down and started thinking about the situation. The orchard pays workers for the number of bins filled. He had no bins filled. He figured he was getting nowhere.

By then he was so discouraged he decided to eat his lunch. As he bit into a salami sandwich he looked at the big bin once more. It seemed it would take forever to fill it.

A sad Tim stood up and started to pick some more apples. When the bag was full again he emptied it into the bin. It looked so empty. Apples didn’t even cover the bottom.

Tim took off his picking sack, walked down the hill, got in his car and drove home.

A negative attitude is dangerous for an apple picker.

The Role of Youth for Peace and Unification in the 21st Century

by Ajay Rai-Great Britain

In December 1997 in Beijing, China, I joined with 350 students, professors and young people from all over the world to participate in this providential event organized by CARP and the Youth Federation for World Peace. The main theme was "The Role of Youth for Peace and Unification in the 21st Century." Sub-sessions on other themes looked at issues on the environment, science, family ethics and the prosperity of northeast Asia, in particular the unification of the Korean peninsula.

Beijing is probably one o the few places in the world where both North and South Koreans can come together for dialogue and exchange. It is indeed neutral ground. This is important because in one respect this conference was an expansion of the whole Jacob-Esau dynamic on the national level. I was privileged to be there, and in reflection, I think my role was to be so to speak as one of the servants or event cattle that Jacob sent ahead of himself before the moment of his encounter with Esau.

My job however was not simple. As chairman of Session Three, entitled "The Present Society and Family Ethics," I was in the spotlight for a few fluttering hours. This turned out to be quite interesting, as I am not your typical English gentleman; but there I was sitting in front of the Union Jack with my audience looking back probably more confused than I was. In this session, essays were presented by Italy, Taiwan, Hungary and Thailand, as well as Great Britain.

A cultural festival was held to conclude the seminar. Eleven brave brothers and sisters represented Europe in a performance which included techno-disco dancing and the singing of "Stand By Me," "Lean On Me," and a multi-lingual version of the European anthem, "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee." This was put together in the late hours of the night before, but with a touch of the British sense of humor, and all went down well in the spirit of unification.

In comparison, the North Koreans came prepared with the complete performance-including stage cuesto instruments and props combined for a real show which brought the filled banquet room to its feet. Of course, there were some professionals in the group, but isn’t that what the vision of this meeting is all about-to bring the best of the world’s future generation of leaders together to share their intellects and offer their talents, but most of all to give their hearts to one another: "Brother love binds man to man." One nation’s sense of patriotism can definitely rub off on others, as I learned through this experience. Seeing is believing, and if you can see it from the moon then you have no choice!

The Great Wall of China is most definitely more than just a wall. It stretches 1200 km and it cost millions of lives to build. It is the legacy of a great culture which I could not help but compare to Noah’s ark-crazy perhaps, but inspired. On our sight-seeing schedule there was also the Forbidden City, now known as The Palace Museum, underground tombs (which are in fact empty boxes!) and the most serene temples and palaces, sitting atop the Beijing skyline. Alas, I had no camera, but these are memories that I will not forget.

Giving and forgiving

At times the giving being done by the South Koran participants, who were mostly second generation, was painful to observe. By this I mean it was beyond normal everyday justification, and I, being an observer, was challenged as to whether I would do the same were I in their shoes. It was these young adults who truly made this providential event a success. The first generation played their part in organizing it, but they were not able to melt hearts in the way that the hope and innocence of the second generation did. Through this, young and old could cry together, forgiveness was no longer an issue and the Principle was personified.

No doubt there will be a fifth seminar, a sixth and more. It is my hope that these will develop and expand the foundation of the past four. There is always room to improve, and I strongly encourage anyone who is thinking to participate in the next one to get involved as soon as possible. Remember, this is open to all students, and Rev. Won Pil Kim’s definition of being young is simply someone who wants to take responsibility. True Father even defines the age bracket as extending up into the late fifties! So come on! With strong hearts, open minds and willing bodies we can achieve our great goals. The good things that we have been waiting for are already on the way.

Ajay Rai is the president of CARP in Great Britain.. Reprinted from Today’s World.

The Mobile Homes: A Mistake?

by Tim Comey-Boise, ID

A recent memo circulating on the internet referred to the purchase and deploying of mobile homes in the 80's as being a mistake. This was an example of "even Messiahs sometimes make mistakes."

I guess there are many ways of looking at the world. I wanted to share a thought or two.

Father brought some of the American regional leaders (Jenkins, McDevitt, etc.) together in the early 80's for a uniquely memorable experience for over a week, as I recall. In addition to some travel, and close personal time with his family, Father shared his enthusiasm for the bus tour idea. The reports on the time spent together were extra special.

We then proceeded to organize tours, rent buses, and bring our contacts to New York, to see the sights and attend an evening program at the World Mission Center. The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Dr. Bo Hi Pak. All in one day ! Wow !!

I'm not sure how other regions implemented the idea. But Father had an inspiration at that time, and shared it with key Americans in the field.

He knew the importance of getting our contacts, members, and ourselves "up and out" of our circumstances and able to experience something new -- to laugh, interact, to feel, to understand anew. This way of working has meant a lot to people who appreciated our efforts over the years. How many times have we heard, "This was the best experience of my life. " There has been tremendous gratitude for our projects, conferences and achievements.

In that same spirit of adventure, the mobile home providence was initiated. I understand that there was considerable debate about it, and heavy lobbying from competing points of view, with sparks and fur flying. Advice and council was given. Decisions were agreed upon.

Matthew Morrison, the Northwest Regional Director at the time, once told me that it was important to Father that at the time of the trial, intense persecution and approaching sentence in Danbury Prison, the activity of the mobile homes was like Father's "face" all throughout America. It was our pride. We were visible and at work on the front line.

The IOWC Teams campaigned throughout America. Trucks and mobile homes were dispatched. Then the videos and video machines were shipped by the ton. The equipment took hours to unload. It was to reach out and lift up America. Educate, inspire and energize ! Father would laugh with us as he described the living arrangement -- 10 members per mobile home, sharing one restroom.

I understand that the trucks, which would serve the churches in particular, in their efforts to help the poor, were purchased as Father was going to prison. He wrote the check on the way to prison. He would give generously, even while being rejected. His response to the injustice was to give, and to forget. And in prison, he would conceive of the ACC.

There was a call one day -- it was probably in the middle of the night -- for all seminary graduates to come to New York for a conference with Father. It was about mobile home leadership. Seminarians were expected to take a leading role. As I recall, not many responded. This would affect the function and success of the teams throughout America.

Recently, when cleaning up a mobile home, I realized how much Father envisioned us being out in the splendor of America's beauty, directly experiencing a full range of situations, and learning to work closely together. He envisioned the large numbers of Americans of all ages meeting us, and hearing our ideas on video tape given by exemplary American lecturers (Tom and Pat).

It all may have been as much for us as it was for the nation and providence- at-large. I guess a loving parent thinks that way. Give a hope, an opportunity, a promise.

Remember the devotion which some teams demonstrated in the care of the mobile homes?

The heart of members from around the world would be given for America. And they gave abundantly. The American movement would have faltered without world support.

In the 1980's, Father would awaken the American mind with the Religious Freedom Crusade He would empower America through the CAUSA movement, with conferences, slides and projectors, and revival. Then, church buildings in every state would be purchased. The ACC would begin. Years later, the most gifted and/or determined would win elected office.

That must make Father feel very good. I remember Father once said to us long, long ago, "You are my calling card." We serve that role on the front line.

He said long ago that it is vitally important to know the Providential Time, to "know what time it is." "What is God doing at this moment ?" he taught us to inquire. Father has always demonstrated that he is responsive to God's time table, and consistently demonstrated that he was instrumental in what God is doing. Our pride as church members has been, in part, being on the front line and cutting edge of the Providence. Father can see a broader dimension than I, and knows how history is unfolding, and what part we play in the incremental steps to its fruition. We have all come to regard Father's directions with this understanding, and have attempted to respond with the proper attitude, willingness, and urgency. In hindsight, I can see that the course of action was the right thing to do... in the greater sense, and was also in our own best interest.

A section in the new "Exposition of the Divine Principle," in "Some Lessons from Noah's Family," (P. 203, section 2.3) reads: "Yet instead of trusting Noah, who had been justified by Heaven, Ham criticized him from a self-centered perspective and showed his displeasure by his actions. His disrespect had the effect of frustrating God's long labors to work His providence through Noah's family. We, too, need humility, obedience, and patience to walk the path toward Heaven."

I would emphasize the part about "God's long efforts," and apply this quote to the idea of "what is God doing now ?" and how I reflect on a direction and a leader. Noah wasn't perfect. Sometimes I can't get the picture without really thinking it through.

We have tried to avoid being a barrier to the work in progress. My offering is lamentably small. Many people endure the consequences of our shortcomings. Some areas will go completely neglected without our sincere investment. God seems very forgiving, for the most part. But directions from the central point are our best asset.

I think Father is big enough to include different points of view. He has laughed about some of our flaws, and we've laughed along with him. (I made him laugh pretty hard a couple of times. After some reflection, I figured out what he found to be so humorous.) He wanted us to be self-sufficient as ACC. I think he trusts that we can get the job done. He knows that we make mistakes.

On a calm Sunday, one may look upon the old World War Two battleships in a quiet salty harbor and see just a memory. But one time,... long ago,... they were proud, strong, ready, with flags flying and powerful engines working for history's triumph, with sailor boys - some too young to shave - on board and ready to fight, maybe with a photo or two of someone they loved and some letters from home in their duffel bag.

Sometimes you see an old car in the annual parade. It still runs good. And looks good, too. Like some members I know.

There are some good mobile homes out there. You can still feel the prayers that were offered when you sit inside.

Like at Valley Forge or Gettysburg. You don't feel that you are alone there.