Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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Help Support The Van at the Little Rock Tweetup Posted by Ryan Byrd 11.08.2011 8:02 am

little rock tweetup the van aaron reddin

Over the last couple months, many of you have kept up with and volunteered your time and resources to our newest community connecting point, Open Doors. Each Thursday from from 3 – 7 p.m., we’ve opened our doors to our homeless friends and offered a space for laundry, showers, food and drinks and just a place to take a load off. In a very short amount of time, we’ve made quite a few new friends and have had the opportunity to share in the lives of the Little Rock homeless community.

Now, we’ve been presented with a new opportunity with Open Doors. Little Rock Tweetup is a community of Little Rock Twitter users that meet monthly for a time of socializing and real life interaction. In an attempt to give back to the community, they’ve approached us about having their November tweetup at our building in order to have a potluck that raises awareness and support for our friend Aaron Reddin and, specifically, the community outreach he leads, The Van.

On Thursday, November 17 at 5:30—as an extension of Open Doors (which will already be taking place)—everyone’s invited to our building for a Mexican-themed potluck dinner. Greg Henderson has posted some details on the Little Rock Tweetup site and he’s is asking that people come with a potluck dish and/or a donation for The Van. If you’d like to know the needs of The Van, here’s a list that is updated by Aaron.

This should be a good time and a great opportunity to give back to our community. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact the organizers of the Little Rock Tweetup by clicking here.

See you all on the 17th!

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Posted in announcements, core values, events, food, gatherings, information, little rock, missions, social justice, theology, volunteer | No Comments »



announcing our new series, ‘the gospel according to…’ Posted by Ryan Byrd 09.12.2011 12:47 pm

new eikon building

for the past 6 months, we’ve been going, verse by verse, through jesus’ sermon on the mount. beyond that, for the last year, we’ve focused very specifically on the life, teachings & values of jesus. the most fundamental expression of our faith community is living in the way of jesus, so we’ve put a great emphasis on exploring what that means.

with our next teaching series, we’re committed to continue with that. we’re turning a bit of a corner, though. whereas we’ve dealt, largely, with more broad themes, we’ll begin to focus in on more specific theologies and issues. in order to do this, we wanted to choose a vehicle for doing so that was both engaging and in alignment with our values as a church.

so, we’re excited to announce, the gospel according to…

beginning september 25 (and running through the end of the year), we’ll be looking at 4 films to offer some insight into some of the theological issues that we think are particularly salient following our lengthy conversations about jesus. we’re a big believer that culture isn’t at odds with christianity, but actually a particularly helpful way to experience and see god at work. this series will help to affirm that value.

instead of simply pulling a few clips from movies and expounding on them, we’ll actually be watching the movies in their entirety. four times over the next few months, we’ll dedicate an entire sunday gathering to watching the films. it should be fun, with a theater vibe complete with popcorn and cokes. the dates are as follows:

  • september 25
  • october 16
  • november 6
  • december 4

in the following 2 weeks after watching each film, we’ll engage the correlating theologies and issues through interactive discussions, “expert” panels, regular teaching times & guest teachers.

on the 25th, we’ll kick it off with the 1995 film dead man walking featuring sean penn and susan sarandon. this is an intense film exploring issues such as the extent of mercy and forgiveness as well as the death penalty. the subsequent teaching times should be a good chance to really wrestle with some complicated issues.

so, make some plans to join us. if nothing else, you’ll get a free movie and popcorn out of the deal! as the series progresses, we’ll announce the other movies. we’ve chosen a good mix of dramas and comedies and documentaries. there should be something for everyone.

see you on september 25!

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last minute ways to help us throw our christmas party under the bridge Posted by Ryan Byrd 12.23.2010 5:34 pm

christmas party broadway bridge homeless

as many of you know, we’ll be serving dinner and throwing a christmas party for our homeless friends under the broadway bridge tomorrow night (christmas eve, 12/24) at 6 p.m. in an effort to not only provide a hot meal, we really hope this is a time to build and foster relationships with the homeless community. rather than perpetuating the “us” and “them” mentality, we think christmas is a great opportunity to celebrate together.

we’re a relatively small group here at eikon trying to make a BIG impact. so many of you have chipped in already to pull this off, by donating things, committing to prepare food and spreading the word (some of you even helped to alert various media outlets to raise awareness). as we’re just about 24 hours away, we thought we’d give an update and offer an opportunity to help in the 11th hour.

FOOD: just to switch things up a little, we’ll be having a mexican food theme. at this point, we have the major food elements covered, but if you’d like to make some christmas cookies or brownies or other festive treats, it would be a good addition to our party. (we need to plan for between 35-50 people.) if you’d like to help in this way, you can either bring it and join us a little before 6 p.m. under the bridge or you can contact our coordinator, christen byrd, at christen [at] christenbyrd [dot] com to make other arrangements. (even if you plan to join us, please contact her for planning purposes.)

GIFTS: we’ll be giving gift bags that include practical items that help to survive the frigid temperatures on the streets. while we have collected a considerable amount of items, we could still use any and all donations. here’s a list of things we’ve received and collected so far (numbers are rounded and approximate):

  • men’s socks: 100
  • women’s socks: 20
  • hats: 20
  • mugs: 20
  • men’s gloves: 50
  • women’s gloves: 5
  • chapstick: 50
  • hot hands packets: 175
  • scarves: 20
  • sleeping bags: 10
  • blankets: 15
  • hoodies/fleeces: 5
  • coats: (unknown)

whereas a number of these things have already been wrapped/bagged, we certainly could still use more, even if it was just brought down to the bridge at the time of the gathering (though, again, you can make other arrangements by contacting christen with the aforementioned contact information). if you’d like to purchase or donate any of these things, here’s what is most needed right now:

  • sleeping bags
  • ponchos (there’s a good chance of rain/sleet tomorrow night)
  • coats
  • hats

we will certainly be glad to give you a receipt for your items for tax purposes.

we really think we have the opportunity to be jesus to a community here in little rock that is often overlooked and pushed aside. and of all times to do it, christmas is a pretty good opportunity.

if you’d like to help in any way or have any questions, here are several ways to do that:

1. contact our coordinator, christen byrd, via email at christen [at] christenbyrd [dot] com, via twitter @christenbyrd or via phone at 501.551.8117.

2. contact our pastor, ryan byrd, via email at ryan [at] eikonthechurch [dot] com, via twitter @ryanbyrd or via phone at 501.551.8118.

3. contact our community leader, john hardin, via email at johnwhardin [at] me [dot] com, via twitter @johnwhardin or via phone at 501.319.5363.

thanks for helping!

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Posted in core values, culture, food, gatherings, information, leadership, little rock, missions, social justice, theology, volunteer | No Comments »



Christmas Party Under the Bridge!!! Posted by Christen Byrd 12.14.2010 12:12 pm

christmas party broadway bridge homeless

As many of you know, we will be feeding our homeless friends under the Broadway bridge on Christmas Eve (12/24). We have decided to not only make this a meal for them…but also have a Christmas party. I mean, it’s Christmas, and they’re homeless! They need some joy in their life! We are going to try and make it a joyous time for all involved.

We are a relatively small group trying to make a BIG impact. So this is going to take all of us…and our friends to help us pull this together! So please spread the word, ask your friends and family what they can donate to help us out.

FOOD: We will be having a Mexican food theme. We figured they probably get a lot of “holiday food” and might like a change up. So If you’d like to help cook or volunteer to bring a dish, please get in contact with Alena on facebook or on Sunday night. We need to plan for between 35-50 people.

DECORATIONS: We have apparently secured a tree. So we need any decorations that are easy to set up and quick to take down, and christmas lights.

  • Battery powered lights
  • easy to set up decorations

GIFTS: Most importantly, we’d like to give these lovely people something for Christmas. Here is a list of things we are trying to collect…

  • socks
  • gloves
  • hats
  • scarves
  • bus passes
  • packaged snacks
  • hot chocolate packets
  • coffee
  • insulated mugs
  • tents
  • sleeping bags
  • blankets
  • coats

I will organize some kind of meeting to wrap everything once we have it. Also, if you would just like to make a donation…please feel free! Contact me at christen [at] babybyrds [dot] com with any questions. We will take what we can get and give it to those who desperately need it on these cold nights. Thank you so much for your help and willingness to give! Now get to work and see what we can gather up!

christen

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Posted in announcements, core values, events, food, gatherings, information, social justice, theology | 3 Comments »



join us in beginning a new chapter at eikon Posted by Ryan Byrd 09.01.2010 7:56 am

new building kickoff september

we recently shared about the big changes occurring here at eikon and we’ve really been glad to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many sharing in our excitement. if you haven’t heard about the changes, take a minute to read through the blog post that lays out the basic ideas. following those announcements, we gathered a few weeks ago at our new space for a bit of a preview of sorts. once again, we were excited to get great feedback and create an energy surrounding our upcoming move.

well, we have now reached the time for that move.

on sunday, september 12, we’ll make the permanent move to our new space at 101 n. woodrow st. (a block east of the markham/kavanaugh intersection near pizza d’action). as you’ve read in the aforementioned (linked) blog post, this gathering will include a shared meal, conversation and a teaching time.

one of the things we’re most excited about is that it will kickoff not only a new space and new format to our gatherings, but a 3-month look at all things jesus: his life, death, birth, ministry, values, ethics, trials, fears, relationships and everything you might imagine that jesus did that now informs our lives. to be frank, we’re really trying to cut away the crap and fluff and hone in on what it means to be people who follow in the way of jesus.

it’s a big time for our community and we’d love for you to be a part of it. what about those reading this that are already a part of our community? pass this blog post along. put it on twitter. invite a coworker. invite friends we’ve missed on our facebook event. spread the word.

so, if you’ve desired to come check out eikon, there absolutely couldn’t be a better time than now. see you on september 12 at 6!

if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me (ryan) at ryan [at] eikonthechurch [dot] com.

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you’re invited: preview our new space this sunday night Posted by Ryan Byrd 08.13.2010 1:36 pm

despite it being relatively quick notice, we’re excited to share with everyone about our preview gathering this sunday night at our new building. we recently shared about the big changes occurring here at eikon and we’ve really been glad to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many sharing in our excitement. if you haven’t heard about the changes, take a minute to read through last week’s post.

while we won’t be making the official, permanent move to the new space until september 12, we’re having a preview of the the new space and the new direction this sunday night. we’ll no doubt have a few kinks and a few moments of playing it by ear, but we hope to offer a fairly fully-realized version of what we’ll be doing beginning on a weekly basis in september. at 6 p.m., we’ll serve a dinner prepared by a couple in our community (in this case, john & shannon hardin) and at about 6:45, we’ll transition into a teaching/discussion time (children will move upstairs to their own space at that time). it will be extremely casual and a great opportunity for new people to get to know a few of our people.

the new building is at 101 n. woodrow st. (a block east of the markham/kavanaugh intersection near pizza d’action). there’s a little parking available on woodrow street in front of the building and more than plenty of parking in a small gravel lot behind the building (in the frontmost yard of the arkansas school for the deaf & blind).

so, if you’ve desired to come check out eikon, there couldn’t be a better time than now. see you sunday night at 6! if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me (ryan) at ryan [at] eikonthechurch [dot] com.

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a new direction: announcing the new look of eikon Posted by Ryan Byrd 08.02.2010 1:29 pm

[ok, let's just go ahead and put it out there that we've got some serious blog FAIL going on here… yes friends, we're blog slackers here at eikon, but we promise guarantee swear will attempt with great fervor to update more regularly. ok, onto the news at hand…]

i love quotes. i have a running collection of them that i’ve compiled over quite some time. awhile back, i came across one that i’ve repeated several times in conversations as we’ve prepared for the next steps for eikon. novelist ellen glasgow once said,

all change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.

as we’ve prepared and planned the big changes here at eikon, we’ve steadily kept in mind that change should be forward-oriented, plotting steps to help us grow and progress as a community.

we think we’ve done that with this new direction.

last night at our weekly gathering, we laid it all out, but we wanted to share it with our online community as well. obviously, online discourse is a bit more limited than actually being a part of our gathering, but i’ll try to relay the news as close to how it occurred last night as possible.

VALUES

more than anything, change that is actually growth is steered by a set of guiding values. while you can read a more a more church-defining set of guiding theologies here, there were some specific values that led to the new direction:

• jesus as primary value
• first church values (taken from an ongoing series)
• flattened leadership
• social justice
• financial responsibility – 50/50 value
• jesus-centered community

MEETING SPACE

we’re moving! we’ve been deeply thankful for r street community church’s willingness to let us crash at their place for the past 6 months, but it’s time to move on.

the space—at 101 n. woodrow st. (near the corner of kavanaugh & markham)—will allow for a hybrid house/”traditional” church setting and atmosphere. on one hand, because of the fact that it’s a converted house, it has retained an intimate vibe that corresponds with the surrounding neighborhoods (stifft’s station, capitol view, hillcrest). on the other hand, because it’s been converted into a meeting space, it will allow for larger groups and teaching/conversation times.

additionally, it will provide upstairs round-the-clock office space, allowing for meetings, quiet space and storage). we’re also excited that the building comes equipped with a full kitchen, which will lend itself to other announcements (keep reading!).

here’s some pictures of the building (interior pics to come):

new building new building

CHILDREN

as we’ve searched for meeting spaces over the last year, one of our primary concerns was a space for children. quite frankly, some places met every single criterion we had, but was shot down due to lack of a children’s space. despite the small size of this space, we’re still excited to offer a dedicated space with structured learning and activity time for children 5 years and younger.

SHARED MEAL

as we’ve discussed in previous gatherings, there’s something transcendent, something sacred about a shared meal. now, we’ll make that a core feature of our weekly gatherings. every single week, we’ll begin our time together at 6 p.m. with a meal that’s prepared by us. whether it’s a single family, multiple families or potluck-style, each week will feature a family-style dinner.

we’re particularly interested in sustainability, recycling and waste reduction, so we’re committed to using real plates/utensils/glasses/etc and encouraging people to use locals meats/produce/etc when preparing the meals. we also think this will be a great way to involve people outside of our community. do you have a friend who loves to cook? or a friend who loves to eat? get them involved. sitting down to eat is a universally unifying experience and we hope to incorporate that into our gatherings.

TEACHING

quite frankly, it’s good to hear more than just ryan and the occasional john-led night. we want and need to hear from multiple voices with varying viewpoints and leadership styles. from “traditional” teaching to conversational times to interactive learning sessions, we hope to incorporate a wide array of gatherings that will connect with a wide array of people.

we’ll be asking a number of people to lead the teaching times. whether you think you’re a “teacher” or a “pastor” or even a leader, we’d love for varying voices to lead our discussion time together. in addition to standard teaching/discussion times, we also plan to have “open mic” nights that are open forum conversations as well as “traditional” worship nights.

GATHERINGS

we want to allow plenty of time for dinner which will include conversational time and getting-to-know-you time with others. we encourage families to eat together. whereas children are welcome to stay, we strongly encourage parents to take their children to the upstairs children’s room at 6:45. for the next hour-ish, we’ll engage in a teaching/conversation time.

GATHERINGS

we’ll continue to gather at 6 p.m. each sunday night (for those bringing food, please arrive in time so that people can begin eating at 6 p.m. sharp). we want to allow plenty of time for dinner which will include conversational time and getting-to-know-you time with others. we encourage families to eat together. whereas children are welcome to stay, we strongly encourage parents to take their children to the upstairs children’s room no later than 6:45. for the next hour-ish, we’ll engage in a teaching/conversation time.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

we’ll officially make the permanent move to our new space on sunday, september 12. in the meantime, here’s the schedule of what/where we’re doing:

august 8: regular gathering :: r street building
august 15: preview night :: new building (101 n. woodrow st.)
august 22: regular gathering :: r street building
august 29: worship night :: TBA
september 5: off for labor day (possible casual gathering somewhere)
september 12: kickoff event :: new building (101 n. woodrow st.)

so, there you have it. we’re really excited about the new direction and we think it will be an opportunity to spark growth and help us to engage much more in the way of jesus. like i said, a lot of information is just not best communicated in this format, as compared to our gathering last night. so, if you have any questions, feel free to leave comments or email me (ryan) at ryan [at] eikonthechurch [dot] com.

in the meantime, spread the word: tweet it, update it, text it, email it, blog it. maybe even tell a real life human being! :)

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Posted in announcements, childcare, core values, food, gatherings, information, leadership, little rock, social justice, worship | 6 Comments »



a 4th of july invitation Posted by John Hardin 07.02.2010 8:02 am

For those who aren’t cool enough to already have plans for 4th of July weekend, please consider settling for some burgers and hang-out time at the Hardin House on Sunday. We’ll cook/hang out and then (possibly) head down the road to Knoop Park to watch the city’s fireworks show over the river. Thanks to the awesome deal on burger patties at Whole Foods, we’ll take care of the meat*, buns & fixings. So, we’ll need the following:

  • Corn on the cob
  • Desserts
  • Traditional sides (baked beans, potato salad, etc.)*

We’ll have tea, water, pop and juice. Adult beverages welcome, but BYOB.

Kiddos are certainly welcome.

When: Sunday, July 4th. 6:00PM
Where: 2501 Kavanaugh Blvd., Apt. B†

Either email john at johnwhardin@me.com or reply to FB invitation so we can have some sense of how much food to buy. I’ll let those bringing food know as well.

*Keep in mind that when making your sides that within our group may well be vegetarians. I’ll have some black bean burgers ready to go as well.

†If, by some chance, we have a lot of folks and kids who want to come, we may change locations. I’ll make sure the word gets out if so.

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point/counterpoint week 4: politics audio Posted by Ryan Byrd 05.06.2010 5:58 pm

point/counterpoint

this past sunday, we wrapped up a series called point/counterpoint. in it, we tackled some hotly-debated topics: homosexuality, the death penalty, war and politics. the format consisted of two speakers who presented opposing viewpoints of a topic. each speaker used the bible as their primary starting point to present their viewpoint. ultimately, our goal wasn’t to “tell you the answers”, but to present two thought-out, bible-centric options to guide your own thinking. it wasn’t a debate or an argument or a one-up kind of thing, but rather, a healthy, balanced presentation of the issues.

this past sunday, two speakers engaged in a great conversation about politics. the basic premise was whether or not the core values of jesus were more compatible with democratic values or republican values. presenting the democratic point-of-view was r street community church pastor mark currey and presenting the republican stance was our very own derek blaylock.

the conversation was really great and, at minimum, got a lot of people thinking, examining their inherent viewpoints and engaging in conversations after the gathering. i was glad we got to hear from two intelligent, well spoken people like mark and derek.

as mentioned previously, we hope to have our podcast up and running very soon, but in the meantime, we thought we’d just post it here. you can listen to it in the player or you can download it by clicking here.

if you’ve been looking for an opportunity to come hang out with us at eikon, there’s a great chance to do it in the coming weeks. this coming sunday (may 9), we’ll be talking about biblical egalitarianism in honor of mother’s day. the following week (may 16), we’re really excited to be kicking off a brand new series called prose: writing the story of community. you can find more about that series by clicking here.

hope to see you soon!

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Posted in core values, gatherings, information, leadership, theology, worship | 2 Comments »



tell me the story: announcing our upcoming series ‘prose’ Posted by Ryan Byrd 05.03.2010 8:03 am

prose sermon series

where did you come from? what made you the person you are now? who shaped you? what life circumstances deeply molded your worldviews? what moments of crisis made you reorder the world around you? how have you wrestled with spirituality and truth and this whole god thing?

simply put, what is your story?

we’re very excited to announce that our upcoming series, prose: writing the story of community, asks this very question. what is your story?

beginning may 16, we’ll begin to hear the stories of not only the people who are a part of this faith community called eikon, but the bigger community of little rock. each week, we’ll hear the stories of 2 or 3 different people. we’ll discover where they came from, what has shaped them, how faith has impacted their stories and many other questions.

in addition, we’ll be compiling written pieces each week that will be distributed as booklets that contain both artwork & writing. throughout the series, we’ll be asking both our speakers and any others to submit art and written pieces to be a part of the booklets. we’ll give more details about how to submit pieces in the next several days.

so, mark your calendars and do your best to join us for this series. we’re convinced that people connect better with each other and with god when we learn the stories of others. so, see you on may 16!

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Posted in announcements, art, core values, events, gatherings, information, photography, theology, worship | 1 Comment »



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