Cascade Church Portland

Fall Kick Off:: What We Value

Take a listen to where we've been where we're going and who we hope to be on the way. 

Rhythms:: Community

Kurt concludes the Rhythms series with a message on community. Discussing how important community is while also explaining how the messiness that drives many away from achieving real community is what we should all be embracing. 

Rhythms:: Solitude

A while back I heard about this thing called "floating". It remains to this day to be one of the more interesting experiences I've had. 

There are these sensory deprivation tanks in Portland at a place called Float On where you get in water with a super high concentration of salt that makes you float. These tanks don't let in light or sound and the water is heated to 93.5*, which they say is "skin receptor neutral". Basically, you don't hear, see, feel or fight gravity based on these factors and you float for 90 minutes. 

For some of you this sounds like heaven and for others of you this sounds like hell. 

The thing I most had to fight wasn't a fear of closed spaces or drowning, it was the pure isolation of it all. I don't often like to be alone. Being left with my thoughts feels like a punishment, not a respite. 

I've been really stretched recently to start exploring solitude more and more. In fact, I think God has something important for us without any other person or input around that is actually crucial when it comes to healthy engagement with community. 

I invite you to come out to Cascade this Sunday and hear from Colleen Millstein about this healthy rhythm of solitude and how we can allow God to shape and form us in that space in ways that aren't possible when we're surrounded by others. 

Rhythms:: Giving

I have often heard it said that, it is better to give than to receive. 

Pffffffft. Sounds like someone who's never received a go-kart to me. 

In all seriousness, I've really struggled with the concept that giving to others is better than receiving. Now, this isn't because I think that receiving is better, but rather that they are both equally difficult. Receiving something that is truly fulfilling, even for a moment, requires people around me to be so in tune with my current wants and desires that they meet it. That's a huge task and it can often lead to forced smiles and pretending to love something when you are still trying to decide what it is. 

Similar concerns exist when it comes to giving. Have you ever put a bunch of thought and effort into giving a gift you felt someone would love and watch it fall completely flat? It is a defeating feeling of not communicating the feelings of love and care you had in selecting the gift in a way they could receive. 

This Sunday we want to look at giving and unpack the differences between giving with expectations and without expectations. The prayer is that we can be the kind of people who can give freely and engage a rhythm that encourages health within the giver, regardless of how the receiver responds

Rhythms:: Play

My 3 year old has one request for me the moment I walk in the door. 

"Play with me, Daddy."

Surprisingly, he isn't interested in checking in on the latest in local politics, the stock market, weather or sports. He doesn't want to set up a networking meeting, go over the latest spreadsheets or schedule a meeting to talk long-term strategy. His sole desire is to kneel by our Lego table and pull the heads off various Lego people and put them on different bodies. He wants to give various figures super powers and have them wield them with swift and complete justice. 

I've never thought of sitting my son down and talking to him about his troubling lack of productivity. For him this is one of the most important things he could be doing. He's exercising his imagination, learning how to engage with others in a way that's fun for everyone and doing something for the pure enjoyment of it all. 

When you look at that list, do you think these things are ultimately just important for the 3 year olds among us? 

Is it possible that play isn't something that we graduate or age out of, but rather a fundamental part of healthy human rhythms? Unfortunately our transition into adulthood can convince us that play is something to be left behind with blankies, training wheels and bunk beds. This coming Sunday we want to explore and help define play as an integral part of being alive and look at ways God invites us to regularly integrate it into our lives. I hope you can join us!

Rhythms:: Work

I was recently speaking with world famous recording artist Rhianna about what our next Rhythm message series topic should be and she was clear and repetitive. 

Work, work, work, work, work. (bonus points if you said this out loud or in your head with her accent)

Our community is blessed to hear from my former professor and current mentor Dr. Dan Brunner. He's kicking off the second pair in our Rhythms series Work//Play by looking at how we were created to engage in meaningful work. There is a time for productivity in our lives where we are adding to the world and the peaceful thriving of all people. 

I invite you to listen to a conversation about purposeful creativity and understanding work as something much more profound than just what we do for a job.

Rhythms:: Action

There is one aisle of the grocery store that will forever take me two times as long to walk through and make decisions in. The cereal aisle is my kryptonite. 

I get option paralysis which absolutely incapacitates me. There are SO MANY choices and each one represents a different reason to choose it. 

Cap'n Crunch:: Maritime breakfast of choice that declares war on the roof of your mouth

Lucky Charms:: I'm part Irish and if I buy it I can have first dibs on the marshmallows

Rice Krispies:: I want all the cereal, but none of the flavor

Frosted Mini Wheats:: I want to be healthy AND cover my breakfast in frosting

Cheerios:: I have a small child in my house and I want to find cereal everywhere

Bran:: No comment

Life Cereal:: Peer Pressure

Cookie Crisp:: I've given up on adulthood

Grape Nuts:: I love cereals with non-descriptive names and I need to declare war on my teeth

It's completely overwhelming and if I've ever gone missing for over 24 hours, your best guess is a cereal aisle. 

This phenomena can also happen in our life for things that are far more important than cereal. We can be paralyzed by a great sea of options before us and a fear of regret can keep us in perpetual limbo. In this conversation we want to look at how God calls us to move in the face of possible failure or remorse and put our present convictions into action. Take a listen!

Rhythms::Learning

Do you have a friend who never seems to let the facts get in the way of their most strongly held opinions? 

I have a confession. I am that friend. 

I've often referenced articles that I've only skimmed if they back up a point I want to make. I'll reference books that I've never finished, especially if the title supports a point I want to make. 

And honestly, it doesn't get much better when I read all of the article or book I'm using to make a point. That's because I'm usually choosing the authors and books that most affirm the belief I'm already heading towards. 

In this message we want to enter into our first pair of the Rhythms series by looking at Learning in Learning//Doing set. What's the point of learning if it just reaffirms beliefs you already hold? Does learning have any value besides conversations/debates? Are followers of Jesus called to be learners? 

Rhythm:: A Time For Everything

At times life can feel like a speeding car with the brakes out and accelerator stuck to the floor. You might be holding the steering wheel, but it only offers the illusion of control.

 

Our best efforts to schedule and plan can be completely thrown out the window at a moment's notice. Loved ones get sick or injured. New job opportunities come along and current job opportunities end. People are born and loved ones pass away.

 

While we can't control the fluctuations of life, we can seek to move with them by introducing healthy rhythms into our lives. This summer message series is all about finding rhythms in life that bring health and greater thriving. We'll be looking at 4 areas where things can get out of rhythm and we can lean too far one way or the other.

Learning//Acting

Work//Play

Giving//Receiving

Community//Solitude

Here's our first message in that series. 

Jesus:: Rumor Has It

Have you ever walked into a rumor and heard the lively conversation come to a complete stop? We can all hope that you just stumbled into your surprise birthday planning meeting, but the reality is probably less kind. Take a listen to a conversation about the toll that gossip and outside expectations can take on a person. Colleen asks a profound question about what happens when the external gossip becomes internal gossip.