20 Minute Takes

This week, Nikki Toyama-Szeto talks with Kristyn Komarnicki (CSA's Director of Dialogue & Convening / Program Manager for Oriented to Love) about how to prepare communities for conflict. They speak specifically about how complicated and difficult conversations regarding the LGBTQ experience can be in faith communities, and how leaders can cultivate communities of trust and hope amidst con...

This week, Nikki Toyama-Szeto talks with Sajida, a woman working to create opportunities for education in rural communities in Pakistan. She and Nikki talk about her context and how education and Sunday school help to disrupt generational cycles of poverty, exploitation, and enslavement. 20 Minute Takes is a production of Christians for Social Action. Host: Nikki Toyama-Szeto Producer/Editor: Davi...

This week on 20 Minute Takes, Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with actor, author, and activist Tyler Merritt . He's the author of I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America , and is the creator of the viral video "Before You Call the Cops." In this conversation, they talk about acting, his book, and his vocation of living a life shaped...

This week, Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with Dr. Charles Chavis Jr. He is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University and the Founding Director of the John Mitchell Jr. Program for History, Justice, and Race  at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.  He's also the author of The Silent Shore: The Lynching of Matthew Williams and the Poltiics of Racism in the...

On this week's episode of 20 Minute Takes, Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with 20MT Producer, CSA Content Strategist David de Leon.  David is a doctoral student at Fordham University studying systematic theology and is a contributing author to the forthcoming book, Learning Out Names: Asian American Christians on Identity, Relationships, and Vocation. In this conversation, they talk through memory,...

Nikki Toyama-Szeto talks with leadership coach and consultant, Tracey Gee . Listen in as Tracey shares her insights about what she sees AAPI leaders bring to their realms of influence, why strengths-based leadership is crucial, and how a life of faith can resource our leadership. As May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, we will be featuring interviews with people from this diverse communit...

To kick off season two of 20 Minute Takes, Nikki talks to Dr. Jonathan Tran , a theological ethicist and professor at Baylor University about his new book, Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism . Listen in on this crucial conversation on how the Asian American experience presses us to expand racial discourse and anti-racist praxis to think in terms of systems, economics, and restorat...

This is part two of our conversation with musician, activist, and author Andre Henry. He's author of the recently released book, All the White Friends I Couldn't Keep . Nikki and Andre talk about white Jesus, how faith and spirituality sustain social change, and Andre's experience leading subversive liturgies. You can listen to part one of this conversation here. Learn more about An...

This week on 20 Minute Takes, Nikki talks with Andre Henry.  He's a musician, activist, and author of the recently released book: All The White Friends I Couldn't Keep . This is part one of our amazing conversation with Andre. From his story of becoming conscious of the racism that surrounded him, to getting acquainted with his anger, and some insights on nonviolent praxis along the way,...

Living justly can be tricky; parenting children to live justly can be all the more complicated. This week on 20 Minute Takes, Nikki Toyama-Szeto talks with Sandra Van Opstal and Karl Ostroski about justice parenting. Sandra is a pastor, activist, and executive director of Chasing Justice and Karl is a an information technology consultant. Listen in as they talk through their intentions as they hel...

This week, Nikki Toyama-Szeto talks with Kristyn Komarnicki (CSA's Director of Dialogue & Convening / Program Manager for Oriented to Love) about practical tips for transforming conflict through curiosity. After listening to this episode of 20 Minute Takes, your ability to handle conflict, have difficult conversations, and engage in meaningful dialogue will level up; your friends and fami...

This week, Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with Ron Sider , the author of the acclaimed book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and the founder and President Emeritus of Christians for Social Action. Nikki and Ron talk about lessons learned from his 50+ years of scholar-activism—from the fight against apartheid in South Africa to non-violent resistance, to understanding the graduated tithe, this convers...

This week, Nikki Toyama-Szeto interviews Brandi Miller, the creator and host of the podcast Reclaiming My Theology. Listen in as they talk about deconstruction, scripture, and theologizing with integrity and openness to the expansiveness of God. You can follow Reclaiming My Theology's Instagram page here. Check out the RMT Lent 2022 Devotional. And follow Brandi on Twitter and Instagram .

On this week's episode of 20 Minute Takes, Nikki talks with author and public theologian, Candice Benbow. Candice is the author of Red Lip Theology , a book written "for church girls who've considered tithing to the beauty supply store when Sunday morning isn't enough." Nikki and Candice talk about what it means to do theology in unexpected places, creation care and Black...

Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with Racial Justice Institute Program Manager, musician/author Andre Henry on Black joy. From the Hebrew Bible to social change theory, listen in as Andre talks through what he wants Black folx to know about Black joy. Andre Henry is the author of the soon-to-be-released book, All The White Friends I Couldn't Keep.

On this episode of 20 Minute Takes, Nikki Toyama-Szeto talk with Cole Arthur Riley, the creator of Black Liturgies and author of the new book, This Here Flesh. Listen in as they discuss liturgy, generational strength, and embodied practices of healing and attentiveness. Check out our Q&A with her about her book. You can learn more about Cole, here. In addition to @BlackLiturgies, you can find...

Author Danté Stewart shares a quick take on three pieces of advice he has for BIPOC writers trying to hone their craft and get their work out there in today's publishing environment. Listen in, and check out his book, Shoutin' in the Fire: An American Epistle . If you want to hear more from Danté, you can hear our full conversation with him on this week's episode of 20 Minute Takes.

"Our theology must emerge consciously from an investigation of the socioreligious experience of black people, as that experience is reflected in black stories of God's dealigns with black people in the struggle of freedom." —James Cone, God of the Oppressed. On this episode of 20 Minute Takes, Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with author Danté Stewart on the sacredness of Black stories and...

In this episode of 20 Minute Takes, Nikki Toyama-Szeto interviews with poet and pastor Drew Jackson, author of God Speaks Through Wombs . Listen in as they talk about the necessity of prophetic art for the Church today, and how experience shapes scriptural imagination. Learn more about Drew and his work here. On Instagram @d.jacksonpoetics On Twitter @djacksonpoetics

Since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan in August 2021, 76,000 Afghan refugees have been brought to the United States for resettlement. On this episode of 20 Minute Takes , Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with Jenny Yang, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy on Refugee Resettlement for World Relief on what it means to extend hospitality to (and receive hospitality from) refugees and displace...

Nikki Toyama-Szeto chats with Pastor Rich Villodas about being a non-anxious presence in anxious times. Rich Villodas is pastor of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, NYC, and is the author of The Deeply Formed Life . Learn more about him at https://www.richvillodas.com/ You can find him on social media @richvillodas. Sign up for our email list and stay up to date on our latest episodes.

Engaging with social justice is complicated and messy and yet it's the invitation of all Christians.  20 Minute Takes breaks down the big and complicated to brings it into everyday life.  Whether interviews with people on the frontlines, or breaking down the concepts in the headlines, 20 Minute Takes helps Christians to stir the imagination for what faithfulness and living justly can look lik...