I was recently listening online to some teaching by Mike Betts from a few years
ago on Shaping Church Culture. In it he said that one of the aspects of
church culture that he felt would be important in the years to come would be
the culture of being able to have a big vision, but to be able to take small
steps to get there. He said that many have a big vision, but try to achieve it
in such a short space of time, that if it does not go according to plan, or
nosedives in some way, they can easily become disillusioned and cynical.
Mike went on to share his impressions from Jim Collins book From Good
to Great. In this book Collins surveyed what he considered to be the
greatest, most successful, most influential companies in the world. One of the
key factors he observed was their ability to have what he called the flywheel
principle.
If you were to run at an enormous flywheel with all of your strength and
effort, you would actually get very little movement [if any]. But, if you
repeatedly nudge a flywheel again and again and again, patiently and
persistently taking small frequent steps, those little nudges eventually begin
to create momentum. When we have this sort of momentum we are as dangerous and
unstoppable as a moving flywheel.
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| Flywheel weighing 84 metric tons which was in use at the Ronneby Enamel Factory, Sweden [1914-1970] |
Being in Finland and wanting to see a church planted here has felt very
similar to this in many ways; lots of big pushes but seemingly very few signs
of movement happening. It has been a time to remember this flywheel principle
and take encouragement from the reality that every little step we take to build
relationships with other believers; get to know the non-Christians we have
around us and work through the complex administrative process of becoming
established as a family here in Finland. Even things which have felt like
backward steps in some ways, are still very much part of the process of moving
forward and gaining continued momentum.
Lydia's parents [Barry and Maureen] visited us for a week. This was so nice and great for the boys who were so happy not to have to get up and out at
the crack of dawn to join me on the pitch black school run! During this time we had an evening with a family who have been exploring joining us. This was a good time with food, worship and Barry doing some teaching then finishing with prayer. This fantastic family have continued to meet with us and have today expressed their commitment to join with us!
We also discovered that six year old Edith Needed to see a dentist.
As we attempted to go along to a local dentist, the ongoing fragility and very
temporary nature of our status started to unravel. To them we didn’t exist and could not be treated. We
went back to the Maistraatti [immigration office] and they confirmed that due
to Lydia's contract being for just one year that we could only receive a
partial status as residents and that this would not include access to health
care.
Our first thought was that Lydia's boss could help. A permanent contract would have improved our standing before the Maistraatti. Sadly, despite Lydia continuing to do a super job, the boss
was unable to offer a permanent contract due to the policy of the company. This would have been the most
direct way to solve the situation with the immigration status - but hey perhaps
a good idea not a God idea! We also tried a letter of intent from the boss
saying that the contract would definitely be renewed, but that it is not
company policy to issue contracts over 1 year in length. This was also
insufficient from the Maistraatti’s perspective.
On a very positive note, Kela [the social
services dept] were very sympathetic to our situation with the need to see a dentist. They cannot understand
why we are being restricted in this way as their policy is that everyone should
receive health care regardless of immigration status. Unfortunately they are
unable to actually alter our status on the system. They did however write a
certificate for Edith stating that she should receive treatment in the same way
all people in the system do. This was super news as we were then able to
present this at the dentist and Edith had her tooth filled! This came as a huge
relief.
Kev has been exploring the possibility of enrolling onto a full time language course. In Finland the authorities are trying to acknowledge that the language here is obscure and very difficult to learn. They offer a free full-time language program to help new residents to become integrated and employable. It sounded like a real possibility. I had a preliminary meeting with
the unemployment office who administer the courses. They felt I would be a good
candidate. I think that this will be something to revisit in a few months time
though, as the registration process requires attendance to various meetings, language tests, appraisals etc. These are
all a necessary part of the process but impossible for me as I am with the
children, doing the school runs etc. We don’t currently have friends who would
be able to watch the kids for a while when I need to shoot off to a meeting.
An Indian family have asked us to do some conversational
English sessions with their six year old daughter twice a week. It really came out of
nowhere, but has been going well for the last few weeks. This has been a way to get to know another family. We have also continued to get to know a Polish family who we met at Edith's ballet class. It has been really fun getting to know them. We are praying into all of these connections that again through ongoing, gentle nudges we are able to build momentum towards being able to share more of the gospel with them.
Edith has continued to thrive in her Finnish speaking school. We are so proud of the way she has thrown herself into this and she is gradually beginning to understand some Finnish. Due to the fact that the Finns start school much later [seven years old] she has the advantage of already being able to read and write etc. The teachers seem to feel that this will help pave the way for her to learn Finnish relatively quickly. Johan has now started at a Finnish speaking nursery [see prayer points on last blog Yippee]! He is enjoying this very much so far and has made a few friends in his first week. The nursery seems to be a nice environment, with a great atmosphere.
As Christmas approaches we are excited at the prospect of Luke and Alison Morrison arriving from Canterbury on Christmas eve. This will be their second visit with us since we moved here. They are exploring joining us next year to become part of the church planting team, which we are so thrilled about. Around new year time we have Nick and Kez Brennan with us from Hedge End. We are so excited at having such dear friends visiting us and look forward to catching up and have fun together. Regular visits from friends are so important to us.
In many ways it has been a stretching time with challenges of some sort rearing up most days. Even sitting here and writing this though is so faith building as we remember all that God has done over the last few months. As we look back we remember the fear or the anxiety we may have felt at the time, but we are all the more able to celebrate the ways God has been consistently faithful, not only in meeting our every need, but in opening doors and opportunities which we didn't expect. Each small step [whether through difficulty or in success] is possible by the presence of God with us each day and the certain hope of His presence with us tomorrow, the next day and the day after. Many of these steps have seemed small but when viewed through the lens of the flywheel principle analogy are significant and related to the overall mission and goal to see a biblical, Spirit filled grace community here in Helsinki.
As Mike said in the message referred to at the beginning of this piece, momentum doesn't happen overnight. I, we, everyone needs to gear themselves up to the reality that changing the expression of Christianity and influencing our societies is not going to be an overnight thing. The way to create change is to say 'I know the direction I am going in and every day I'm going to just keep nudging that flywheel' and that a lifetime lived like that creates true momentum and effect.
Please support us by standing with us in prayer for:
- For further Missional opportunities & connections & for one person to come to Christ!
- For team to build [Pray for wisdom & grace with the friendships and connections which have been developing].
- God's direction & shaping for the season ahead in the life of the church plant [strategies, opportunities, foundation laying, church culture]
- Luke & Alison as they make progress with their plans to join with us in summer 2014 [job opportunities, timings etc]
We really thank you for supporting and standing with us and we thank God as we look back with huge gratitude for all He has done so far.
Follow on twitter: @Kevin_J_Jones
Email: finlandvision@gmail.com 