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A Balanced Look at the Past

by Hennie de Pous-de Jonge

17 October 2005

A Dutch Initiatives of Change worker and author looks at some of the movement's mistakes.

In the Netherlands there is a trend towards openness about past mistakes.

The director of our national railways recently apologised for the role his company played during the Second World War in deporting Jews.

Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ben Bot, has admitted the black pages in our history after Indonesia declared independence unilaterally on 17 August 1945 and my country sent troops, provoking four years of bloodshed. He spoke in Jakarta on 17 August 2005 – which until then the Dutch Government had not recognised as Independence Day– and said he was sorry for the suffering the Netherlands had caused the Indonesian people. He chose his words carefully to minimise anger among the veterans in Holland.

You need a certain distance before you can look at the past and learn from it. This is also true of the movement known as Initiatives of Change, formerly Moral Re-Armament (MRA) and the Oxford Group, in which I have been involved for nearly forty years.

There was a time when it was not acceptable for those involved in the movement to criticise it. People were encouraged to look honestly at themselves, to change and make amends, but if they dared to criticise the movement, they were rebuked. The view was that they, not the movement, must be at fault.

This can partly be explained by the feeling of urgency in the 1930s as the threat of war loomed. A sense of urgency was no less evident after the war because of the threat of a third world war, or of communist take-over. Some people dropped their normal occupations and devoted themselves to MRA, seeing in it a hope of averting these threats. We must bring change now, they felt, or it may be too late. So they were ready to close ranks.

Amazing outcomes resulted from this sense of conviction, together with a readiness to sacrifice personally. But there were also undesirable trends. One was group pressure. There were few written rules, but there were unwritten ones which penetrated deep into peoples’ personal lives. The reluctance to voice a dissenting view meant that people’s own convictions or questions were not heeded.

This caused the wrong sort of uniformity. The movement began to develop somewhat sectarian traits, strengthened by the conviction of many that they had the answer to the world’s problems. Outside criticism was often disregarded by arguing that the critic was motivated by a refusal to accept MRA’s challenge of personal moral change.

All this has been costly in the lives of people and in the movement as a whole. Only gradually has the idea grown that one’s credibility is increased by allowing criticism and openness about mistakes.

Moral Re-Armament was not the only movement that saw itself as owning the truth. Initiatives of Change is not the only movement to attempt transparency, and take an honest look at the past. A culture is growing which makes room for dissidence. Recently Pope Benedict received and talked with dissidents, among them Hans Küng.

Any group must learn the importance of listening to dissidents. And it is vital for those in the group to dare to voice diverging views. This calls for courage from all sides.

As in a personal relationship, honesty and apology can create space. After the dust of the collective soul-searching has settled, we can see what is worth keeping. In the case of Initiatives of Change that is a lot.

Initiatives of Change has vast experience in building bridges between people and groups, and in reconciliation; as well as in such areas as developing good governance, enabling transparency and ethics in business, laying moral foundations for democracy, fighting corruption and encouraging leadership.

I felt compelled to write a book about the history of the Oxford Group, Moral Re-Armament and Initiatives of Change in the Netherlands since its beginning in 1924. Firstly because many people who join this work know very little about its foundations. That is a pity, because there is a lot to learn from the past.

Secondly, while the Oxford Group was a widespread social movement in the Netherlands, and MRA was often in the news in the fifties, at present Dutch society as a whole knows next to nothing about, or distrusts, this movement. This is also a pity because it prevents them from discovering the contribution that Initiatives of Change could make to creating a more cohesive society.

In writing the book I worked closely with people active in this work in the Netherlands. I interviewed many people and included both positive and negative experiences. Many came to the book’s launch last month, including people who could be considered dissidents. The inclusion of negative experiences and dissenting views seems to have had a healing effect.

The search for balance helps us to avoid repeating past mistakes. And, or course, few will take a movement or a book seriously which does not have this balance.

‘Reiken naar een nieuwe wereld’ (‘Reaching out for a new world’). Dutch language. 250 pages. Published by Kok in Kampen, the Netherlands, September 2005. ISBN 90 435 1197 8 €19,90

COMMENTS

Thank-you

Bhavesh Patel, 21 October 2005

Thank you so very much for your commentary. It was most helpful.

I owe an enormous amount to MRA and shall do so for all of my days. But there were aspects of modus operandi which did worry me and which I really just could not understand to be right.

I think the message which has at last got through to me is that every individual has the wonderful privilege of seeking God's will and whilst always intelligently listening to the opinions of dedicated friends - and being completely prepared to change one's opinion if then realising that one is wrong - one must remain true to one's own conviction if still deeply and honestly felt to be right. It could be pivotal to a situation.

Your commentary was inspiring - thank you.

Donald Morton, 21 October 2005

Thank you so much for your article. It was very refreshing to hear one of the real stalwarts of IofC say what had to be said.

Frankly, it was and is the attitude you describe which keeps me from getting more active in the organization. It's just too hard to inject new ideas. Worse, the opposition to new or different ideas is almost never openly stated, so one never knows for sure who or where the opposition is. I want to use the resources God has given me as wisely as I can, and it often seems just not worth the energy and trouble to try to move IofC in new directions.

Thank you again for your brave writing.

John Graham, 27 October 2005

I am sorry I don't read Dutch, but Hennie's book must make interesting reading for those who do! I am glad Hennie writes what she has. I agree with her that accepting criticism shows strength rather than weakness. Those of us involved with IofC over many years have somehow - to some degree against our own will - made it our property by the hurdles we have raised to other people's involvement. That is symptomatic of sect-ish thinking and I hope and believe that we are evolving away from this attitude. The opposite of sect-ish thinking is public service. The changes of heart that IofC's challenge produces has resulted in an amazing array of actions and programmes which are of recognisable public service, and that is what we must measure our effectiveness by.

Peter Riddell, 04 November 2005

I am fairly new to the movement, compared to so many of you. I deeply appreciate your comment and the repercusions it will probably have. IofC is the kind of movement that originated from a man that was deeply touched by God into a conviction or dream. As I have learned more and more of our organisation, I see two strong streams in it. One that focuses on the man and the message God gave particularly to him. However, the other stream focuses on the most valuable lesson Mr. Buchman can give us: the amazing possibilities of seeking God's guidance, despite of how far it may be from the message given to him.

My understanding is that that change of perception is what transformed a "Moral Rearmament" into our "Initiatives of Change". And the ackowledgement of mistakes from the past you call for may be the best way to walk in that direction, leaving any attachments and grudges behind and openning to the possibilities God has for each one of us.

Thanks,

Alex Ramirez, 09 November 2005

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