Eikon Church - Little Rock, AR

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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.

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point/counterpoint week 2: death penalty audio Posted by Ryan Byrd 04.21.2010 7:57 am

point/counterpoint

last week, we kicked off our new series called point/counterpoint. in it, we’re tackling some hotly-debated topics: homosexuality, the death penalty, war and politics. the format consists of two speakers who present opposing viewpoints of a topic. each speaker uses the bible as their primary starting point to present their viewpoint. ultimately, our goal isn’t to “tell you the answers”, but to present two thought-out, bible-centric options to guide your own thinking. it isn’t a debate or an argument or a one-up kind of thing, but rather, a healthy, balanced presentation of the issues.

sunday, two speakers engaged in a great conversation about the death penalty. on the affirmative side of the the issue was chris abrams, a husband/father/christian from north little rock, and on the oppositional side was me (ryan byrd).

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 to engage with an intelligent, well spoken person like chris and we were all able to engage in a helpful question-and-answer time.

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.

our apologies for the poor sound quality. at the last second, we had some technical glitches with our sound board and it led to unfortunately low volumes.

so, if you missed this past sunday, there’s always this week! we’ll be engaging a conversation about what the bible says about war. as always, we meet at 6 pm on sunday nights at the r street community church’s building (more info). see you there!

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altView: christen byrd Posted by Ryan Byrd 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 midrash and our newest leader, derek blaylock Posted by Derek Blaylock 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.

—————————————–

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 »



eikon informational meeting! Posted by Ryan Byrd 07.04.2009 3:40 pm

i’m very excited to (finally) be able to tell you guys about our next eikon shindig. after the success of last month’s cookout, on sunday, july 19 at 6:00 p.m., we’ll be having an informational meeting at vino’s.

there’s two reasons you might want to come to this meeting:

1. if you’ve ever wanted to know anything about this whole eikon thing, you don’t want to miss this meeting. during our time together, we’ll talk about the who, what, where, when, why & how of eikon. whereas it’s difficult to distill the totality of information into an hour or so, we really think this meeting should give a very clear picture of what we’re trying to do with this new faith community.

OR…

2. if you really love calzones, pizza and pale ale from vino’s, this meeting’s for you. :) even if you couldn’t care less about this church thing, you can certainly just come hang out with us, grab some pizza & a beer and meet a few new people. and who knows, maybe while you’re there you’ll hear something that resonates with you.

either way, it’s a great time to come hang out with us. if there was ever a time to jump in on this eikon thing, this meeting would be it. whereas the cookout was very laid back and cookout-ish (you like that?… cookoutish…), this meeting will be very much information-driven (although we’ll definitely take a good 45 minutes or so of just hanging out and eating dinner together).

we’d love for you to help us spread the word. there’s several things you can do:

  1. 1. tell your friends about it.
  2. 2. email a link to this blog post.
  3. 3. direct them to our facebook page and/or the facebook event page.
  4. 4. tell them about our twitter, where there will be updated information.
  5. 5. tell them to call or email ryan to hear some more about what’s going on.
  6. 6. send them to our website. while it’s not much right now, it will give them a launching point to other relevant information.

we hope to see you there and hope to meet quite a few new people. see you in a couple weeks!

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so, who is ryan & why is he starting a church? Posted by Ryan Byrd 02.03.2009 9:21 pm

so, maybe you’ve been following along on here for the last week or two reading about this thing called eikon church and you’re thinking to yourself, ’self, who is this guy ryan and why is he starting a church??’
fair question.
here goes.
let’s start with the basics: i’m 28 years old and have been married for about 5 1/2 years to my incredible wife christen. we have two beautiful daughters, lucy (19 months) and olive (2 months) and hope to keep the baby train rolling… (we love and welcome chaos…). :) we live in midtown little rock (capitol view) and love being in the city and the lifestyle that goes with it (we’re not really ‘burbs kind of people…). (apparently i also love using parenthetical statements…) (and ellipses…)

(here’s my “i’m-gonna-try-to-be-cool-and-stand-against-this-graffiti-wall-but-really-just-look-like-a-dork-in-the-end” picture…)
i’m a product of arkansas, spending most of my childhood and beyond in conway. i’m the middle son (yeah…middle child…) of a pastor (yeah…pastor’s kid…), so i grew up seeing the good and bad of pastoring and the church (more on that some other time, i’m sure). as all good little conway boys do, i attended the university of central arkansas, where i met my wife and, as a bonus, actually managed to receive my degree in fine arts, emphasizing in graphic design. my wife and i are both graphic designers, whereas i currently work as an advertising art director at a great little rock-based publishing company and my wife does freelance graphic design and photography (which is her primary gig).
a couple years after college, we decided to ship off to lexington, kentucky to work on my master’s degree at asbury seminary. the three and a half years spent at asbury (completing my 2-year degree…), as cliché as it might sound, were incredible and life-changing years. during that time, i was able to really analyze a lot of the things i believed and re-evaluate a lot of the “status quo” feelings i had about the church and how to “do” church. during that process of reshaping and rethinking my guiding theologies, god began leading me somewhere that i absolutely knew i would never go: home.
so, back we came to little rock to start a church. thus, the birth of the dream of this thing called eikon.
so why are you starting a church? doesn’t little rock have too many churches already? can’t you just go be a pastor at an established church? is it just because you want to be in control and do it your way? isn’t this really a cover-up for a plot for world domination in which you’re going to gather people in some kind of jesus jungle colony where you all wear matching jumpsuits & nikes and eventually drink some tainted grape juice or something?
again, all fair questions.
there’s a couple primary reasons we’re starting a church:
1. we think the quantity of churches in an area isn’t necessarily indicative of the diversity inherent in those churches. don’t get me wrong, we think there are some great churches that are reaching a lot of people in a lot of different ways here in little rock. in fact, we hope to incorporate bits and pieces of several churches into what we do at eikon. we think it’s time for an alternative in little rock. simply put, generally speaking, we think a lot of the existing churches target and reach a large, but somewhat specific segment of little rock. the point is that while there are a lot of churches in little rock reaching a lot of people, we feel like there’s a piece missing in terms of the people being reached. we think that piece is eikon.
by and large, we believe there’s a young, creative, emerging community of people in little rock that don’t really fit in in little rock churches. no doubt, there’s a few churches that are reaching out to this group, but we don’t see a place that is culturally and socially and theologically specific to that group. we’re starting eikon church because we think little rock needs a church that reaches, specifically, this group.
2. we love little rock. and because we love little rock, we want more people to be engaged in a process of learning about and becoming more like christ. in order to do that, specifically, we think the aforementioned group of unreached people need something that looks like them, talks like them, engages culture like them and is for them.
we want eikon to be a community of faith that does church in a way that is specific to the rhythms of the city of little rock. we don’t want to be a church from the ‘burbs that plops down in the middle of the city and tries to be the church from the ‘burbs. we want to engage the culture of the city of little rock with christ in way that leads people into community and relationship with each other and christ. because we love little rock, we want to create a community that honors christ in the rhythm and sensibilities of the city.
so, there ya go. maybe you’ve found out way more than you ever wanted to know about this goofy guy ryan or why he’s starting some goofy thing called eikon. but, i hope this gives you a little more of a personal glimpse into what’s going on with eikon and the heart of the guy who’s getting the ball rolling.
one of the values at eikon is that ryan, as the pastor, isn’t more valued than anyone else, but we thought it would be helpful to get an idea of who’s primarily behind this whole church thing and where he’s coming from.
so, check back soon and often for more updates from the happenings at eikon.

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