well over two years ago, a small nudge to move back to little rock unexpectedly became an overwhelming and life-changing dream to start a church in the downtown little rock area. knowing the church makeup in little rock, we knew there was a large segment of young, creative, emerging people who may have some desire to engage in a community of faith, but found their options lacking, to say the least. that is where our dream began.

after quite a bit of hinting on the blog for the last several months, i’m excited to announce that eikon church is now officially taking shape here in little rock.

we envision eikon as a new kind of community that refocuses and redefines what it means to be the church and to do church. we certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel, but we do believe that we’re offering an alternative for those who are seeking something a little different.

eikon places value on grace and mercy and humility and beauty and creativity and truth. it’s a community where doubt is honored and honest dialogue is valued and encouraged. it’s a place where the life, words and mission of jesus are lifted up and used as a guide. it’s a community where we understand that a lot of people have negative or disaffected feelings about the church, but have an interest in engaging with the jesus found in scripture and not the christian subculture version of jesus that that has, by and large, co-opted the church.

we hope to be a community where the arts—visual arts, music, film, writing, etc.—are at the forefront of the life of the church and a place where creativity and outside-the-box thinking aren’t looked at with suspicion. we believe that every person—no matter what their life may look like—is created in the image of god and that god, being a creator, has made us to be creative and inventive people.

eikon will be a community that is welcoming to every person, regardless of color, age, past history, social status or religious beliefs. we strive to be a community that can foster friendships and mutual understanding despite disagreements or differing viewpoints. at eikon, you don’t have to agree with everyone else to be valued and accepted. we won’t rely on the status quo to set the standard for truth and the way we lead the church.

i could go on and on, but i’ll save that for later. needless to say, though, our dream for eikon church is that we, indeed, do something different, not just for different’s sake, but to reconnect with the jesus and the church that is actually found in scripture. so, as the days and weeks and months go by, i want to keep you informed about some of the different and possibly not-so-different things at eikon such as our core values, our plan to grow, gathering times and ways to get connected.

the bottom line is that we can’t very well be a community if there’s no community. we need you! along with this announcement of the church, i also issue a very open invitation to get on board. if you’ve connected with anything i’ve said or even if you just want more information in hopes to find something of which to connect, let me know!

a temporary website for eikon is up and running (find the link above or click here). while it’s actually just another link here on my website, it has a completely different look and feel and is a wholly separate blog. on it, there will be very regular updates, so it will be the (temporary) lifeline to all things eikon. it will be the place to stay informed and learn more (until the full fledge website arrives).

so, there you have it. i’m very excited to announce the beginning public phases of eikon church. this announcement has been a long time coming, so i can’t wait to hear some feedback and some initial response.

welcome to eikon.