Lymhwa Kim
January 29, 2013
Edited by Krista Karjalainen
The winners of the Divine Principle competition pose together with True Mother. From left to right: Pastor Jang Jin Jin, Pastor Ju Won Jeon, True Mother, Pastor Hong Deuk Kim and Pastor Yuk Hyun Jo.
“Save the world with Divine Principle” was the title of the first Divine Principle competition to manifest the era of Cheon Il Guk, held at the Cheon Jeong Gung Chapel in Gapyung, Korea on Sunday, January 20, 2013.
The event drew 450 people, including Korean pastors and Japanese leaders. The purpose of the event was to teach members how to present the Divine Principle in a positive way, as well as to bolster faith that Divine Principle could bring more members to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU).
For this event, Jong Kwan Kim, secretary of FFWPU Korea headquarters, served as emcee for the competition. The event order was as follows: Opening announcement; a collective bow, a prayer report and then the Divine Principle lecture contest. After True Mother awarded the contest winners their awards, she gave a speech, followed by a benediction from Dr. Chang Shik Yang, president of FFWPU of Korea and ended with three cheers of Eog Mansei.
Altogether, 19 participants passed the preliminary round and presented individual 10-minute lectures with PowerPoint presentations. The judging criteria was based on a total of 100 points, which included: 40 points for lecture contents, 25 points for voice, 20 points for attitude, 10 points for audience reaction and five points for staying within the time limit.
Though it appeared to be nerve-wracking to present in front of True Mother and a large audience, each participant did his/her best and received cheers and applause from the audience.
Pastor Hong Deuk Choi from the Geojae Church won first prize, Pastor Ju Won Jung from the Suwon Church won second, Pastor Yuk Hyun Jo from the Gangnam Church and Pastor Jang Jin Jin from the Jecheon church won the thirdplace prize.
“I am so proud of our lecturers,” commented Dr. Yang. “Everyone joins the church after hearing the Divine Principle. The purpose of hearing the Divine Principle lecture is to prove and to know who is in the center of the Principle. Fallen humans don’t know who True parents are. Through Divine Principle, they can learn what the truth is, as well as about True Parents, who are the substance of truth. The Divine Principle is the most precious treasure. It is the first step to help people recognize True Parents.”
Dr. Yang further explained the greatness of the Divine Principle by quoting the book, Theology of the Transition Period by Professor Nam Dong Seo. “In the introduction of his book, Professor Seo said, ‘Unification Principle is a global theology made in Korea,’” said Dr. Yang. He continued: “We, who teach the Divine Principle, need to teach as closely as possible to the Principle. Divine Principle is 100 percent from True Father. When you teach the Divine Principle, you shouldn’t use personal examples from the outside world.”
After observing the entire event True Mother, said, “I am so proud of you. Our future is bright,” and she presented the awards to the winners.
Participants had time to reflect through fellow pastors’ lectures. “I realized the most important skill a pastor must cultivate is the ability to teach the Divine Principle,” one participant said. “I will research the Divine Principle more deeply and I will put everything to witness to new people and teach members. I will live up to True Mother expectations.”
The lecture contest was preceded by a Unificationist sermon competition on November 11, 2012.