Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

Loading...

Archives > little rock

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!



we have a new home! Posted by Sarah Orsborn 02.02.2011 8:02 am

new eikon building

Big news! Eikon’s moving on up, literally. Mere months ago we got our first space to call our own, if only for one night a week, and we have loved our time at the green house—meals, stories, prayer have been shared. But, like hermit crabs, we’ve been yearning for a bigger space, one that could be ours every day of the week, so that we could share more with others. And that space found us, just as our lease on the green house was up.

Our new digs are located at 518 W. 9th St., near the intersection with Broadway, just around the corner from Starbucks (across the street from the Mosaic Templars building). We have big ideas and dreams for the space, which we hope will be a community gathering place, not just a building where we hang out on Sunday nights, though we’ll be doing that too (and you’re welcome to join in!). Having our own space every day of the week will allow us to host emergency homeless shelters, recovery groups, community events, and block parties. We’re renting the vacant lot next to the building, which we hope to turn into a community garden in partnership with others in the community, and we also see possibilities for an art gallery, a concert venue, and studio space for local artists.

While we’re super pumped about the new space, it’s going to take a bit of work and elbow grease to make our big dreams a reality. We have some needs: manual labor, money (check out our Paypal page), and stuff, including tables, chairs, couches, kitchen supplies, curtains/blinds, and new flooring. We’re all putting in a lot of work to get our new space up to par, and plan a sort of soft opening on February 13th (this is tentative), with our real kickoff of this new chapter planned for the 20th. We can’t wait to share this space with our city!

If you’d like to help, donate building supplies or ask any questions, feel free to leave a comment or contact one of our leaders.

As noted, we’re still a long way from the space being renovated & brought up to shape, but here’s a few shots from Cara Beth Buie from our first night of renovation.

new eikon building

new eikon building

new eikon building

new eikon building

new eikon building

new eikon building



volunteers needed for emergency homeless warming center Posted by Ryan Byrd 01.10.2011 1:29 pm

homeless shelter little rock canvas community

it’s cold. really cold. and as i sit typing this blog post, i’m in my house with the heat turned up around 70 degrees. all the while, there’s a large community of homeless people on the streets of little rock laying in about 4 inches of snow.

i don’t say this as some kind of cheap guilt trip, but more of a call to action. we have the opportunity to literally help save lives. our friends over at canvas community have stepped up huge by opening their doors for an emergency warming center for the homeless community.

as the temperatures look to dip into the teens in the next couple nights, they want to keep the center open tomorrow night but are simply unable to do so unless volunteers step up.

they need people to volunteer for 3-hour (or more) shifts overnight tomorrow (tuesday) night. it literally only requires you to come hang out for a few hours. while it’s a big commitment to sacrifice a little sleep, this will, again, be an opportunity to very literally help save lives. for the faith community, particularly, we should rush to meet these kinds of needs.

if you’d like to volunteer, please contact our community leader, john hardin, and he can give you more details on how to help. feel free to call or text him at 501.319.5363. you can also email him at johnwhardin [at] me [dot] com. additionally, you can message him via twitter @johnwhardin.

please help spread the word. any and all volunteers are welcome.



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!



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! :)



cityView: in review Posted by Ryan Byrd 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.



cityView: kimberly roth Posted by Ryan Byrd 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



cityView: aaron reddin Posted by Ryan Byrd 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.



cityView: jerusalem greer Posted by Ryan Byrd 05.28.2010 9:35 am

cityView blog series

I am exhausted. Despite my Zoloft regimine and the ice cream I had to eat last night and my Sweet Man who does his best to love on me, I am exhausted. The reasons are all wound up in this thing we call Daily Life, so I will not bore you with the details of them because they are essentially no different than all the reasons you are probably exhausted as well. But still the tears are very close to the surface today and so I am going to lean on my old crutch for this post: Pictures.
I think in images. It is how I am wired, so here are some images from my life and a few thoughts on my faith to go with them.

cityView jerusalem greer

I have always believed. Always. I cannot remember a moment of my life when I did not have faith. I have no great conversion story, which is often embarrassing to me in Christian circles. I am a lousy converter. No drama here to shake someone into belief themselves.

cityView jerusalem greer

Prayer to me is constant. Like a heart beat. Life feet on the payment. It is as natural as breathing. In and out, in and out. I think this is because I have always assumed that God was with me. Listening to all my thoughts regardless of whether or not they are addressed to Him. And as far as I can tell he loves me anyway. Fiercely even.
This is why I get pissed when I am told I must have a quiet time. As if God was in a closet waiting on me to visit him.

cityView jerusalem greer

Hope is like a giant purse that I carry around with me, filling it up with the bits and pieces of my life and the lives of those around me. It is a deep pit and it is a mess. Broken pencils, gum wrappers and loose change rattle around on the bottom of it.
But somehow I manage to find what I need each time I go searching.

cityView jerusalem greer

Community is something I cannot live without. And something that frustrates me to no end. And yet I love fiercely still.

cityView jerusalem greer

The best things in my life found me. I did not seek them out. In fact the story of my life is the harder I try the less likely I am to succeed. I blame and thank God simultaneously for this.

cityView jerusalem greer

I have only one piece of advice. Rest is necessary. God said.



cityView: rich wiebe Posted by Ryan Byrd 05.26.2010 8:47 am

cityView blog series

When the opportunity to write this piece arrived in my inbox I jumped at the chance; easy enough, I thought. Then I realized it would, indeed, bring me a difficult task: editing the terribly confounding mass; expressing the seemingly inexpressible in 500 words or less. Forgive me if I go astray of your connotations of faith, or religion.

As spiritual seekers we seem to come to a point in our lives where we ask of the expanse before us: “why?” In my mind a religion provides a framework for finding an answer to this question and prescribe a method one can employ to bring meaning to their life. Zen buddhism provides the framework I can comprehend and put into use with every action I take and decision I have to make.

I think that Buddha or Jesus probably walked this earth. I think that I am just a person. I do not know what exists beyond my perception, it very well may be God as expressed in Christianity. But, I do know what my existence thus far has shown me. What I make of the understanding I infer from my past experience is up to me.

If I take a moment, while not caught up in my mind’s negative perceptions, to understand the mind’s object I know it is beneficial to address it with love and compassion. The object of mind can also be seen with fear and loathing. How do I choose to see? It seems apparent, from experience with this world, that resentment and anger do not have much positive benefit. While fear may bring about an occasional burst of necessary adrenaline to help remove me from a dangerous situation, there are no wolves or bears at my door. The existence, then, of fear is a matter of perception. I find it quite possible, if not guaranteed, that we all have the same emotions brought about by our perceptions.

What, then, could it be that brings about the capacity to have sympathetic responses to the sufferings or joys of others? Looking into the eyes of the people I speak with I can see that they are human. Knowing they have the same capacity for love and fear I can have compassion for their situation. When our similar nature is viewed on a grander scale, it seem possible that we are of the same mind. This capacity to empathize is what I see as the spiritual component of our existence.

Having a deeply abiding love and compassion for others, their creations, and the manifestations of our world seem to me to be the very good way to travel through this life. Sadness and fear may come and go, but with compassion they can be overcome.

May your travels in this life be safe and happy.