Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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Archives > June, 2010

cityView: in review Posted by 06.04.2010 7:59 am

cityView blog series

we began this series with the following introduction:

faith is everywhere. or lack of faith. or a little faith. regardless of which it is, there’s a bigger conversation occurring in our city than just a single church or a single faith perspective. instead of becoming an insular community, we hope that eikon can be a place that listens to & engages in the broader faith conversation in our city.

over the past few weeks of this series, i think we’ve begun to do just that. we’ve poked around in the faith conversation in and around little rock. we’ve turned over a few of the loose rocks. certainly, it hasn’t plunged us into the deeper waters, but we’ve waded in, getting our feet wet.

the conversation continues, though. in just the fledgling stages of this thing called eikon, we hope this series has been an introductory connecting point with the larger community around us. we simply don’t want to be an island church, floating in the waters of ecclesial and social isolation.

we want to continue conversations with people like thomas hudson, who is seeking out an image of jesus that actually does, instead of just says. we’re seeking out more conversations with people like darren huckey, who’s looking past our modern christian notions of god to capture the essence and jewishness of jesus. we’re looking for ways to connect with people like rich wiebe, who is seeking a life filled with deeply abiding love and compassion for others. all of our writers have expressed a unique dimension of the conversation revolving around faith in our city.

certainly, these aren’t the totality of perspectives in our community.

so, we’ll continue to seek people beyond our “four walls” that are trying to figure out if there’s some Thing beyond us or more to life than what we see in front of us. we’ll continue to talk and write and dream and debate and grow and engage the our city.

there’s a broader view in this city, in our community of little rock. our hope and prayer is that this series is only the entry point to engaging those many views.

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Posted in cityview, core values, culture, information, leadership, little rock, theology | 1 Comment »



cityView: kimberly roth Posted by 06.03.2010 10:08 am

cityView blog series

Listening to iTunes in the morning makes getting to work on time difficult. I hear a phrase, which reminds me of an event, or makes me ask a question, and then my mind is traipsing off down some rabbit trail that may or may not end up forming a coherently written story.

Often, that story remains in my head and eventually gets emptied with the other deleted items. Sometimes it resurfaces down the road, but in a different format, only vaguely resembling my original thoughts. Occasionally, I have the good sense to grab on to the plethora of scrap papers lying around my room and jot down a few road markers so that the train of thought can be reformed at a more opportune time.

This morning the song that caused my tardiness was a live version of I Saw the Light by David Crowder Band and Robbie Seay. I had barely dipped a toe into the chorus before I drew back startled.

Hank Williams killed himself.

Ok, maybe not intentionally, but Hank Williams overdosed at the age of 29 after a hard life of broken relationships and repetitive struggles.

Context.

I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, No more night
Now I’m so happy, No sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light

Set apart from its back story, these lyrics could be daunting to an average human wandering aimlessly in a life filled with sin. Worse yet, what about those who have traded the wrong for the right, and still have days where they don’t have this feeling of wonderment? The lyrics standing alone would leave big shoes to fill.

Context.

But this song was not written by a saint. It was written by a human, whose last recorded single was “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”, and who was in the process of writing a song titled “Then Came that Fateful Day” when he died.

Context.

Out of context, it is a weighty song to compare one’s life against. In context, it’s a song of hope. It’s a song about the lofty desires of a tragic life.

I believe that some days Hank Williams was able to sing this song, and mean it – moments of clarity. Other days, he must have wondered, “where the hell did that song come from?” as he downed a bottle of whiskey.

In the same vein, David fluctuated between his Psalms of praise and Psalms of despair. And he really fucked up his life. Luckily, He served (we serve) a redemptive God. A God who longs to receive our praise (though, in truth He does not need it) and yet is willing to hear our cries, our longings and our asinine questions.

Paul was human. He had some very good things to say about himself, and God entrusted him with some big tasks which he willingly took on, but he was human.

And we the readers, the interpreters, are human. Are we not hypocrites to announce from a pulpit that THE WORD OF GOD SAYS women should not be permitted to preach, and yet not require them to keep their heads covered?

What does inerrancy really mean?

Does it mean Paul lived a life free of context? That every word of the epistles can be taken at face value?

Or is there room for looking at the big picture? Can we step back and look not only at what was being said, but when it was being said and where it was being said and why it was being said and to whom it was being said? Why is this even a controversial issue?

Can we trust God to speak through the context of His Word?

Whiskey Bottle
Uncle Tupelo

jack daniels whiskeyPersuaded, paraded, enebriated, in doubt
Still aware of everything life carries on without
‘Cause there’s one too many faces with dollar sign smiles
Got to find the shortest path to the bar for a while

A long way from happiness
In a three-hour-away town
Whiskey bottle over Jesus
Not forever, just for now

There’s trouble around, it’s never far away
The same trouble’s been around for a life and a day
I can’t forget the sound, ’cause it’s here to stay
The sound of people chasing money and money getting away

In between the dirt and disgust there must be
Some air to breathe and something to believe
Liquor and guns the sign says quite plain
Somehow life goes on in a place so insane

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Posted in blog stuff, cityview, core values, culture, little rock, music, theology | 4 Comments »



cityView: aaron reddin Posted by 06.01.2010 9:12 am

cityView blog series

I’ll bet 3 dollars that more people realize the volatility of Christian faith than are willing to admit. No matter your proximity to God, Jesus, Holy Ghost, Bible, or even the Church, you have without question encountered the “fickle faith” at some point, in some way.

Even the term “Christian” has earned such a stigma that many of us who try emulating this Jesus dude……well, just don’t want to be called one.

Blame Adam. Blame Eve. Yeah, I’m going there.

I honestly can’t remember ever using the OT, especially Adam & Eve, for a reference for any kind of talk. So, if this is a total bust you can come to where I work and throw rocks at me.

Let’s just call them “A&E”, which just happens to be my favorite television station.

A&E have a story. We know it. We’ve heard it. We may not all believe it, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t ALL apply something from their story.

That freakin’ fruit. What was so bad about it? Why was there a tree with bad fruit in a good place? I think those are valid questions.

The one I really want to ask is much bigger. Was it a real tree?

Or, was it the principle of a concept?

You have a “good tree” and a “bad tree”. Eat from one, not the other.

Eat from the “tree of life” or eat from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”.

This story is so often related to obedience or disobedience. But have you ever related these trees to yourself?

They’re both pretty self explanatory. The tree of life is simply that. It’s good. Not bad, or rotten. Not bitter. It’s refreshing and energizing.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the direct opposite. Almost.

It appears fresh and ready to eat. It may sparkle. It may smell appetizing. The problem comes after you give in. Knowledge of good and evil.

It’s this knowledge that breeds legalism, judgmental attitudes and outlooks, gossip, defamation, deceit, pain, injury, and brokenness.

If all we know is good, then our faith can remain pure. With the knowledge of both concepts, though, we see all the things that make us question our faith and our God. It makes us question others. Even the ones we’re closest to.

We have the knowledge. We can’t shake it. But we can make it a point to build our “club houses” in the tree of life. Hang out in that one.

I’ve spent far too much time in the tree of knowledge, making me critical and unpleasant. Making me the kind of Christian that makes other Christians not want to be called Christians.

When I look at others, I only want to notice the good. Kinda like the way Jesus looks at me.

What would Christianity be like if we’d keep our asses out of that damned tree? Let’s build a tree house big enough for everyone, in the tree of life.

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Posted in blog stuff, cityview, core values, culture, little rock, theology | 1 Comment »