Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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Archives > December, 2009

RSVP: modVent gathering childcare Posted by 12.10.2009 11:15 pm

modvent an eikon advent gathering

with our first worship gathering under our belt, we’ve been excited to share with you about our next gathering that we’re calling modVent. we’re doing a modified traditional advent and if you want more details, you can find them here. much like the aforementioned first worship gathering, we’re excited to once again offer free, quality childcare.

since our worship gathering will be at sticky fingerz, the space won’t lend itself to onsite childcare. fortunately, though, our (ryan & christen’s) house is only 5 minutes from the venue, so we’ll be hosting the childcare in our home (google maps link).

since we have our own children and understand parents’ concerns, we are committed to having quality, competent care in a clean, child-friendly space. so, two qualified (trained with background checks) workers will be taking care of the children. if you have any questions about our home or the type of care your children will receive, please feel free to contact me at 501.551.8118 or christen at 501.551.8117.

we ask that you drop your children off at our home between 5:30 and 5:50 pm (at the latest) and pick them up within 30 minutes of the gathering ending. we ask that anything you bring—diaper bags, bottles, food containers, pacifiers, etc—be clearly marked with your child’s name.

finally, we ask that you fill out the following form to RSVP your children. this form includes contact information for the parents as well as your children’s names, ages and special instructions. please fill it out in its entirety. this form is required for attendance.

see you sunday night!

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Posted in announcements, events, gatherings, information, worship | 1 Comment »



altView: don gaines Posted by 12.09.2009 10:16 am

altView

Raised a Baptist, attended a Church of Christ college, now seemingly lost from the fold, at least to some.

I read a book in college about postmodernism. The cover was dog ugly. The only little gem I remember from this book, which has come to serve me well, is that you can’t put God in a box. The instant we say ‘God is this,’ or ‘God isn’t that,’ we place him inside a constrained proportion.

I’ve learned that God can be logical and doesn’t have to be based on feelings or traditions. We can learn about the character of God and try our best to model ourselves after that. One of the most predominant characteristics of Him that I personally strive for is love. At the root of all that is good we find love. Love for our family, friends, strangers, everyone. That’s the only way I can see this life being worth anything. I believe, to a large degree, that many of the situations where love is applied require a choice. Love doesn’t just happen (except probably with your children and some family). It is overwhelmingly a choice.

The only constraint I can put on God for sure is that he is love. That’s what I want to be.

The hardcore music scene has been a large part of the people and culture I’m surrounded by. It’s where I’ve made some of my best friends and fostered incredible relationships. In this scene I find love, tolerance, positivity and a willingness to share. Aaron Weiss of the band mewithoutYou writes, “In everywhere we look, in everywhere we look, Allah, Allah, Allah in everywhere we look” He’s a Christian but refers to God as Allah. He’s not bounding God up into this Westernized, Republican, Capitalistic piece of work that we so commonly see. We have to strive daily to find the positive aspects in our lives and to try and find God (whoever/whatever that may be to you) in every situation.

The other little gem I took from the class in which we read the postmodern book is from the teacher, Dr. Monte Cox. I’m not sure I agree with him on a lot of things but he repeatedly brought up this paraphrased scenario and I agreed with it wholeheartedly, “People often ask me, ‘Do you think Muslims (insert random religion here) are going to heaven too?’ I don’t know. That’s not my place to say. Many of them practice the same things as I do but call it by a different name, so it is not my place to say yes or no.”

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Posted in altview, theology | 1 Comment »



altView: brent buie Posted by 12.04.2009 8:47 am

altView

I was eleven years old when I read the Bible for the first time. Straight through. Genesis to Revelation. It took me four months, but I did finish.1 Impressed?

If you raised your hand there are two reasons you should not be impressed. First: There was an ulterior motive. I do not remember why, but I was going to receive credit in school. This was in the small-town south, back in the golden days of yesteryear (circa 1987), so it was not that shocking. Second: I didn’t get it. The Bible, I mean. To be sure, there were plenty of things to capture a young boy’s imagination. It is, after all, filled with sex and violence, magic and miracles, love and sacrifice. But even after the final Amen, I still didn’t understand.

Oh, I understood the concept of salvation well enough to believe that it was something that I needed. But something didn’t quite sit right. It seemed that I had spent four months to get to a point that could be explained in about thirty minutes (depending on the student’s alacrity). There had to be something more. The trick, I determined, was to have someone explain it to you.

I spent the next eight years having the Bible doled out one hour at a time on Sundays. This was much easier. It was the fast-track to a Godly life – give me a bit, hang an amen on it, and let’s-have-lunch-the-Chiefs-kickoff-at-3:15. It was not until college that I really read the Bible again.

I was attending a study group for my New Testament class, when one of the other participants mentioned one of their beliefs. And I didn’t buy it. (I still refer to this belief as the “New Wine Conundrum.”)

Filled with a righteously indignant energy, I rushed back to my room intent on proving him wrong.2 Time and distance cooled my anger. He was not a bad person, just misinformed. Obviously someone had told him wrong. Obviously . . .

My next thought struck hard: If they were told wrong, then how do I know that I was told right? The answer, friends and neighbors, is that I could not know. I had left my beliefs in someone else’s hands. What!?

Naturally, on the revelation score card, John has me beat cold. But for me, it was life altering. The principles which I held dear had been dictated by others. There was no me in it.

I am no honored scholar of religion and I would never suggest that everyone freely interpret the Bible’s scriptures. But I do believe that each of us will be held accountable. When that time comes, it will not suffice to say, “because others told me to do so.” We must perform the religious due diligence. We must all have something of ourselves in what we believe.

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Posted in altview, theology | 3 Comments »



announcing modVent: an eikon advent celebration Posted by 12.03.2009 6:55 pm

modvent an eikon advent celebration

a few weeks ago, we had our first ever worship gathering, called CONNECT. now, we’re eager to share with you about our second worship gathering that is sure to be a huge step forward.

we’re excited to announce modVent: an eikon advent celebration. on sunday, december 13 at 6:00 pm, we’ll be having this worship event at sticky fingerz.

so what the heck is modVent? for people who follow in the way of jesus, this time of the year is a time of renewal, of expectation—of advent. advent literally means “coming.” it’s a time of expectation of the birth and eventual death and resurrection of jesus of nazareth. traditionally, this is observed throughout the entirety of the month of december. for us, though, we will celebrate advent over the span on 2 weeks. hence, a modified advent. modVent.

through the lighting of candles, singing of a mix of traditional and nontraditional christmas hymns and through sharing in a time of hearing the christ birth story, we’ll celebrate this christmastime together.

following our first worship gathering a few weeks ago, we had some great verbal feedback as well as a sampling of online evaluation forms, so we feel like this worship gathering will really capitalize on what worked last time and shy away from what didn’t seem to connect with people. we’re excited, this time, about the opportunity to have quite a bit more interaction, the additional voices of people in our community and a bit of a more laid back environment. we’re also excited to announce that local musician mark currey and his band will be leading us in our time of music.

one final note of importance: just like our last gathering, we will be offering childcare, so be looking out in the coming days for how to register them.

so, mark your calendars, invite some friends, retweet this, put it on facebook. this should be an incredible night to celebrate the coming of christ.

see you on sunday, the 13th at sticky fingerz!

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Posted in announcements, events, gatherings, theology | 3 Comments »



altView: bradley phillips Posted by 12.02.2009 10:15 am

altView

I grew up with every available resource for developing a strong relationship with Christ. My childhood and teenage years were filled with vacation Bible schools, small group Bible study, and choirs. However, as with many young adults, my faith grew to no longer be a priority and I developed distaste for structure. It was just a few years ago that I eventually began to seek His face on my own. Through pursuing a close personal relationship with God I feel that he has revealed to me some pretty cool concepts that I would like to pass along to you.

I am a Survivalist Christian. I like to be prepared for time with God at any time and any place. I keep just a few tools in my spiritual preparedness kit in order to travel through my day lightly. My relationship with God is built on a foundation of two key components: prayer and the forgiveness of sin.

As long as you have Christ in your heart, scripture, and an open line of prayer — you can always grow your relationship with God. Do you have questions about scripture? It’s your lucky day! You have an open line with the Author. Ask away!

Sin sucks, and unfortunately it happens easily. Sin is much more than magical rules that you break and cool points that you lose. Sin keeps you from growing both personally and spiritually. If you feel as if your prayer line has static or as if the cord’s been cut, its most likely the result of sin, which rears its head in two forms: Big S sin and little s sin. I borrow this concept from obvious sources.

Big S sins are lifestyle sins; sins that we repeatedly commit because of habits and flawed character traits. These are sins that arise from addiction, weaknesses, and loss of control. Most of your “seven deadly sins” and Ten Commandments are contained here. These spiritual hurdles require daily attention and can mostly be overcome through prayer and God’s guidance.

Little s sins are more spontaneous. They are the sins that arise from our reactions to a spontaneous stimulus, such as telling a lie while avoiding the responsibility of the truth or an angry reaction to disappointment. When faced with adversity, humans default to what is in their hearts. If Christ, patience, and love are in our hearts, when faced with adversity, these are the things that will shine through.

The hopeful news about sin is that one of the founding beliefs of post-Crucifixion Christianity is forgiveness. Our sins are forgiven if we ask. Every time I pray, I ask God to help me reflect upon my sins; sometimes he reveals embarrassing things I’ve done, at other times he shows me that I’m winning the war against my Big S sins. Frequent forgiveness helps me keep a clear head and my prayer line open.

With clean heart and an open prayer line, I’m prepared to experience God at a moments notice. God is everywhere and I don’t want to miss Him.

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Posted in altview, core values, theology | 2 Comments »



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