Not Us, but Heaven Determines the Conditions for Victory

Rev. Demian Dunkley, President of Family Federation for a Heavenly USA gives his presidential message for 2019 after visiting communities across the states. He visited church communities in Belvedere, NY, Clifton, NJ, Los Angeles, CA and delivered his message at his most recent stop in Chicago, IL on February 3. In his letter, Demian addresses concerns from the field as well as his vision for 2019.

Dear Family,

I started writing this letter on the train down to Washington, D.C. They have nice seats on Amtrak, with a table to rest my iPad on and a power outlet to charge my phone. It was a beautiful sunny day with a clear blue sky in the nation’s capital. I was only there for three hours, because I had to return home quickly for my flight to Korea. That is where I am now; 30,000 feet over the earth, swallowing the last fragments of rice from my delicious bibimbap. Sorry United, but Asiana beats you hands down!

I hope you had a chance to read my first letter. If not, you should begin there, because this is part two.

I received a lot of positive responses from that letter, but some took issue with the idea that we can restore America in one year, saying, “It is just not feasible,” or, “We’ve done this before,” or perhaps more compassionately, “Tribal Messiahship is not relevant, we should be focusing on healing our families and communities.”

I realized that at the root of these doubts is a misunderstanding of what Tribal Messiahship really is, and what our actual responsibility is to bring about this victory. I appreciated their input, because it led me to offer some simple answers.

Let me start with True Father’s words from Home Church, The Words of Rev. Moon:

So, Tribal Messiahship to the family is what marriage is to the individual. The individual finds their happiness in family life, and the family finds its true happiness in spreading that Blessing to others in their tribe. If the individual lives predominantly for his or her own happiness, the health of the family will be stunted. If the family lives predominantly for its own happiness, then their growth and happiness will be stunted. Tribal Messiahship is what draws the family beyond itself to serve together for the sake of the whole. Specifically, we are asked to share the Blessing of True Parents. And, by the way, it’s a good thing!

Tribal Messiahship is not a church growth program. It is our salvation. Yes, it requires change. It requires coming out of our comfort zone and it forces our hearts to stretch and grow beyond the family level. But perhaps more surprisingly to some, our actual happiness depends on it. The health of our family depends on it. We cannot fully realize our happiness and potential as Blessed Central Families without fulfilling Tribal Messiahship. If we care about the quality of our marriages, or if we care about our parent-child relationships and want to overcome the challenges in our families and communities, a good doctor would prescribe Tribal Messiahship as the cure. Which doctor? True Parents.

The next factor in the equation is the word Victory! For example, some might say, “Well sure, we could do Tribal Messiahship, but how is that actually going to save the nation? What difference will it make if I Bless a few people? I already did that before.”

Hearing these doubts brought me to a simple, but important question: Who determines the conditions for victory? Is it us, or is it Heaven? It is Heaven that determines the conditions required for victory. Therefore, who are we to say if we can do it or not? Who are we to second guess Heaven’s plans? I don’t want to, do you? In a sense, it is not really us that will claim the victory. It is Heaven. The only thing we can do is lay the foundation for victory. So, what is that?

While many of us may feel we are inadequate or our family is inadequate, the real question is what is the foundation for victory? What is the foundation we can make, in order for Heaven to claim the victory? And how can I contribute my part to that foundation?

True Mother is far less wordy than I. She answered with this:

“If all five subregions in America fulfill Tribal Messiahship, then you will be able to embrace Christianity and you will be able to restore the nation.” She also ended her comments with, “Don’t think for one moment that it’s not possible.”

Imagine, what it would be like if all our families became active in our Tribal Messiahship? What could Heaven do with that? Furthermore, what are the foundations God has already prepared? Clearly when you look at America, we are blessed in so many ways. But primarily in terms of God’s providence, we are the most fortunate country in the world because of our Christian foundation. This nation is prepared. America is ready and in need. Are we?

Do you know what the churches are struggling with today? They’re struggling with the same things. They’re struggling with how to save the families and engage the youth to save our culture.

Sure, there are many problems. But the reason I don’t want to focus on solving problems is because there are too many problems to solve, and we cannot change the substance of a tree by clipping its leaves, for they will just keep growing. We have to change the root. And we all know the root of the problem started with the fall of Adam and Eve, and the accusation Satan has had on God’s children since the beginning of time. The solution is the Blessing and the core teachings of True Parents. So why not share that with Christianity?

Do we believe in the Blessing? Do we believe the Blessing is the solution? Are we truly confident of what we have? Have we forgotten how precious it is? It is the condition that removes Satan’s accusation on our bloodline. We are restored as God’s children. But Father told us many years ago that in order to secure our blessing, it does not stop with a three-day ceremony, it is fulfilled through our investment of love for others, and through our action of sharing the Blessing with others. And it is also the solution to all of the eventual problems we might otherwise be distracted by.

I believe 100% that if we make every effort, for every family in our movement to be activated through the life-giving investment of love through Tribal Messiahship, we will be able to embrace Christianity at a rapid rate. And we will be able to make the foundations of heart, the foundations of love, and the foundations of victory that Heaven will be able to claim by 2020. And it will be on that foundation of victory by 2020 that we will march forward into a whole new era, where untold blessings await us, and I’m sure an even greater mission will be given to us.

America was never intended to be blessed for its own sake. There is a world out there watching us. There are nations out there praying for us, hoping for us, and waiting for us. So let us not think national restoration is so far away, because God has already willed it.

But again you might think, “Is it really possible?” When you look at the sheer volume of problems we have around us and in our families, communities, and cities, you might think there is no way we can restore the nation in a year.

Remember, we are laying the foundation for Heaven to claim America as a restored nation. But I think our full salvation as a nation comes about as we serve others. The various problems and ills of America will be resolved over time as we truly start to live for the sake of the world. When America truly leads the world as an elder son nation, as a Cheon Il Guk nation, that is when you will see our house being fully restored.

To conclude: Tribal Messiahship starts with loving your spouse, your children, your parents and your family. It starts with recognizing and being grateful for the blessings God has already given to you. It starts with recognizing the people God has brought into your life. No matter how humble or how difficult your situation may be, the ingredients for your successful next steps are right in front of you. It is that new action, walking in the right direction together in unity that will bring about a great change in your life, in your family and in the Movement. Then together, we will be the spark that can awaken Christianity to fulfill its promise and allow Heaven to work miracles and revive this nation. When that kind of nation serves the world, will God not help us heal all of our internal problems along the way?

And what is the worst that could happen? What if this all turns out not to be true? Then what will we say? Will we say we wasted our time to love our spouses? Will we say we wasted our time to love our families? Will we say we wasted our time to love our brothers and sisters in the community, to ask for forgiveness and work together? Will we say we wasted our time to pray and work together to Bless those in our neighborhood? Will we say we wasted our time to share the Blessing that Heaven has toiled for thousands of years? Will we say we wasted our time to knock on the doors of our Christian brothers and sisters, the ones who laid the foundation upon which we stand? Will we say we wasted our time to Bless Christian ministers and have them Bless their congregations? Will we say we wasted our time to make them our friends? Will we say we wasted our time to seek to unite with our True Parents and follow True Mother’s clear and simple direction?

I believe that if we avoid debating True Mother’s simple request, and instead focus on laying the foundation for the victory, we will already feel the Heavenly Kingdom growing within us and around us. And then, no matter what happens in 2020, we will not say we have wasted our time. Surely, we will say we have done a good thing. And if we do this for the sake of our nation, then surely God will finally be able to say, “This nation is my son in whom I am well pleased.” And with that we will be able to serve the world from our rightful position.

God bless you,

Rev. Demian Dunkley

President