What are your memorable experiences on this tour?
All in all, it is really wonderful. I really feel joyful because I have been dreaming for the last fifteen years that something like this would happen, and it is happening.
The most joyful part is that what I saw will happen. I have been dreaming of certain formulas, and I felt that they would definitely happen. And all those expectations are really being fulfilled. They are actually happening. That part is marvelous.
This Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade, Celebration of Life, is in a way a revolutionary concept in the world of evangelism because it is a new form of evangelism.
We are bringing a free expression of joy in music and dance. We are introducing a 21st-century-style formula for evangelism.
So this has revolutionized the world of evangelism. We are overjoyed that the Unification Church is doing it. We are spearheading it, and we are making headway.
Furthermore, we are becoming a pioneer and a champion for a new form of evangelism that will be effective in reaching out to people, particularly non-Christian people.
In addition, we will reach many, many young people, non-Christian people.
Evangelism in the past was tailor-made to evangelize among Christians. This is the way we can attract many non-Christians, many non-believers.
We beautifully come to them, most impressively and favorably, to introduce them to God and Christ.
Secondly, we are revolutionizing the teaching of the Divine Principle. To be able to cope with the media, great numbers of people, and auditorium audiences of thousands, we should have a new form of presentation of the Principle.
We must make the presentation of the Principle simple, fantastic, and heartwarming. That is the formula I wanted to come up with; I wanted to pioneer it.
And even though I do not feel my task is completely over, I do know it is working; I know the direction now. We can work harder and harder, and we can perfect it. I think it would be a powerful message for the public, for a mass convention or assembly.
In other words, we are elevating it from the classroom-type presentation to mass evangelism. We are now capable of presenting it on this scale, and it becomes so powerful because none dare compete with the truth of the Divine Principle once we find the formula and tailor-make it for the public.
In this particular crusade, I have picked out the three key points representative of our movement. These three points are that Jesus did not come to die; Christ is coming not on the clouds of heaven but as the son of man in the flesh; and the original sin was a misuse of love.
Would you explain the impact this can have on church members?
Two things are primarily happening among our family members. Foremost, by inviting people to the Celebration of Life, they are positively identified as people who can truly command the respect and admiration of our movement. People want to be known by this wonderful group. We are becoming the target of envy.
In numerous instances, our family members were like the underdog. There were many unkind things said about them, and they did not have many prospects for successful and winning days. They had to fight through many persecutions.
These have been the local situations in our movement. And now the Celebration of Life brings a different attitude.
We are in a sort of commanding position. We are so positive. Even the people who came to oppose us came and said nothing. They became completely neutralized, and in some cases, they changed their minds.
We are so confident, so good, so refreshing, so honest, and so sincere. How could they say anything about it? We are giving new confidence, new hope, and new dimensions to the world. So they see how good we can be. They feel pleased to be part of this Celebration of Life Crusade and to become a pioneer together for God and Christ.
Secondly, they truly feel close to God and Christ, because through this presentation of the Principle, even our family members have never before experienced such joy and a realization of conversion, the truth coming into their whole being, centering on God and Christ. It brings a real heart-to-heart relationship.
What has your work on the Celebration of Life meant to you?
This has been a really rewarding experience personally. I have wanted to do this for a long time. This is the kind of thing I have been dreaming about. It is a dream come true.
So I have a tremendous personal satisfaction. Through this, I have come to know God and Christ in a deeper sense. I have been the one most blessed and rewarded by having the Celebration of Life, because I am the one who has been most uplifted. I have experienced God's kingdom and His loving heart, and so I have become closer to God.
So this is really a tremendous uplift on the personal side. My family also feels the same way. By doing this, my family is becoming happier and more united. My wife is enjoying the tour, and we can share much joy, excitement, and hard work.
My daughter Na Kyung is an integral part of the Celebration of Life, so she is sharing our joy together. My son will graduate soon from high school, and he would like to join.
So our whole family is centered around the Celebration of Life and the work of God. I cannot think of any other way that we could better do the work of God and experience together harmony and happiness in the family.
What are your expectations for the future?
I think our future is simply great. I have great expectations. However, things will happen to a far greater and far more intense degree than anybody can envision at this time. This world may change.
The world in which we live truly needs a great realization of the presence of God, because everything, all aspects of human life, is running toward a deadlock. We require a new dimension.
Otherwise, the survival and the very existence of human culture are in question.
Where can we find the solutions to today's conflicts?
We have tried everything, and we cannot find any ultimate solution. So the solution has to be a spiritual one, because the fundamental core of the universe is God, and God is Spirit.
God is the subject of the universe. No matter what we might do, the solution must come from the subject perspective, from God, and from the spiritual world. We are doing precisely that.
We are not talking about the problems of the world. Likewise, we are presenting the solution. Furthermore, we are working not on an analysis of the concern but on the cure to the difficulty.
That is the fundamental principle of our work. About the future… only God knows. The sky is the limit. This whole world is waiting to be saved.
We need help from God and from God's power and from a spiritual awakening and enlightenment. We are providing the answer to the world. The Celebration of Life is one segment of a great movement that will ignite millions of people and give them a fresh outlook on life.
That is what we are doing. I really feel good about it. I have waited a long time for the Celebration of Life.
The Sun Myung Moon Christian Crusade will be the greatest ever launched. It will be a pioneer. Only history can tell what magnitude it will have. But I think this crusade will remain until the Kingdom of Heaven comes on earth to the full extent.
We will soon move on to other parts of the world—Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Africa, etc. Initially, American settlers started from the New England area and pioneered the virgin land of the West.
We are doing it the same way. We are like the Mayflower of heaven landing on Plymouth Rock in New England. Likewise, we have tribulations and hard work to do, but that is nothing.
We are pioneers; we have to take all these things. We are on untouched land. A whole new horizon is waiting to be cultivated spiritually.