Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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an open invitation: announcing the START team Posted by Ryan Byrd 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!



EIKON | WHY: tonight Posted by Ryan Byrd 08.30.2009 12:15 pm

EIKON | WHY

a couple weeks ago, we announced our upcoming gathering called EIKON | WHY. tonight, at 6 p.m., we’ll be hanging out at the house, engaging in a conversation about “yesterday.” what that ultimately means is that we’ll be hearing each others’ experiences with the church—for better or for worse. we think this will be another great entry point and a chance to connect with people through hearing shared experiences.

let me give a few, quick, final details.

as mentioned, we’ve been 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). (as a reminder, eikon isn’t picking up the tab, but we think you’ll find the menu reasonably priced). instead of the usual ordering downstairs, go ahead and come upstairs, grab a seat (anywhere upstairs) and they’ll do service at the tables. here’s your menu choices:

SALADS:

mixed green salad
seasonal salad (ask the wait staff for details)

SANDWICHES:

bacon, lettuce and tomato

BURGERS:

house burger
bbq burger

so, we think there should be a little something for everyone.

we’ll spend the first hour just eating/drinking and hanging out. AS PER REQUEST OF THE CHEF, PLEASE TRY TO BE THERE AS CLOSE TO 6 P.M. AS POSSIBLE. 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).

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. see you tonight!

see you all in a couple weeks!



announcing EIKON | WHY Posted by Ryan Byrd 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!