Cascade Church Portland

Power Dynamics:: How it All Works

Can you remember your first time in elementary school realizing that there are waaaaaaay more kids than teachers?

What a rush!

 It's a whole awakening experience to feel that kind of power. You're out at recess and the bell rings to come inside and you start playing the "what if?" game. What if we don't go back inside? They can't catch ALL of us, and we know some good hiding spots. 

It starts to fall apart when you consider the power the teachers have to contact your parents, keep you in for future recesses and give you additional homework. But if you banded together, you could create a whole day of absolute anarchy. 

This week we're going to start new message series all about Power Dynamics. It's the use of power between people or systems. It has huge implications for all of our relationships and how we move through the world. 

Jesus had a lot to say about power. Jesus taught us a lot about how we use power and how we respond to power in our world. It's going to be a great series that will impact how you look at the world and how you interact with people around you.

Stones Back to Life

When's the last time you've identified yourself as a Christian to a stranger or acquaintance? 

It's a tricky situation because you have no idea what their experience or definition is of Christianity. Are they incredibly conservative or liberal politically? Are they from the West Coast, Midwest or South of the US? Do they have a very religious family member or a parent who's a pastor? It feels like the term "Christianity" requires so much explanation that it's not even useful in expressing faith anymore. 

I don't know if this is a new phenomenon or not. I do know that when I was younger I had no qualms about telling a stranger or acquaintance that I was a Christian and I had no doubts that they knew exactly what I meant by that.

Maybe it was youthful ignorance.
Maybe it was a product of the rural part of California I was from.
Maybe it was a different time in the history of Christianity in this country. 

Whatever it was, this shift for me personally has led to larger questions about the nature of Christianity and the nature of Christian churches in the United States. How did the "Good News" of Jesus become an identifier that required further explanation?

The easy answer is that it's a cultural problem with people who don't understand who Jesus is and they hate the good news we have because of the devil inside of them. 

The harder answer may be that American Christianity has distorted the "Good News" to the point that's it's only good for some people. The reason why identifying yourself as a Christian can require qualifiers is that people wonder if your practice of Christianity is one more marked by violence than peace. 

This week we want to reflect on an ancient story of rebuilding an old wall to ask about the value of reclaiming something that was, instead of starting over somewhere else. The hope is that we'll learn something new about Cascade, Christianity and journey's of faith. 

In the Desert:: Sparkles of Refuge

Ever read a study on "Cities of Refuge"?

Me neither.

This week I started studying and can't tell you how many times I thought, "is this real life?"

Sunday we are attempting to define the "who, what, when, where, why" on Numbers 35 to wrap up our summer series on Numbers. We'll have a conversation about where you find safety, a unicorn named Sparkles (that is sometimes called Sprinkles) and the challenging of complicated systems.
What happens when churches, historically  considered places of safety, miss the mark?

In the Desert:: Yes! At Last!

I'm currently writing this note at a Starbucks.

I have my headphones in, but I've turned off my music, because I am TRANSFIXED by the conversation happening next to me. A man is being laid off from his sales job unless he agrees to take another position in the company. It's high drama that's been going on for the last 15 minutes where the person who is being fired is fighting for his job. 

I'll keep you updated. 

This Sunday we're looking at a story that has some similarities to the situation on my right.

Five sisters come before Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the assembly to ask for something that's never happened before. They think they should be able to inherit the land of their deceased father, but in their society that was only available to men. Think about the bravery it requires to stand before a collection of the most powerful people in your system and ask them to change the way they've always done something. Imagine asking these powerful people to see a situation from your point of view when there isn't a single person like you making the decision! Sadly, I know that many of you don't need to imagine, but just remember your own experiences. 

((He's currently exploring other positions in the company and weighing the pros and cons. It's amicable, but tense))

 Questioning authority and the way that thinks have always been done is one of the bravest acts anyone can ever engage in. With few exceptions, the people who have enough power to change the systems are in their positions because of the existing rules. They have no incentive to change anything. It's a wonder that anything in our world ever changes without a revolution!

((He's currently reiterating that they really don't want to lose him as an employee, but talking up the value of the severance package. There's some mixed messages.)) 

What we really want to look at this Sunday is the response of God to the questions of the five sisters. In this drama of the leadership and the challengers, where does God fit? God quelled the Korah rebellion dramatically earlier in the book. Is God always on the side of the existing power systems? What will God say this time and what do we learn about God's nature through this story? 

Don't miss out this Sunday! We'd love to see you. 

((Ok, no firm resolutions right now, but I'm going to do some edits of the newsletter and give this another 10 minutes before pressing send. I think he should take the severance package. I think he can land on his feet at another company given his relationships in the business.))

((I think they worked out a solution! He suggested a different position that they hadn't considered before and he could keep his same salary! Everyone wins! This is like an episode of "Full House"! But not an episode of "Fuller House". Enough with the reboots already.))

 

In the Dessert:: Donkey Wisdom

One of the best stories in all the Bible involves a non-Israelite chatting with God, delivering blessing on God's behalf and getting schooled by his donkey. Take a listen!

In the Desert:: Anger that Exposes Grief

If I were to tell you that it will start raining lemonade tomorrow, most (all?) of you wouldn't start setting out pitchers to collect all the coming lemonade. 

This doesn't have much to do with your perception of my trustworthiness or your general amount of faith. It's more basic than that. Our brains are wired to notice patterns in the world around us. If you bang your head on the top of your car when you get out of it, you'll start adjusting the way you get out of that car. We notice patterns because they keep us safe and avoid unnecessary pain. We expect things to happen much the way that they have happened in the past. 

This is good and healthy behavior for all people. If you saw someone try and jump through the windshield of their car to get inside, you wouldn't say, "Wow! Look at the faith on them!"

While this logical way of engaging the physical world around us, sometimes it can really hold us back. 

Here's what I mean. What if you're asked to try something that you've never tried before? What if you're given a new task or role in your home, work or school? The pattern recognition system in your brain will come back empty. You're likely to resist or avoid it unless there is a significant benefit you can identify for trying this new task. 

This can mean that we see ourselves today and into the future in the same way we saw ourselves yesterday.

This week we're going to be looking at Moses bring water out of a rock in Numbers. It makes me wonder what unexpected things are ready to be set free in you, regardless if you or others have ever seen in the past. 

In the Desert:: Imposter Syndrome

The accusations that cut us the deepest are the ones we have already aimed at ourselves hundreds of times before. 

 

In the desert Moses faces the accusation that he's lording his power over the rest of the community for a job he tried to talk his way out of from the very beginning. He never wanted to be in charge in the first place. 

 

Have you ever felt like an imposter and no amount of success or time has ever caused you to shake that reality? That's because feeling like an imposter gets worse with success and time, not better. How does God want us to face the idea that we're not worth our current life in the desert? What can be set right when we're willing to step out of feeling false and into the truth that God has made us enough for the life we live? 

In the Desert:: Believer and Atheist

Have you ever traveled with a loved one to the town they grew up in, but they haven't been back in years? 

It usually isn't too long before they start regaling you with stories of an aunt who one time got into a fender bender at a particular intersection. They can tell you the name of the families who used to live in every house. They can tell you the spots that they used to hang out in during high school. They are being flooded with memories by being back in this space and it's almost like they're not in control of their stories. They just flow out of them. Some are profound and some are completely mundane. 

It's like you are with the outline of the person you know, but their mind and soul is transported back to whatever time their memories exist in. They are like an explorer bringing back tales of travel from a distant land. 

The stories they tell you and the stories they tell themselves shape their beliefs about who they are and who others are. Taken to its extreme this can be used to say that we just need to change our stories and we can change the realities of our pasts. That's not what I'm talking about. 

Rather, I mean that our stories are both what has happened and our interpretation of what happened. Over the course of our lives we can view certain events charitably until we start to realize more of the abuse that was present. And we can also view parts of our own story fearfully only to one day have a triumphant relationship over them. 

This week we're going to look at an experience of some scouts coming back to the people of the Wilderness and tell them a story about their future. It's a helpful reflection on the stories we tell ourselves and the places that our relationship to the events around us take us. 

In the Desert:: Three Feet of Quail

I grew up with two dogs throughout my childhood. Maggie and Ginger. 

Ginger was a Hungarian hunting dog called a Vizsla. They're exceptional dogs for going after birds and I once watched Ginger leap into the air and knock one down in flight. Ginger was pretty impressive. 

Ginger also had a number of bad habits, including chasing every car that drove up and down our 100 yard driveway. Ginger was obsessed with attacking the cars and chasing them away. Driving slow and waiting for Ginger to lose interest wasn't a good plan because he would just closer and nip at your tires. Every vehicle was a battle and Ginger intended on winning. 

When Ginger would trot back to the house it was never triumphant. Many other dogs would be celebrating the way they chased the intruders away, but Ginger always looked like he just narrowly missed the catch of a lifetime. It was like he was hoping to chase and catch the car and wrestle to the ground. Drag the car back to our front yard and present the crumpled corpse of the Chrysler as the spoil of war.

One afternoon Ginger finally caught one. My Grandpa had been visiting and took off down the driveway. Ginger was off in the field and found himself in perfect position for an attack from the flank. Grandpa only ever saw a *poof* of dust and a red-haired dog rolling up the driveway. Ginger gained a temporary limp and a scratched up chest, but most importantly he learned a good lesson. 

Be careful what you chase because one day you might catch it. 

This week we'll look at a story that sees the Israelites getting what they want so badly in comedically oversized portions. There are times when our desires take up the whole of our attention that we never bother to ask why these desires and what we would do if they were met. 

In the Desert:: Presence and Absence

In 2003 the 5th Harry Potter book was coming out. 

I was woefully unaware of the phenomenon that Harry Potter had become at this stage. I only knew that my wife, who had just started her teaching career, was very plugged into young adult literature and told me this was a big deal. The book release date was right around her birthday, so it felt like the right idea to wait in line and purchase the book on the first date it was released. 

As a 21 year old male, with no children, I was a bit of an oddity in the line to purchase Harry Potter:The Order of the Phoenix.
No scarf. 
No wand. 
No lightening bolt scar on my forehead. 

I was really out of place and struggling to put all these pieces together. When I got to the front of the line the woman who was behind the counter remarked on how much she appreciated that I had worn my "Harry Potter glasses." 

In my lifetime I am 98% sure if the comments that I am receiving are compliments or insults. Very rarely do I ever have to decide between saying "Thank You!" or "Shut Your Face."

Over the next several years I figured out this was meant as a compliment and I jumped feet first into the world of Harry Potter. I'm no expert, but I can hold my own in the Harry Potter universe. 

One concept from the books that I find most interesting is horcruxes.

For the uninitiated, the lead villain in the books has placed portions of his very soul in physical objects around the world that make him immortal until they are all found and destroyed. You can kill his body, but he's preserved by these horcruxes. 

I think it's a fascinating concept to fragment yourself in order to save yourself. If you place enough of the core of your being around the world you can continue to function in the world and attain a demented sort of immortality. 

I think there are a lot of parallels to this concept in our own lives and this concept is one that we're going to be looking at this week as we continue our look at "In the Desert.." and the wilderness experiences of our lives. What are our temptations to fragment ourselves for survival and can we ever hope to unite them all back together again?