Together LA Listening Tour

Poet, Hip-Hop Rapper, Spoken Word Artist, Activist, Husband, Father, Coffee-Enthusiast, and now Author, Propaganda joined Together LA's Listening Tour to tell us about his latest book publication, journey and what is coming next this year. A Los Angeles native (we couldn't help but chuckle at his superbly LA story of running from the cops after trying to write his name on a wall by the LA River) who has worn many hats, Propaganda has tirelessly chased after his purpose and art. His book, Terraform: Building a Better World, in conjunction with his newest EP, The People, was in response to Propaganda's manager singular question: "What do you want to talk about the next 10 years?". The book explores the structure, reformation, and redemption of culture through prose, illustrations and historical commentary on various topics from colonialism to wars to Native Americans. When asked what his ultimate hope was for Terraform's readers, he answered, "to spark creativity and imagination...[because] culture is the product of collective imagination." 

Now you may ask, what does "terraform" mean and why did he select it to be his work's title? And what are some practical ways to  "terraform"? Listen to find out, and even better, read about it at length in his book! Tune in to also hear Propaganda differentiating cynicism from bitterness and how the former can be the powerhouse of change and holy activation for Christians who are content to answer injustices and issues as an inevitability product of a fallen world. His perspective rocked our Together LA team to the core (in the most blessed way) and we can't wait for you to hear his thought-provoking ideas, too. 

Before releasing his book, Propaganda had released his collaborative EP with Derek Minor called Nothing but a Word and had performed a set for a Juneteenth block party hosted by artist Jaybee (the back-story of this party is also worth fully hearing! It involved giving local residents rent-to-buy contracts on commercial properties to fight gentrification and raise black ownership -incredibly inspiring!). And what's coming next this year? 3 more EPs (one of which is dropping in the coming few weeks), LA pop-ups, a live show and reading for The People and Terraform: Building A Better World, and last but not least, the release of his personal cocktail and coffee recipes (Propaganda knows his coffee! Tune in to find out his top coffee recommendations for LA locals!). 

To follow Propaganda and his work: 

Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok handle- @prophiphop

Website- prophiphop.com

Learn more about his book, Terraform: Building A Better World, here

Shop his book, Terraform: Building A Better World on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, BAM!, Bookshop, Indie Bound, and Audible 

After hearing Jaslyn Dixon -Marriage and Family Therapy Licensed Therapist, Professor, and Gospel Care Director at Reality LA - speak for the Mental Health Conversation, we (like everyone else who attended) left with wanting more -so what did we do? We invited her to be on the Listening Tour.

In the words of Jaslyn, her position as Reality LA's "Gospel Care Director" means coming alongside people to help them receive and reflect the heart of Christ and the power of our greatest counselor (the Holy Spirit) through leadership development and training, initiating various care programs and offering care. Altogether, it is a love-driven endeavor to make the church a safe and healing space.

We asked her if other churches have similar positions, if the concept of soul care is becoming more commonplace, her story of pursuing psychology (she has two Master's degrees and a license!), how the gospel models soul care, and why soul care is important to the Christian walk. We were blessed to hear Jaslyn's testimonies as well as her encouragement to press into healing for His glory, see soul care as a vessel of incarnational ministry, ask how to practice lament and reconciliation, be a people who remember that God is at work, and in that, be freed to move at a pace of trust and peace.

Listening to Jaslyn, we were moved by her reminder that the creator of shalom -which means wholeness, harmony and completeness- is with us, and we know that you will be blessed, too.

To follow her work and projects, follow her on Instagram at @jaslynmft or contact her by e-mail on [email protected]

This week's podcast guest is Nikita Motorin from Athletes in Action, an organization with the vision of seeing "Christ-followers on every team, in every sport, in every nation." Nikita currently oversees the UCLA Campus, a school known to produce Olympians and having sports games viewed by millions of people all over the country. He shared with us his journey of becoming an Athletes in Action leader, his personal professional sports career growing up in Kazakhstan (where he got to attend weekly Bible studies in a country that is not open to Christianity...curious how this happened? Tune in to find out!), how Nikita and his wife function as a team when discipling athletes, his answer to what problems students face today that are different from when he first started to work with Athletes in Action (since 2008) and his hopes for Athletes in Action's legacy in UCLA. Other worthwhile tidbits to hear include:

-What is unique about an athlete's platform to be a witness to the gospel?

-Guess which famous basketball player Motorin met when he was ministering to the Sun Devils team?

-How did he communicate with his now-wife when they first met and he did not speak English at the time?

-Where will the Olympics 2028 Opening Ceremony be?

Our Listening Tour Podcast guest today... 1. spent most of her childhood in Acapulco de Juarez, Mexico 2. was a first-generation high school and college graduate 3. completed her Ph.D. in Education Policy and Social Context 4. is passionate about providing mentorship and resources to the Latinx community and disenfranchised groups and 5. loves Jesus. Her name? Dr. Alma Zaragoza-Petty. Tune in to our podcast to hear her journey that shaped her passions and social justice pursuits, which include writing a book and establishing Prickly Pear Collective. Just as noteworthy was hearing how the life Jesus led redefined her measurement of success as well as her insights into her Boyle Heights neighborhood!

For more information about Dr. Alma Zarazoga-Petty and her work...

If you're going through a career change, taking the leap of faith to start your own business, or admiring the Alabaster publication of Proverbs on your coffee table... you are in for a treat. Tune in to our Listening Tour episode with Co-founder of Alabaster Co., Brian Chung! Behind Alabaster's intentionally and beautifully designed books of the Bible was a journey of recognizing and responding to the realization that God's story is beautiful. Growing up, Brian had not been raised in the Christian faith and came to encounter the Lord during his freshman year in college. He shared with us the string of questions and risks that led him to ideate and commit to Alabaster's success full-time. For those of you unfamiliar with Alabaster's books, Brian's company makes "Bibles

that look like coffee-table magazines" where each book of the Bible is accompanied by beautiful imagery, thoughtful design, and intentional negative space on every page. Their vision is to experience God as beautiful and so far, they've succeeded in doing so with 16 of the Bible's 66 books. What has been the best-selling book? And where did the name 'Alabaster' come from? Tune in to find out! Another topic we talked about was where he grew up (it wasn't California!) and the LA neighborhood he lived the longest in: South LA! So many great topics were discussed in the short half-hour we shared with Brian and we know you'll be encouraged by this young and faithful entrepreneur.

If you want to know more about Alabaster Co:

Website: alabasterco.com

IG: @alabaster_co

If you want to follow Brian Chung's journey:

IG: @brianchung

TikTok: brian__chung

PS- Alabaster has a new book release  in collaboration with Intervarsity this coming July that has "everything you love about Alabaster but with added guided meditations." Tune in to know which book of Scripture is being released (Hint: it's one of the gospels)!

In our latest interview, we stepped into the intersectionality of spirituality and art with Cara Lewis, director of Bridge Projects, and Jasmine McNeal, curator of Contemporary Black Art at Bridge Projects and founder of Other Faith Art Consulting. If you don't know what or how that intersectionality looks like, you will want to listen to this podcast then visit their art gallery, Bridge Projects, in Hollywood afterward. According to their website, "Bridge Projects creates space for exploring questions at the interfacing of these communities, addressing the ways contemporary art continues to engage the lineages of religious thought and tradition." In our interview, you will hear our guests share their respective journeys, the origin of their art gallery's vision, examples of art being able to capture the nuanced stories and experiences that slip through the news, how art can evoke unity in its unique ability to express people's histories, sociopolitical issues, and cultures, and be a safe space for people to be authentic in their spirituality and religious practices. Equally fascinating, our guests shared with us the unique positioning and culture of Los Angeles from a spiritual point of view, such as being a "cultural capital of the world" and a city that derives its vibrancy from its creative, open, and curious people. Last but not least, hear Cara and Jasmine share how Bridge Projects can be supported and their take on the digital wave of NFT's (we had to ask!). You can follow their important work through their social media and professional platforms as well-

Cara Lewis:

Jasmine McNeal:

What better way to usher in May -Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month- than to hear Asian-American rapper and activist, Jason Chu talk about his musical career, his work with racial justice, and how his faith weaved his music and activism together? To start, he shared his journey of following the call to pursue music as the means to entertain, heal and educate people and coming to love and engage with Los Angeles and its issues. He then delved into his music career -and what was coming next (you NEED to hear all the artists that have partnered with him on this project -tune in to listen to Jason naming several of them! ). Featuring numerous artists, Jason's newest album of 15 tracks will each highlight a topic in Asian American history and its relevance to our current society, such as the model minority myth, beauty standards and the economic opportunities that ethnic food afforded the Asian American community. His full album will be out this Friday, May 14th, on all music platforms including Spotify, Pandora, and Youtube. For more updates, follow him on his social media handle @jasonchumusic. While speaking about his music, Jason also shared a multitude of profound encouragements to the Asian American community and aspiring artists. To name a few, he touched on not falling into "oppression Olympics" (in which struggles are authenticated or dismissed in the comparison game), learning to be constructive than reactive, being aware of the oppressors within us, holding onto the hope that those who mourn will be comforted and not spurning adversity and pain because they can lead to the unique blessings of "liminality", a term coined by theologian Sang Hyun Lee (listen to Jason speaking about this term -it was one of the most inspiring and edifying concepts we've heard on this podcast!). We know you'll be on the edge of your seat listening to Jason's thoughts on music building God's kingdom, on how to find hope through these challenging times of witnessing the increasing rates of violence against Asian Americans, and what is being released in his newest album so tune in!

Our guest, Dr. Sharoni Little, leads the global inclusion strategy team at Creative Artist Agency (CAA) and before that, was the Vice Dean and Senior Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at the USC Marshall School of Business. During our conversation, she poured insight upon insight into the history of inclusion and exclusion shaping her decisions and values, how the drive for growth and noble intentions can go wrong, what the biblical model and charge is for community engagement, and the hope-filled blessings that have glimmered through the unique challenges of Compton city (you need to also hear how she describes Compton -we can almost guarantee you never heard anything like it! For instance, did you know a former United States President resided there?). And finally, Dr. Little ended with a personal testimony of God's faithfulness and plans proving to be larger than any hopelessness and doubt she endured. This half-hour flew past us and we know it will for our listeners, too. Tune in now to hear the wealth of insight and inspiration she shared with us!

Christian Assembly is a multi-ethnic and historical church in Eagle Rock, CA with four central values: Grace, Worship, Family and Kingdom. Our podcast guest today is Christian Assembly's Kingdom Pastor, Scott Quay, who leads the task of partnering with local and global opportunities for acts of compassion and justice and equipping his congregation to adopt a missional lifestyle. He shares why missions is integral in the character of Jesus and how this has inspired his church to mentor at-risk youth and help feed over 5000 individuals in their community throughout the pandemic. We also heard Pastor Scott's strategy when it comes to forming partnerships, training marketplace leaders to advance the kingdom in their spheres of influence, and serving the unreached in Eagle Rock. Tune in to hear his insights on living missionally and what Christians miss out on when we refrain from doing so!

We sat down and talked with Jennifer Matthews about how she found her identity and grounding in her Christ-given identity and passions despite her extensive and eclectic career, ranging from nonprofit and real estate development work to sports reporter and host, to Vogue model, and currently, as the Director of Development for Prison Fellowship and Fantasy Football expert for Sirius XM. We also got to learn about how her upbringing and family culture (which produced 8 NFL players!) shaped her perspective to dream large, to love others, and serve the underserved in Los Angeles and abroad. Tune in to also hear her Fantasy Football picks and who she is cheering on for!