We were kind of taught that we can do whatever we want.
Our bucket of freedom has now been filled so overflowingly -
that we don’t experience any purpose or fellowship anymore.
Often the kids think that they must get something just because others do.
We have consciously unraveled this. It is not the model we follow.
It's time to turn the direction of criticism -
and learn to see the Finnish culture with the eyes of a missionary.
Welcome to the programme.
The Westminster Catechism written in the 1600s asks -
what is the man's highest goal.
And the answer is that the man's highest goal is to glorify God -
and to enjoy Him forever. I wonder how a Christian young adult -
would answer this question now, about 400 years later.
UPDATED AND ONBOARD
PART 6: AGAINST THE CURRENT Do we teach to make right choices?
Young adults with a strong faith feel they have a mission.
They want to show others the influence of Jesus in their lives.
Sharing Jesus and work of the church in the world inspire them.
They want to orientate outwards.
Followers of Jesus who think this way have rooted their identity in Him.
They have got from other people a good model of living the faith true -
and strength from God to fulfill their calling in an environment -
that has other values than the Kingdom of God.
In a world that is selfish and yields to the power of the strongest -
even Christians get lost and start to seek their own advantage.
The one who goes against the current recognizes this but can act differently.
He wants to serve, make sacrifices, humble himself, -
be quiet, give up the control and move his ego aside.
If we want to achieve a change in this time we must act differently.
Prayer for our own town becomes our lifeline.
We live faithful to God and accept that the purpose of our lives -
is to bear fruit. That makes us to get things done in our surroundings.
We bless others and take other people into consideration.
We learn to assess the world and situations around us -
and try to make choices that are in accordance with God's will.
We take conscious risks to be able to work for justice even when it costs us.
We recognize that God works in the midst of everything for our best.
We understand that the true life is found in a deep relationship with Him.
Tuisku, you are a pastor -
and District Manager of the Finnish Lutheran Mission.
When was the last time you did something -
that goes against the current of this culture and society?
I actually don’t want to go against the current of this culture.
That is not my focus, my focus is to act -
from the Kingdom of God in the middle of this time.
I have a habit that when I sometimes travel by train or elsewhere -
I read the Bible or pray there. I think it is a bit abnormal.
Then I sometimes feel it's not the common norm.
Henri, you lead a joint project of Finnish missionary organizations -
with the aim of getting the new generation respond -
to the Great Commission through short-time mission work.
When did last you put your ego aside?
Actually, almost every day when the kids wake up.
That makes the own ego die efficiently.
And every morning before starting the tasks of the day me and my wife -
physically kneel down and confess that Jesus is the Lord of our lives.
The Bible connects following Jesus with the idea of being strangers here, -
but at the same time it commands us to take part in constructing the world -
according to the will of God and to work for the city where we live.
How have you managed to find the balance -
between being a stranger and living in the world?
Could we think of this in the way -
that there are migrant workers who come to work in a certain city -
who are there to build the city but don’t live there permanently?
We are here to build something that is there when we are gone, -
permanent elements, but we're not here forever.
I think Arno's idea is fantastic.
We can be building something we don’t see -
and do something in a much wider time span.
It can bring forth something good when we live from the Kingdom of God.
I feel that we live in a kind of pendulum movement.
In the 60s we saw many big changes in the society -
and the churches chose to separate themselves from the world.
In my own generation the pendulum has swung the other way round.
We have tried to absorb elements from the mainstream culture -
and to somehow show that Christians are just ordinary people.
I notice in my own life -
that maybe we dismantled from our lives some key elements -
that are prerequisites for a flourishing spiritual life.
What did it mean in practice? - We had got an idea that "religion" -
is the biggest obstacle for people's personal relationship to Jesus.
By the word religion we really meant structures and traditions of the church.
Things that throughout history have molded people to Christ-likeness, -
such as reading the Bible, prayer, -
the fellowship of Christians in a Sunday service.
These things appear as religion that must be dismantled or changed -
or it must be somehow destroyed out of the way of the authentic faith.
In reality faith is more than thoughts and beliefs, -
it's being molded to become like Jesus, -
and habits, routines and spiritual rhythms are a key element -
in our spiritual growth and in the process -
where we are molded to become like Jesus.
I notice that we have a whole generation -
that has purposefully dismantled these things from their lives.
I think we see this in statistics today.
I think we also see here that different generations -
have been separated from each other. There is no genuine interaction -
where you would grow up with the older generation.
If you're only involved in your own youth ministry you might -
easily start to think of all the mistakes the older generation did.
If there were genuine interaction, the good things would be passed on -
and maybe there would also be some mutual positive change.
This isn't only limited to church. It's seen everywhere in our society.
In the core of the culture of this generation is the idea -
that everything old, old institutions and practices must be dismantled -
as they stand in the way of freedom, development or self-expression.
This is very strongly reflected into the church -
and we are shaping a post-Christian church culture -
that says we can take the fruit of the Christian faith -
without paying the price of discipleship.
How could we then recognize the situations where we have to act -
as strangers and make choices that go against the current?
Two movements were born inside our generation that balance with this, -
the relevant church and the missionary church.
Both try to adopt different elements from the mainstream culture.
At the same time the surrounding culture is somewhat post-Christian -
and positions itself very consciously against Christian faith.
We have to know how to balance with it -
so that we don’t adopt elements that undermine the basis of our faith.
For example, the churches imitate enterprises, concerts or cafes, -
which are good things but they also manifest -
the strong consumer mentality predominant in the society.
We could take as an example Daniel -
who lived in the middle of a pagan culture. They had been brought there.
But in his heart, whenever there was a conflict, -
he always had in his heart to hold onto things -
that are in accordance with God's word. When we first feel we live -
from the Kingdom of God and have been rooted into it -
we will see situations in the middle of everyday life and in the church life -
where we have to choose whether we act according to the values -
of this world or of the Kingdom of God in this particular matter.
There is no set of norms but it's in the middle of everyday life.
A passage that came into my mind is Romans 12 that says -
we shouldn't conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed.
When we live as Christians in interaction with this time and age, -
I have noticed that we have turned more criticism towards the church -
and asked ourselves how the church is behind its time.
Those have been good things to think through -
but maybe we have overlooked the critical assessment of this culture.
It's a post-Christian culture -
that overemphasized individual freedom, happiness -
and self-expression almost at the cost of everything else.
It's time to turn the direction of criticism -
and learn to see the Finnish culture with the eyes of a missionary.
Next Harri Kankare will share his thoughts as a therapist and a pastor.
The newest scientific research shows that happiness doesn't actually come -
from hedonistic fulfillment of the needs but from finding the purposes of life.
Happiness is always a by-product of something important.
When I'm in Christ and find what God wants of my life, -
it doesn't always feel nice -
and I have to make sacrifices and choices to make it happen, -
but all of a sudden I realize -
that I'm in a wonderful core of meaning, even in a flow state.
I think following Christ is like this at its best.
I find such a meaningful flow into this life -
that out if it I get the experience life is a wonderful gift.
Identity behind the identity. I think I have this identity, -
like my name is Harri and I have a certain education and experiences -
and certain weaknesses and strengths, -
but God and Holy Spirit are behind me even this moment.
There is the other identity about which Peter writes -
that through the promises we have gained access to the godly character.
When we come to Christ this other identity starts to change us -
and we must and luckily can live this life and have to react -
to various development challenges concerning ourselves, -
but behind us is the Christ-identity that luckily overrides everything.
And the Christ-identity is made of completely different elements.
Prayer, belonging to a church and reading God's word are important.
When I'm in a hard place for example in the secular side -
I always prepare for challenges through both the identities.
Everything you do should start with prayer. When you have prayed -
nothing can make you fall and "likes" don't affect your identity -
because you have a background force that is so much stronger.
When we stand tall -
and understand the value and identity we have in Christ, -
I think it helps both with the social media and the whole life.
God wants that you and I keep our heads high, -
in a healthy and humble way.
Harri Kankare used the term identity behind the identity.
Peter describes in his epistle a path that starts from the fact -
that we have become a part of the godly nature.
The path starts from faith and ends with mutual love, -
activity and bearing fruit in knowing Jesus.
However, these are values that are challenged in our time -
where the social media and digital reality shout totally different values.
We could take Jesus' example from Philippines 2 -
that He has given Himself for us.
It says we should have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
It's in a way a harsh passage related to going against the current, -
so that we don’t try to build up our own success -
but try to be faithful to the Lord and walk the path of a disciple -
where we grow in the knowledge of Him.
In our time there is the idea that an individual has the exclusive right -
to define the form and meaning of their life.
The flip side of this is that if everything depends from you -
and you're not happy, it's your own fault.
This reflects to the social media culture in the way -
that people are very tempted to paint an outward picture -
of their own life and its meaning.
It also has another flip side. The pressure we have -
to kind of project our good lives to the world -
can be released by overemphasizing one's own incompleteness -
and shouting to the world: "Look how bad I'm at this!"
We give up everything in the social media and open up our whole lives -
saying for example: "Oh, what a bad mom am I when I did this!"
Maybe we are not willing to start a growth process.
Either we try to polish our public image too much -
or accept that nothing needs to change, I'm just the way I am.
However, we should learn to relate to the challenges -
and difficult situations of life and to find the growth process from them.
And Tuisku, as you quoted the passage in Philippians, -
this kind of reveals what for do I live.
Do I live for myself or for a bigger purpose?
Who am I actually? All of those questions join together here.
The dream of this era is a freelancer sitting in a Scandinavian cafe -
decorated with red brick industrial tones, -
sipping a latte with a MacBook in front of them.
They have escaped from the treadmill of the working life. This is the dream -
we are aspiring to, and it's the essence of independence and freedom.
However, to flourish a human being needs an experience of purpose, -
fellowship and freedom.
Our bucket of freedom has now been filled so overflowingly -
that we don’t experience any purpose or fellowship anymore.
This is the natural consequence. If I think for example of my marriage, -
if I want to feel united with my wife I have to bind myself unto her, -
or in other words limit my personal freedom.
The same is also related to purpose, for example to work or calling.
In order to feel my work purposeful I have to somehow bind myself into it, -
take some kind of yoke on my shoulder -
and limit my freedom, say no to a thousand things and yes to one.
We were kind of taught that we can do whatever we want, -
and even in churches there has been this kind of teaching, -
but in reality the purpose and fulfillment of life arise -
from living the life God has created and called us for, -
which is being in Jesus and growing as His own.
In your family you have a saying: "Our family does hard things."
What does it mean? - We want to create a very strong family culture.
For us it means for example that we serve our friends -
and love people around us who need help with a sacrificial love.
In addition to this we want to teach also our kids -
that some things are worth of all the work and trouble.
That's a crucial factor for example behind reading the Bible.
It is an ancient text and culturally far from us, -
but we can learn to approach it and to read it -
and give it the place it deserves in our lives.
Tuisku, you have a wife and three kids.
How have you wanted to raise the kids into the values -
of giving up and serving? - Well. Of course in everyday life -
the kids often think that they must get something just because others do.
We have consciously dismantled this. It is not the model we follow.
And another thing that is strongly on my heart -
is that we spend time with kids by the Bible also in everyday situations, -
not only when we are reading it on the couch.
Also when we go to different places and everyday situations -
we apply different Bible passages or things that come into mind -
that perhaps God could teach us in this matter.
I'm deeply concerned -
that we are in many ways lost as parents -
and even Christians don’t have the tools or time to stop and think.
If we think of a very basic thing, -
for children it's very important to know they are prayed for -
and to experience how their own mom and dad bless them -
and pray for them in their presence.
I think we haven't given people tools for even such very basic things.
How much do we even talk about these things?
I'd say not very much, and like you Tuisku said -
maybe we don’t really bring up those tools in the general level -
where it would be needed. I think we need more teaching on this.
We don’t talk much about those things but they have a big influence on life.
If you think that first there is school and daycare -
and the kids also must have hobbies, meet friends and do homework, -
and maybe the parents also have demanding jobs.
We don’t really talk about this, but many get into a treadmill, -
and in that situation it might not be possible to give the kids -
good tools for growing with Jesus or getting to know Jesus, -
nor tools for parents to help the kids in this.
The kids' abstract thinking is also not very developed yet, -
and thus faith must be anchored to something concrete or even physical, -
into the rhythm or life, doing things and experiences -
on what faith, following Jesus and the spiritual life look like.
We try to involve our kids in a very concrete way -
into the faith life of our family. If we serve in church -
or help our neighbours, we try to take the kids with us -
and to raise them for this concrete way of life.
For me an important childhood memory is -
that my dad always read the Bible, -
and also one of the missionaries of the Finnish Lutheran Mission -
always tells how important the family devotionals were for them.
They have carried this person in life. So I want to encourage the parents, -
that it's never too late. It is worth it to start this, -
to invest time for this and give something else up.
All this requires presence.
The digital media uses algorithms to make us hooked -
so that we're attached to the screen and not present with people.
How have you as fathers struggled with the challenge of being present?
Well, it's a conscious choice, what do I do when a text comes -
or do I check what the beep was.
Is the phone always nearby or do you put it away -
somewhere in the corner of the kitchen where you're not present?
I've noticed that if the phone is there, -
it might feel an irritating disruption when my child comes to me, -
but if I make the choice to put the phone away, -
we have an open and genuine encounter.
In the beginning of the year 2017 we realized -
that we had resorted to cell phone children's programmes quite a lot, -
and I was used to reset my thoughts with Netflix at night.
After a quite short consideration we decided to have a year -
without entertainment and got rid of all these things in our family.
For about two weeks our daughter asked for kids' programmes.
After that she was happy with books, toys and her own imagination.
And of course it had the same influence on myself.
My ability to concentrate rose to a completely new level, -
and I also noticed that the flood of information that had surrounded me -
had made me so tired that I didn’t feel like reading books.
When I was younger I read volumes, but I lost that when I grew up.
This detox lead me to redeem that back into my life -
and to find books again. That was very meaningful for me.
After a few years we can see the effects in kids who have grown a little.
They have the ability to listen to books and stories and read together.
That is very meaningful for us.
Thank you Henri, Tuisku and Arno very much for this great conversation.
In order to get up-to-date as educators -
of a new generation that follows Jesus, -
we must find each other and let Jesus into our everyday lives.
How do we do that? The discussion goes on with a solution-based touch -
in our Updated and Onboard podcasts. I hope to meet you there.
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English translation: Anni Lähteenmäki / TV7