Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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what’s missing in ch ch? ok, nevermind… Posted by 01.08.2010 4:35 pm

eikon START teamok, so let’s just begin by saying that we hereby pledge to never again invoke any of those cheeseball quotes from church marquees… alright, now that we’ve placed our hand on the bible and sworn our unwavering non-cheesy intentions, let’s move on… :)

over the course of the last 6 months, we’ve begun the process of the actual physical formation of eikon. we’ve had an incredible response and we’ve been able to connect with so many different kinds of people that we would have never guessed. over the last couple months, we’ve offered people a chance to marry their verbal intentions with a physical means of carrying them out. that process has been called the START team. in essence, it’s just a group of volunteer people who have committed to learning more about eikon and taking an active role in the start of the church.

with the dawn of 2010 (twenty-ten or two thousand ten??), we’re turning a corner in terms of the nature of the START team. whereas we’ve spent our previous sessions dealing with the theoretical aspects of eikon (i.e. why? what? who? when? etc.) and have asked for an initial, concrete commitment, we’re now asking others to join with us in the pragmatic aspect of forming a new community. what that ultimately means is mobilizing people to just do stuff. all kinds of stuff: offer further insights, seal envelopes, move chairs, fold handouts, design graphic pieces, do photography, shake hands, be a smiling face…just stuff. with the official start day (regular, weekly gatherings) for eikon coming in mid-february (be on the lookout for some more clues on that very soon), we’ve got plenty of stuff to do. and that ultimately means that we need some more helping hands. we need you! (see, i used an exclamation point to tell you that…so it must be important! see, there’s another one…)

UPCOMING MEETINGS

we’ll have 3 meetings in january (and likely 1 in february), so we’d love for anyone and everyone to be a part of those. the first one was this past sunday and we’ll be having another this sunday night, january 10. at 6 p.m., we’ll gather at john and shannon hardin’s home once again (see map here), so it will be a very casual environment. we’ll build in some time for drinks and a light dinner, so you’ll have a chance to catch up and hang out a little. also, we’ll be offering childcare on location, so feel free to bring the kids (if you plan to bring children, please drop us a note letting us know asap).

if you have any additional questions, feel free to shoot us an email at info [at] eikonthechurch [dot] com or leave a comment. see you sunday night!

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altView: a series in review Posted by 12.23.2009 5:37 pm

altView

several months ago, i had the idea to let people hear the voices of various people in our ever-blossoming faith community. that idea became a tangible reality just over a month ago with the introduction of the series altView. personally, it’s been a great chance to further hear the stories of faith (and sometimes, non-faith) from the people i’ve come to know over the last several months. for others, as feedback in both conversation and comments, it’s been a time to see the breadth of points-of-view from a all kinds of people in all kinds of life situations.

in my intro to the series, i wrote the following,

there will be no filters and no agendas. these aren’t sales pitches for eikon. they aren’t a bunch of “come to jesus” posts, attempting to convert the masses. i’ve simply invited a cross section of our community—representing various points-of-view and levels of faith commitments—to share what’s significant to them. maybe it’s an issue or cause about which they’re passionate. maybe it’s a significant place in their life where faith came to the forefront. maybe it’s the point they decided, “i’m through with church.” maybe it’s the point they decided, “i need the church.” it’s really wide open.

i hope that’s what has transpired. i think it is. unfiltered. without agenda. and beautiful. and sometimes ugly. and sometimes scary. and sometimes doubtful.

before beginning the series, a pastor friend warned that doing this could lead to people “speaking on behalf” of our church. he warned that people—if unfiltered—could say things that could turn other people off and give the wrong impression if it didn’t represent “orthodox theology.” their point-of-view might contradict my point-of-view as the leader and visionary for the church.

my pastor friend was exactly right.

and that’s why i chose to do it.

one of the values of both altView and eikon in general, is that people are the church. not one man. not one pastor. not just the pastors and leaders. it’s people. it’s the collective conversation of a community of people who bring to the table their experiences and their hopes and their sensibilities and their deepest doubts and their most hidden insecurities and their most valued thoughts about god and the world.

eikon church isn’t ryan byrd. it’s a community of views. of alternative views that describe god and the world around us. sometimes they look like what you’ve heard your whole life. and sometimes they look like the buddhist philosophy of loving-kindness. and sometimes they look like a nebulizer. but they’re always representative of the collective conversation of people engaged in a community that is about pursuing the way of a man named jesus.

i hope you’ve enjoyed this series. this isn’t the last time you’ve heard from some or all of these people and some people you haven’t heard yet.

we will continue to grow with a myriad of altViews. some you will agree with. some you will not. some you will be deeply touched by. and some you will find dissonant from your experience. some will resonate so powerfully within you that you will be moved to action. and some will make you question yourself so intensely that you will be frozen for a moment until you sort out your feelings.

so, as we prepare to enter a new year that is sure to be a huge year for our community, we invite you to share your altView. it may not be here on a blog or written down somewhere, but we certainly invite you to the reality of our ongoing conversation in this thing called eikon.

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Posted in altview, blog stuff, core values, information, leadership, theology | 1 Comment »



altView: john hardin Posted by 12.22.2009 4:03 pm

altView

I grew up in a little church where everyone is called “brother” or “sister” and the Second Coming or the penalties of sin were preached about at least 6 times a month. Bro. Haney was a wise man in the church, covered with leather skin and grace, and he used his deep voice to sing bass in our choir and to gently tease or soothe those around him. He was universally loved and when he spoke people truly listened.

When I was around twelve we had a testimonial service, which is sorta like an open mic night at a bar. Anyone can stand up and share their story about the greatness of a god who saved a wretch like them. Unfortunately, like an open mic night, what you mostly get are uninspiring and quasi-forced renditions of stories that are amazingly similar in content.

On that night, Bro. Haney stood up to speak. Due to my respect for him, I stopped whatever time-killing activity I was involved in and listened. What he said prompted me to think seriously about god for the first time. Unfortunately, it also led to a warped sense of who god is and what is going to happen next in his narrative.

With the certainty of a bad prosecutor Bro. Haney launched into an apocalyptic colloquy, stating that within his lifetime Jesus Christ would be coming back to rapture the church. All I could think was, “Damn! This guy is old; that doesn’t leave us much time!” My focus then turned to fearing god and the goal of leaving this irredeemable earth and going to heaven. However, like any religion based on fear and fatalism, it didn’t stick over the long haul.

Over the next 15 years I experienced a lot of life. I left my homogenous hometown the first chance I got and made a lot of decisions that most would argue were bad. I didn’t worry too much about god because, as was explained to me during my season of post-Haney fear, this world was irredeemable anyway and I already had my ticket to heaven.

During that time my eyes were opened to the world around me. I was exposed to diversity of race and sexual orientation for the first time. I realized that the stereotypes I learned growing up were not only incorrect, but were unjust, ignorant and hateful. I learned that while I lived in relative abundance, others die from abject poverty. I learned about exploitative labor practices often used to make our food and goods, and the environmental damage often caused by both. I learned about injustices within our legal system. My eyes were opened to the plights of the “least among us”.

I don’t know what prompted it, but I also began to have a deep sense that god was indeed concerned about affecting change in this world for those suffering. The life, compassion and empathies of Jesus became real to me. I became convinced that the earth isn’t simply some stopping point on the way to distant places called heaven and hell, but a place for us to try like hell to turn back into what god originally created. I am now certain that is the essence of Christianity. Bro. Haney was not only wrong about his prediction, but he was wrong about the very purpose of following in the way of Jesus.

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altView: christen byrd Posted by 12.18.2009 7:53 am

altView

all in all, i think i have been on a journey for quite some time, and still am right now. my lifetime movie would be called “forced to trust god.” over the past 6 years i feel that i have had no other choice but to have some sort of faith. no matter how little faith or how much at the time. ryan and i started our marriage pretty great. everyone says the first year was the hardest…it was our easiest. married to my best friend, good jobs, all the time in the world to think about our wonderful future. little did we know where we would be now.

we moved to lexington, kentucky after a year for ryan to attend seminary. that was probably the worst year of my life…and the best. i had a horrible job in which i traveled about 4-5 days at a time. i had no friends, except ryan. i was definitely depressed, we were so broke we couldn’t even afford to get our heat turned on. i was so lonely and broken…yet ryan and i grew closer than we ever had…because we were forced to. all we had was each other and god…literally. even though i look back on those days and can honestly feel the loneliness and sadness i felt then, i am so thankful for them. i was forced to rely on god, completely. from being able to buy groceries to just getting to wherever the heck i was supposed to be while traveling across several states for my horrible job (did i mention i hated my job). even trusting god that ryan wouldn’t freeze to death while i was gone when we didn’t have heat…

thankfully, we moved after a year to paducah, ky to serve in a church plant there. it was also a major move in our lives that required just faith. basically because in april i said “we are moving in may…get on it.” when ryan tried to tell me to be patient, i refused, i found a job, an apartment…and we moved the last week in may. (i was right) this was a difficult/wonderful/exciting/frustrating experience for us altogether. we have so many great memories from our life in paducah…mainly lucy being born, of course (don’t get me started, i may start crying).

and now…we’re here. what else is there to say. no seriously, this has been nothing less of another chapter in my journey of my faith. i mean, we started this Eikon journey over 2 years ago. we were not handed the keys to a church building, a big budget, a congregation (i don’t even like that word). in fact, ryan’s kind of been told in more ways than one…”you have all the qualities of a great church planter, but you don’t want to do it our way, nevermind then.” it’s at that point you say “ah crap, what do we do now.” and you begin to second guess what you’re doing with your life, and what you’re dragging your family into, and is it going to work, are we going to fail? these are not fun things to think about or ask yourself.

however, i’ve found to not put my faith in my husband…but to put my faith in god. i trust that ryan will do what god has given him the ability to do. and it will happen if it’s supposed to. i hate the saying “it’s a god thing.” it drives me nuts! i mean, everything is dependent on god. so why are such wonderful things “god things.” (if you die…it’s still a “god thing,” but nobody says it so excitedly then. maybe i’ll try that at the next funeral i attend.) i’ve found that in the past i’ve put way too much faith in the wrong people and things and i end up being so disappointed.

I am definitely reminded of how much i am forced to trust god, each and every day. as a mom to lucy and olive, and another one in june (talk about faith)…i rely on him to help me be a better mom. seriously, this may sound silly…but you try being at home everyday with a 1 year old, 2 year old, pregnant mom…and being married to ryan. and i rely on god to help me be a better wife, every day. it has definitely been a long 2 years of planning and meeting and everything else that ryan spends most nights working on. and i’m not always that supportive (i know, you all think i’m perfect, sorry to burst your bubble).

i trust god that someday this will all be worth it. not because i plan on having some big mega church (although i definitely think ryan would look cool with a curly mullet)…but because i feel that i am finally in a place where i’m doing what i’m supposed to be doing with the people we’re supposed to be with. it has been such a long journey, but i can see all the pieces slowly coming together. i finally feel comfortable with a group of believers. i feel like god has a million other things for me to do…but now i’m in a place that i can actually do them someday.

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announcing a new blog series: altView Posted by 11.06.2009 12:09 pm

altView

over the last several months, we’ve been able to slowly, but surely share with you the details of our ever-growing community called eikon. through this blog—as well as the various pages here on the website—you’ve primarily heard one voice: mine. with the exception of a couple blog posts and some very brief leader questionnaires, you’ve been exposed to a single viewpoint of an ever-diversifying community. one of our values is to create a space where multiple stories are told, diverse worldviews are expressed and individual points-of-view become part of an ideological melting pot.

it’s with these thoughts that i’m very excited to announce a new blog series called altView. over the next two months, you’ll hear from about 16 or 17 voices in our community. in other words, you’ll be hearing alternative viewpoints.

there will be no filters and no agendas. these aren’t sales pitches for eikon. they aren’t a bunch of “come to jesus” posts, attempting to convert the masses. i’ve simply invited a cross section of our community—representing various points-of-view and levels of faith commitments—to share what’s significant to them. maybe it’s an issue or cause about which they’re passionate. maybe it’s a significant place in their life where faith came to the forefront. maybe it’s the point they decided, “i’m through with church.” maybe it’s the point they decided, “i need the church.” it’s really wide open.

so, it should be a fun journey. there’s so much more to eikon than ryan byrd and you all, unfortunately, have seen little more than that for quite some time now.

we’ll kick things off this coming monday, november 9 and continue on subsequent thursdays and mondays (that is if I can keep my brain and deadline whip in check…).

see you next monday!

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Posted in altview, blog stuff, core values, information, leadership, theology | 4 Comments »



an open invitation: announcing the START team Posted by 09.10.2009 7:49 pm

UPDATE: Due to a schedule conflict, the date of the START team meeting has been moved back one night to Thursday, September 17 at 7 p.m. It will still take place at The House. And remember, the last day to register is this coming Sunday (Sept. 13) at 8 p.m. See you next week.

eikon START teamover the last several months, we’ve begun the process of the actual physical formation of eikon. we’ve had an incredible response and a lot of people who have expressed their commitment to helping to grow our faith community. now—as announced a couple nights ago at our EIKON | WHY gathering—we want to invite people to marry their verbal intentions with a physical means of carrying them out.

on wednesday, september 16 at 6:30 p.m., we’ll have our first ever START team meeting at the house (in hillcrest).

WHAT’S THE START TEAM?

first, we should say that we hope it’s way less cheesy than the word team suggests. :) (if you have any better suggestions that team, we’re all ears.) anytime we see the word team, we feel like we should immediately do one of those hands-in-the-middle countdown chant things… “1, 2, 3 CHEESY!!”

second, it’s exactly what it says: a group of people whose objective is to help start eikon. this group isn’t the end-all of the eikon community. it isn’t the totality of the eikon experience. it’s simply the starting point. it should be a group of people who work together (as team suggests) to foster an environment that invites and engages “outsiders.” we’ll work together up until the point of launching our regular, weekly worship gathering, which will happen circa february 2010.

WHO CAN BE A PART OF THE START TEAM?

literally anyone. well, with a slight caveat. while it is a totally open invitation, it’s an invitation to those who are 100%, for-sure, no-doubt-about committed to eikon. even if you think you’re 90% on board, just wait. maybe by the next START team meeting, you’ll be 100% and then you can jump in. otherwise, this isn’t a closed invitation to people of my choosing. if you connect with eikon in a way that leads you to serve on this team, then we certainly want to partner with you.

WHAT WILL THE START TEAM DO?

first, the START team will spend the next several months learning about the specific nuts and bolts of what we’re doing at eikon. we’ll talk, in detail, about our calendar, our leadership dynamic, finances, ways to serve and connect and a lot more. these meetings will really get people invested in terms of sheer knowledge about the underpinnings of the church

also, the START team will be the people to actually physically carry out the tasks involved in the start of our weekly worship gatherings. in other words, there’s a lot that goes into the advent of regular, weekly gatherings and the START team will come together to execute the various necessary tasks.

finally, in addition to meeting the needs of our weekly worship gathering, the START team will be people committed to regularly engaging in and helping out with various modes of eikon connecting points: monthly gatherings, midrash events, art and/or music events, semi-regular worship gatherings and whatever other eikon connection opportunities may arise. we certainly don’t require anyone to be involved with anything, but with equal certainty, part of the point of the START team is an ongoing, sacrificial commitment.

so, we want you to come! if you’re 100% locked in with eikon, this is the best way to connect.

if you plan on attending, you MUST fill out the following form. while we prefer that each person fills out an individual form, if you desire to fill out the form for a spouse, significant other or friend, you can do so. please make sure to indicate the number of additional people attending (that doesn’t include yourself), name(s) of each additional attendee and their email address(es).

deadline to complete the form is sunday, september 13 at 8 p.m.

see you in a couple weeks!

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announcing midrash and our newest leader, derek blaylock Posted by 08.30.2009 12:58 am

A QUICK WORD FROM RYAN

as the title suggests, we have a couple very exciting announcements to make. the first one is that we have a new leader on board at eikon, derek blaylock. derek will be leading the second half of this announcement—which i’ll let him do below—called midrash. we’re super-excited to have derek on board. he’s a great guy who i know you guys will want to get to know more.

when derek isn’t rambling about politics and theology, you can find him enjoying a good cigar and a hoppy pale ale or obsessing over some tiny school in the midwest called kansas (or maybe it’s mizzou…we can’t remember…). his blog, dialogo de derek, is a great way to find out a little more about him (not to mention a good place to find a good cigar or beer recommendation). if you want to know even more about him, you can check him out on our leaders page.)

alright, enough from me. here’s derek.

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midrash little rock

Midrash is a Hebrew word that—when roughly translated—means “commentary.” We’ve taken the word Midrash as the title for our group and created an avenue for people from all walks of life to get together and discuss pertinent topics that impact our lives, our culture, our city, our state, our nation and our world.

THE WHY & WHAT OF MIDRASH

With Midrash—and Eikon—we value engaging culture to show that God’s truth is evident everywhere. The main crux of the issue is that we realize the Bible isn’t an authority for everyone and as such, we want to be involved in different happenings that show how God’s truth intersects everyday life. As a community of Jesus followers, we need to find ways to engage culture in a compelling manner and meet people where they are both spiritually and socially.

Art—of all forms—is a major influencer in our culture, so we base a lot of our gatherings around different art forms. But, we don’t envision a bunch of high-brow art critics standing around sipping dry martinis. :) We’re very ordinary people who enjoy fun and lively discussions about all sorts of topics (and you can even choose your own beverage…).

We host various types of gatherings including the following: coffee shop discussions, film nights, art gallery viewings and the occasional large panel forum. The main types of gatherings, though, are large group discussions in which we throw out a culturally relevant topic and allow for open conversation, facilitated by a moderator. Topics in the past have ranged from violence in the U.S. to animal rights to racism in Little Rock. Our discussions are held at local restaurants, coffee shops or bars—places that are able to accommodate group discussions.

No doubt, people want to talk about the topics we discuss, but just haven’t had the opportunity. We want to provide that opportunity! Our group is open to all kinds of people: religious, irreligious, atheists, nihilists, spiritual, and non-spiritual…everybody.

Does all this sound familiar? Midrash isn’t, in fact, new to Little Rock. You may know that we took a bit of an extended break over the last fews months. We’re excited to say that Eikon is now sponsoring Midrash, as we think Midrash and Eikon make a perfect marriage. The core principles of Midrash are the same ones that guide the Eikon community. So, we’re now refocused and excited to get things going again!

THE WHERE & WHEN OF MIDRASH

We’ll return with a coffee shop discussion on Wednesday, September 9 at The House (in Hillcrest)(check their website for address and subsequent directions) from 7:30 p.m. – 8:30ish p.m. (NOTE: Midrash gatherings will change locations and times from month to month.)

bowling alone by robert putnam

We’ll be discussing the role of social media in our lives, spawning from the book, “Bowling Alone” by Robert D. Putnam. (NOTE: By all means, reading the book has no bearing on your level of participation. It certainly is not a prerequisite for attending and engaging in the conversation. It’s simply a jumping point for a broader conversation.) By plugging into our computers and phones, are we unplugging from each other? Is our social capital as a nation declining or improving as a result of these technological innovations? Is it just a passing fad or is it a step towards our society becoming more reclusive?

Midrash is a welcome place for respectful discussions and we hope you’ll come out, grab a brew, share your view and lend an ear to others’.

(Not only do we just enjoy the social and personal growth aspect of Midrash, but we also think there’s a Biblical connection. Check out the following passages of Scripture: Acts 17: 16-34, Matthew 6: 10, II Corinthians 3: 16-18, Genesis 1: 26-28. These verses speak of God’s calling for us to redeem creation through him.)

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Posted in announcements, core values, culture, events, gatherings, leadership, theology | 2 Comments »



announcing EIKON | WHY Posted by 08.14.2009 1:46 pm

EIKON | WHY

i’m excited to announce our upcoming spectacle/shindig/gathering (it’s your choice of the 3 words…we’re all about free will at eikon…) for august. on sunday, august 30, at 6 p.m., we’ll be hanging out at the house—the great new addition to hillcrest—engaging in a conversation that we’re calling EIKON | WHY: a conversation about yesterday.

why is it a conversation about yesterday?

  1. 1. we like to use really intriguing-yet-bordering-on-pretentious titles for our gatherings.
  2. 2. we want to encourage the spontaneous singing of the beatles’ yesterday, being that we currently lack a solid british element at eikon. (we also encourage the boyz 2 men cover version of yesterday, being that it includes exponentially more “oohs” and “uhhs” and probably includes a spoken word part by an otherwise under-utilized bass singer…)
  3. 3. (seriously), we’re all experts on yesterday. we just lived it and need to process it. knowing the what of our past speaks to the why of our present/future.
  4. 4. we think your yesterday story is probably much closer to others’ stories than you think and thus, closer to the story of why we’re starting this thing called eikon.

ok, well, we are now equally confused and intrigued. how about yourself?

in the event that you find yourself confused and/or intrigued, you should definitely come hang out with us on sunday, august 30 at the house. our conversation about why we’re starting eikon will be a great entry point if you couldn’t make it to our gathering at vino’s last month and likewise, a great conversational entry point for those who have already been hanging out with us.

here’s the quick minutiae of the gathering. try to be there fairly close to 6 p.m.. we’re working with the chef to create a special menu for us that will give you a choice of 5 entrees and your choice of any of their beverages (beer, wine, coffees, soft drinks). just to be clear, eikon isn’t picking up the tab, but we think you’ll find the menu reasonably priced (and well worth it). instead of the usual ordering downstairs, go ahead and come upstairs, grab a seat and they’ll do service at the tables. we’ll spend the first hour just eating/drinking and hanging out. we’ve reserved a small room to the right upstairs, but during the first hour of dinner, feel free to sit anywhere upstairs. around 7 or so, we’ll transition into our conversation into the smaller room (where people might have to squeeze in, stand, lean, squat or engage in other means of fitting a large mass into a small space).

my (ryan) goal is to talk a little and listen a lot (though I can often be more successful in the reverse scenario…). i’ll intro the conversation and serve as a guide, but my hope is that the conversation will revolve around the group rather than myself.

NOTE TO THE INTROVERTS WHO ARE CRINGING AND DRY HEAVING RIGHT NOW (which actually includes myself, in terms of the introvert personality type): because I can certainly empathize, you don’t need to worry about being called on, called out or singled out. it’s your choice about how much or how little you contribute to the conversation. while we encourage active participation, we want to honor the fact that everyone engages in different ways. some do it by talking, while some do it by listening. so, please discontinue your dry heaving…no need to panic…you’re in good hands with eikon. :)

alright, that’s the story. come hang out with us. if you’ve hung out with us before, be sure to come again and if you haven’t been able to come or have been hesitant to come, this is a great entry point. (we’re a friendly bunch, despite our generally hairy, frightening exteriors…)

see you all in a couple weeks!

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Posted in announcements, core values, events, gatherings, information, leadership, theology | 3 Comments »



defining eikon: what we are vs. what we aren’t Posted by 08.08.2009 4:11 pm

our community is shaped and defined by a number of ideas and guiding theologies (which, of course, you can find here). our list isn’t a chiseled-in-stone final statement of authority, but rather, an evolving list of descriptions of god that help us to grow in community in biblically and culturally relevant ways. so, as our community grows and begins to flesh out, we hope to revisit the list every now and then and think through ways to tweak language or even add to or subtract from the list.

one of the things, though, we hope to remain consistent is our desire to define eikon by what we are, as opposed to what we aren’t.

what’s the difference?

we think the church–particularly in the united states over the last hundred years or so–has claimed its identity primarily in the form of rules, cultural blacklists and social dichotomies. we don’t drink. we aren’t gay. we think harry potter is corrupting our youth. we disengage from artforms that aren’t explicitly “christian”. the list could go on.

please don’t misunderstand or over-imply our point: we certainly affirm that there are plenty of great churches who don’t define themselves in these ways. no doubt, even here in little rock, there are churches who have made a decision not to make exclusion their chief mode of description. our point is that, by and large, american christianity has become virtually synonymous with this type of self-branding.

one of the key words we like to use at eikon is alternative and we certainly hope to practice an alternative way of defining than what we’ve described thus far.

instead of a church who defines itself by what we aren’t, we hope to define ourselves by what we are.

so, what are we?

we are people who try to follow in the way of jesus. we’re a community that says grace is more compatible with jesus than judgment. we are guided by scripture in ways that help us to engage and embrace culture rather than run from it and create false dichotomies. we are a community that lives in a space of humility rather than arrogant certainty. we want to be a community that serves our city by meeting the needs of those who are broken, oppressed and voiceless. we want to offer new life and hope to the “least of these.”

much like the previous list, this list could go on.

are we all these things right now? certainly not. are we striving to be these things? absolutely. are we connecting with people with like sensibilities and like communal expectations? of course.

so, we invite you to be a part of what we’re doing and what we’re trying to be. our invitation isn’t based on a commonality of “anti-” but rather a commonality of “pro-”.

if you connect with these sentiments (or even if you don’t) :), take a minute to read over our list of guiding theologies. everything we are isn’t there, so hit us up with an email or a phone call and we’ll talk more about this thing called eikon.

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an invitation to give Posted by 08.06.2009 5:59 pm

ADMIN NOTE: on a regular basis, we hope to have bloggers besides just ryan offer their voice and point-of-view. these will be various people connected to our community, whether they be leaders, people in the community or just “friends of eikon”. so, for the first time, christen—our spaces leader—will be blogging.

some of you might know that our friend and music leader, rob toon, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008 and is currently preparing for (another) bone marrow transplant. the following post was first put up at her blog, babybyrds.com.

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today my blog is dedicated to my friend rob. (please forgive me if i get some of the details wrong, rob…i’m not up on all the medical jargon:) it is hard for me to even approach this subject without getting emotional sometimes…but here goes. rob and stephanie toon are some of our very best and closest friends, not to mention family, and leaders in our new church. they have four beautiful kids, michael, jack, lily and averi, who are some of lucy’s favorite people!

over a year ago rob was diagnosed with leukemia, and underwent all kinds of chemo treatment to get rid of it…which he did…until around december. they found out it was back and started the search for a donor so rob could get a bone marrow transplant. they’ve found a match and he has already had one transplant, a few weeks ago. however, it didn’t work, due to a viral infection. after a few very rough days for rob and steph, they finally got word that the donor was willing to donate again. this is very time sensitive and has to happen immediately. they are currently having people donating white blood cells to hold him over until the transplant. hopefully everything will work this time. they will get more cells this time and the viral infection should be gone, so they can do what they need to do. this transplant will take place august 11.

i must mention that this whole process is taking place in houston. which means that their kids are back home with stephanie’s parents in bryant, ar. on top of the sadness of not getting to see their kids for months, stephanie is not able to work so she can be with rob in houston. thus…no income. this is obviously a very stressful situation for everyone involved…rob and steph, the kids, grandparents…you get the idea. and now that rob has to have another transplant, their stay has been extended into mid november at least. the whole situation just makes me sad…

i am asking anyone who reads my blog…to help, if you can. here’s how:

  1. 1. please pray for this family and rob’s transplant and recovery.
  2. 2. if you live in houston, rob may need more people to donate blood for him before or after his transplant. he needs more white blood cells. i’m not sure when, but if you are interested in giving, let me know and i can get you the details.
  3. 3. if you would like to donate any money, i know they would greatly appreciate it.

thanks for reading this and helping in anyway possible. rob and stephanie mean so much to us. we are hoping to go visit sometime soon and maybe even donate some of our blood, if they need it. which terrifies ryan…ha. you can keep up with rob on his blog. please email me if you have any questions about anything or want to help, christen [at] christenbyrd [dot] com. here is a picture of their family i took right before they left for houston.

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