Eikon AltView: John Hardin // Christen Byrd

this is part of a series called altView. these are stories of faith from the people of our community. no filters. no agendas. no prompts. just people telling their stories. hope you enjoy!

John Hardin

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.

John Hardin is one of our community leaders. He bleeds social justice and community activism (we also believe he bleeds actual blood, but we haven’t done anything to him to confirm it). More specifically, John helps to connect the church as a whole and individuals to local justice/activism causes and, in general, brings awareness to local and global justice issues. When John isn’t fearing the day that we try to make him bleed, he spends time with his incredible wife, Shannon, and beautiful little boy, Cash.

——————————————————

Christen Byrd

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.

Christen Byrd is a wife, mother of 2 (soon to be 3), photographer, graphic designer and keeper of all things awesome. Few people know that her spiritual gift is being cool and when she’s not doing that, you can find her working to build her fledgling online store, baby byrds, at etsy.

Eikon AltView: Brent Buie / Don Gaines

this is part of a series called altView. these are stories of faith from the people of our community. no filters. no agendas. no prompts. just people telling their stories. hope you enjoy!

Brent Buie

I was eleven years old when I read the Bible for the first time. Straight through. Genesis to Revelation. It took me four months, but I did finish.¹ Impressed?

If you raised your hand there are two reasons you should not be impressed. First: There was an ulterior motive. I do not remember why, but I was going to receive credit in school. This was in the small-town south, back in the golden days of yesteryear (circa 1987), so it was not that shocking. Second: I didn’t get it. The Bible, I mean. To be sure, there were plenty of things to capture a young boy’s imagination. It is, after all, filled with sex and violence, magic and miracles, love and sacrifice. But even after the final Amen, I still didn’t understand.

Oh, I understood the concept of salvation well enough to believe that it was something that I needed. But something didn’t quite sit right. It seemed that I had spent four months to get to a point that could be explained in about thirty minutes (depending on the student’s alacrity). There had to be something more. The trick, I determined, was to have someone explain it to you.

I spent the next eight years having the Bible doled out one hour at a time on Sundays. This was much easier. It was the fast-track to a Godly life – give me a bit, hang an amen on it, and let’s-have-lunch-the-Chiefs-kickoff-at-3:15. It was not until college that I really read the Bible again.

I was attending a study group for my New Testament class, when one of the other participants mentioned one of their beliefs. And I didn’t buy it. (I still refer to this belief as the “New Wine Conundrum.”)

Filled with a righteously indignant energy, I rushed back to my room intent on proving him wrong.² Time and distance cooled my anger. He was not a bad person, just misinformed. Obviously someone had told him wrong. Obviously . . .

My next thought struck hard: If they were told wrong, then how do I know that I was told right? The answer, friends and neighbors, is that I could not know. I had left my beliefs in someone else’s hands. What!?

Naturally, on the revelation score card, John has me beat cold. But for me, it was life altering. The principles which I held dear had been dictated by others. There was no me in it.

I am no honored scholar of religion and I would never suggest that everyone freely interpret the Bible’s scriptures. But I do believe that each of us will be held accountable. When that time comes, it will not suffice to say, “because others told me to do so.” We must perform the religious due diligence. We must all have something of ourselves in what we believe.

¹I may have fudged my way through the “begats.” A fact which bothered me through Exodus, but as it turns out not many of those listed make a significant appearance later on, so I did not miss much in the way of character development.

²My “research” consisted of reading every verse that contained the word “wine.” Thank you index!

Brent Buie happens to be married to the most amazing woman. He does not know how this happened. He works for Barnes and Noble where he attempts to absorb the wisdom of the ages on a daily basis. Results are mixed. In his spare time he likes to go to the golf course and perform a series of complicated motions that in no way resemble golf, but do require the same equipment.

————————————————-

Don Gaines

Raised a Baptist, attended a Church of Christ college, now seemingly lost from the fold, at least to some.

I read a book in college about postmodernism. The cover was dog ugly. The only little gem I remember from this book, which has come to serve me well, is that you can’t put God in a box. The instant we say ‘God is this,’ or ‘God isn’t that,’ we place him inside a constrained proportion.

I’ve learned that God can be logical and doesn’t have to be based on feelings or traditions. We can learn about the character of God and try our best to model ourselves after that. One of the most predominant characteristics of Him that I personally strive for is love. At the root of all that is good we find love. Love for our family, friends, strangers, everyone. That’s the only way I can see this life being worth anything. I believe, to a large degree, that many of the situations where love is applied require a choice. Love doesn’t just happen (except probably with your children and some family). It is overwhelmingly a choice.

The only constraint I can put on God for sure is that he is love. That’s what I want to be.

The hardcore music scene has been a large part of the people and culture I’m surrounded by. It’s where I’ve made some of my best friends and fostered incredible relationships. In this scene I find love, tolerance, positivity and a willingness to share. Aaron Weiss of the band mewithoutYou writes, “In everywhere we look, in everywhere we look, Allah, Allah, Allah in everywhere we look” He’s a Christian but refers to God as Allah. He’s not bounding God up into this Westernized, Republican, Capitalistic piece of work that we so commonly see. We have to strive daily to find the positive aspects in our lives and to try and find God (whoever/whatever that may be to you) in every situation.

The other little gem I took from the class in which we read the postmodern book is from the teacher, Dr. Monte Cox. I’m not sure I agree with him on a lot of things but he repeatedly brought up this paraphrased scenario and I agreed with it wholeheartedly, “People often ask me, ‘Do you think Muslims (insert random religion here) are going to heaven too?’ I don’t know. That’s not my place to say. Many of them practice the same things as I do but call it by a different name, so it is not my place to say yes or no.”

Don Gaines is a graphic designer, somewhat of a type nerd and a twitterer by day. Super sleeper by night. He enjoys good tunes, good food, being a vegetarian and long walking around in the winter. Don is a Tennessee native and visits Pennsylvania as frequently as possible to see his sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. Also, writing this in third person is very awkward. I’m nice, I promise, hopefully we’ll get to know each other well over the coming months

Eikon AltView: Bradley Philips

this is part of a series called altView. these are stories of faith from the people of our community. no filters. no agendas. no prompts. just people telling their stories. hope you enjoy!

I grew up with every available resource for developing a strong relationship with Christ. My childhood and teenage years were filled with vacation Bible schools, small group Bible study, and choirs. However, as with many young adults, my faith grew to no longer be a priority and I developed distaste for structure. It was just a few years ago that I eventually began to seek His face on my own. Through pursuing a close personal relationship with God I feel that he has revealed to me some pretty cool concepts that I would like to pass along to you.

I am a Survivalist Christian. I like to be prepared for time with God at any time and any place. I keep just a few tools in my spiritual preparedness kit in order to travel through my day lightly. My relationship with God is built on a foundation of two key components: prayer and the forgiveness of sin.

As long as you have Christ in your heart, scripture, and an open line of prayer — you can always grow your relationship with God. Do you have questions about scripture? It’s your lucky day! You have an open line with the Author. Ask away!

Sin sucks, and unfortunately it happens easily. Sin is much more than magical rules that you break and cool points that you lose. Sin keeps you from growing both personally and spiritually. If you feel as if your prayer line has static or as if the cord’s been cut, its most likely the result of sin, which rears its head in two forms: Big S sin and little s sin. I borrow this concept from obvious sources.

Big S sins are lifestyle sins; sins that we repeatedly commit because of habits and flawed character traits. These are sins that arise from addiction, weaknesses, and loss of control. Most of your “seven deadly sins” and Ten Commandments are contained here. These spiritual hurdles require daily attention and can mostly be overcome through prayer and God’s guidance.

Little s sins are more spontaneous. They are the sins that arise from our reactions to a spontaneous stimulus, such as telling a lie while avoiding the responsibility of the truth or an angry reaction to disappointment. When faced with adversity, humans default to what is in their hearts. If Christ, patience, and love are in our hearts, when faced with adversity, these are the things that will shine through.

The hopeful news about sin is that one of the founding beliefs of post-Crucifixion Christianity is forgiveness. Our sins are forgiven if we ask. Every time I pray, I ask God to help me reflect upon my sins; sometimes he reveals embarrassing things I’ve done, at other times he shows me that I’m winning the war against my Big S sins. Frequent forgiveness helps me keep a clear head and my prayer line open.

With clean heart and an open prayer line, I’m prepared to experience God at a moments notice. God is everywhere and I don’t want to miss Him.

Bradley Phillips is a lobbyist, sleeping in Conway and living and playing in Little Rock.

Eikon AltView: Paula Cigainero

this is part of a series called altView. these are stories of faith from the people of our community. no filters. no agendas. no prompts. just people telling their stories. hope you enjoy!

A Tattoo Story

My tattoo is a summary of my religion. To most, the tattoo just looks like a pretty design. But the center of it contains a Sanskrit word. Before I tell you what that word means, I need to give you a little background on me…

In high school, I was active in the youth group at my own Catholic church, but also attended other churches of other denominations with friends. I read the Bible, but also studied world religions in a class at school. All the while, none of these experiences ever seemed to fill the hole. The hole that made me feel there was “something more” out there that I just didn’t have the answers to yet.

Then, in college, things took a real turn. I encountered a big dose of hypocrisy, served up by classmates who I heard preach one thing, but who I saw do complete opposite at house parties on the weekend. At the time, my mind couldn’t process such total opposites in word and deed. So my reaction was to just push all religion away, all together.

That attitude continued until my mid-thirties. At that point, I had grown old enough to have realized that there are hypocrites in every aspect of life. Religion was no different. If I really wanted to fill the hole, I might as well press forward and not let other people’s issues stop my progress.

So, I once again looked into the myriad of world religions. But this time around I found I could see an important thread that tied them all together — that thread being love. Sounds simple, I know. But to truly love others with no agenda is a difficult thing to do. It takes practice. In Buddhism, that is how it is discussed… as something to be practiced. Love for others is referred to as “loving-kindness” or the Sanskrit word “Maitri.” The full concept of “Maitri” is a bit complicated to explain, but Wikipedia has a pretty good definition of it:

Though it refers to many seemingly disparate ideas, Maitri is in fact a very specific form of love – a caring for another independent of all self-interest – and thus is likened to one’s love for one’s child or parent. …The strength of this feeling is not limited to or by family, religion, or social class. Indeed, Maitri is a tool that permits one’s generosity and kindness to be applied to all beings and, as a consequence, one finds true happiness in another person’s happiness, no matter who the individual is.

When I became familiar with this concept, it became my deepest wish for myself that I could be a person who could practice “loving-kindness” everyday. I knew this was the key to filling the hole. But such a selfless kind of love is a hard thing to practice, so I wanted to carry with me a constant reminder of the type of person I am striving to be. And that is why I decided to have the Sanskrit word for ‘loving-kindness” (Maitri) tattooed onto my skin. Obviously, the tattoo is permanent, which is fine with me. Because I want loving-kindness to permanently be a guiding ideal as my journey of faith continues.

Paula Cigainero lives a life fueled by daily doses of soy-milk lattes. She enjoys the creative puzzles she gets to solve in her career as a graphic artist/art director. In the little spare time she can manage, you may find her running or hiking… but most likely, she’ll be sleeping.

Eikon AltView: Christopher Macdonald

this is part of a series called altView. these are stories of faith from the people of our community. no filters. no agendas. no prompts. just people telling their stories. hope you enjoy!

“I have heard many complain that they did not want to be “so heavenly-minded that they were no earthly good.” But we are usually in no personal danger of this. In fact, I have yet to meet a human being who was. I have met people who were in danger of being so “religious” that they were no earthly good; but never too “heavenly-minded.”

When people speak of heaven they often wax eloquent as if heaven were an ethereal dreamland. But heaven is more real than you or I. While we are but a vapor upon this earth, we speak of the throne of God as if it were a wishful wisp of smoke from our great-grandfather’s pipe.

In the same way that we are insane to create God in our image (when in fact it is the reverse), so to project a heaven out of your own infantile crayon-on-paper theologies is cute but should go no further than under a magnet on the fridge. Heaven informs our lives and those places in our lives now that seem the most solid in Christ are the beginnings of becoming a citizen of Heaven where such creativity, vision, knowledge and reflected glory will be more powerful than we can imagine. What does C.S. Lewis say? Beings so luminous that if we were to see them today we would be “strongly tempted to worship” them.

Not only is heaven our future, it is to be our present. We are to “seek the things above”- present tense -“where Christ is”- now – “at the right hand of God”. The closest I can come to interpreting the meaning of this verse is that we are to seek the reality of the Kingdom of God in our life.

Jesus Christ is the most heavenly minded, yet the most earthly good. Can you name one man who has ever been more earthly good than Jesus of Nazareth? Now can you name one man who has ever been more heavenly minded than Jesus of Nazareth? The truth is, the heavens themselves reflect the eternal glory of Christ, yet no man has ever been more earthly good than Christ, the “Second Adam,” God in the flesh.

The Jesus follower who is heavenly minded, will always be the most active, Why? Because Jesus is the most active agent in Creation in all ways at all times, even holding all of it together relationally at this very moment in a way beyond comprehension. To be a follower of this Living One to to actively become a part of that as you are “in Him” and He is in you.

To be “heavenly-minded” is to have the “mind of Christ”; and it is unfortunate that many of us simply want the old mind back. The eternal perspective is to be taught by God to see a bit from His vantage point. To be sure, in a “mirror dimly” is all we can take in. But someday “face to face” and then we shall be like Him.

Christopher “Mac” MacDonald does art and multi-layered writing of every kind from farce to deeply serious theological pieces and poetry. He’s a former professional apologist and cult-buster (not kidding), pastor and college minister, magazine editor, journalist, and web guru with an encyclopedic mind.