Change
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Now

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5/5

LOVE IT! This is the podcast that I always wanted to listen to but didn’t know it existed! A blend of depth, spirituality, and leadership.

-Olivia SFTS

5/5

TIMELY! Love how this podcast empowers voices from the emerging generation of leaders around topics of justice, spirituality, and social change!

- Aizaiah Yong

5/5

The conversations we need! So grateful for these powerful conversations in this moment.

- A Fan From Portland

Meet Mo!

Join Mo King in Season 6 for game changing conversations with the voices of social transformation!

Mo is an education and community advocate, currently in grad school at Pacific School of Religion. Professionally, his career has been in apparel production and commerce working for companies including Gap, Inc., The Limited, The Walt Disney Company, and Nike. Mo’s community and education advocacy has spanned schools, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. We’re thrilled to have Mo hosting this season!

In each episode, guests from our leadership collective share stories, insights, practices, and tools that prepare and empower leaders to enact social change in their personal lives, communities, and the organizations they serve.

This season we talk about the “Change Happening Now,” how people in our community are responding to and leading through it.

Episodes

Dorcas Cheng-Tozun

Episode 1

On our Season 6 Premiere, new Host, Mo King, talks with award-winning writer, editor, and heart centered nonprofit/social enterprise professional, Dorcas Cheng-Tozun.

Dorcas is the editorial director at Pax, a faith-based nonprofit that seeks to inspire people to be peacemakers and justice-seekers, and is the author of three books, the most recent being Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul, releasing on June 20th. In this captivating conversation, we hear about her passions, the theory of contemplative activism, and how she is changing the world in quiet ways. This episode illustrates pathways for positive social impact for sensitive types and inspires us all to broaden the categories of what we define as social activism. Follow Dorcas at chengtozun.com or on Instagram.

Grace So

Episode 10

Eun Hye Grace So, Pacific School of Religion

Belonging is a need essential to the human experience, and with the ongoing complex issues we’re all navigating, the question of what “belonging” means in society is extending into our work as it never has before.  Grace So is Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament and Rhetorical Studies at The Pacific School of Religion, and she has been wrestling with connecting and belonging throughout her entire life. We talk about her journey moving back and forth between Korea + the US, how she’s often been left to feel she’s not Korean or American “enough,” and how that has affected her finding a place and space. Grace shares touching examples of the difference just one person can make in providing a sense of belonging, and where she’s recently discovered it. She beautifully illustrates the importance of finding a place to “belong” and offers our community inspiration in making others feel more than welcome, so we can be empowered to lead others and come into our full potential.

Leonard McMahon

Episode 9

Leonard McMahon, Common Ground Dialogue & Pacific School of Religion 

On this episode we sat down with Leonard McMahon, doctoral candidate in theology at the Graduate Theological Union at UC Berkeley and Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at the Pacific School of Religion. Leonard works through his consultancy, Common Ground Dialogue, to bring divergent citizens into deeper conversation for the sake of our democracy, and is deeply invested political theology, spirituality, and pastoral care as integral components to forming leaders. In our conversation, Leonard talks about how our spiritual beliefs are deeply intertwined with our politics and how that has impacted his own leadership style. He shares two pivotal experiences in his life that have shaped much of his worldview and identity formation, and encourages others to find healing in their own experiences so they can live in their full truth. His unique faith background has kept him feeling energized over the years in his pursuit of social justice, leaving us with a different perspective to consider on our own spiritual and leadership journeys.

Stephenie Wheeler

Episode 8

“How much would the world change if our leaders focused on community care first?” That’s what Stephenie Wheeler-Smith’s focus is in her social enterprise, We Deliver Care, that seeks to reimagine public safety in Seattle and widen the circle of human concern. As we sat down with Stephenie to hear more about her leadership approach, we learned it was the community she grew up with that has made the largest impact. It’s something she thinks is so crucial to leadership development, and in this episode she shares ways that young leaders can cultivate a strong community in their lives. She also talks about how she models a radical, but people-oriented depth of the experience that points to a thriving culture in her work and family.  This conversation reaffirms the importance of connection with the people we surround ourselves with and illustrates the gravity and levity in community-centered leadership.

Lisa Asedillo

Episode 7

Lisa Asedillo is the co-founder of New Day Church in the Bronx, New York, a vibrant, queer, anti-racist and boundary-crossing faith community.  As an ethicist, liturgist, and the Assistant Professor of Worship and Liturgical Ethics at Pacific School of Religion, Lisa’s leadership approach focuses heavily on personal introspection, community building, ritual, and creating safe spaces for marginalized people to make their voices heard when doing the work of justice. She shares how her mixed race heritage as a Filipina American, transnational upbringing, and queer identity has shaped her leadership style to be radically inclusive of others. We hear about the trust she’s rebuilt in herself and her inner voice to be confident enough to lead as her full, authentic self. This episode offers inspiration for spiritually rooted leaders who want to have a greater impact on marginalized communities!

Drew Jackson, President + Co Founder of PAX

Episode 6

On this episode, we sat down with Drew Jackson, published poet and President/Co-Founder of Pax, a partner of Ignite. Drew is deeply engaged in anti-racism work, primarily in church contexts, and is actively involved with the work of peacemaking and multi-faith coalition building for the common good, both nationally and internationally. He talks about how he got into doing justice work by way of influence from his mother and shares an epiphany he had with his faith while in college, as it shaped his worldview and how he moves as a leader. He also talks about how the art of poetry has affected his leadership approach, encouraging him to show up in his work as his fullest and most authentic self.  This episode offers our community inspiration on maintaining the faith and sustaining in the hard work of justice.

Check out Drew’s Book of Poetry: God Speaks Through Wombs
Pre Order His Upcoming Book: Touch the Earth: Poems on The Way

Josh Buck

Episode 5

Josh Buck is an author, filmmaker, teacher, church planter, and faith-based entrepreneur. He’s the co-founder of Pax, a partner of Ignite, and an organization designed to inspire and equip the next generation through slow, beautiful, Jesus-centered content created by people of color. Holding a PhD in intercultural studies, focusing on the problem of racial violence, Josh is passionate about social justice. As a leader, ally, and new author of Everyday Activism, he encourages people to identify unjust systems they want to change, fight for those who are oppressed, respond in acts of compassion, and use their power, status, and privilege to empower others and dismantle corrupt systems. Through his new book and in our conversation, he lays out how his analysis and understanding of his personal faith is a blueprint for his leadership and shares actionable steps to take to help make meaningful change without feeling overwhelmed or burned out. We learn about the concept of Jubilee and what it takes for emerging and established leaders to faithfully live as activists committed to human flourishing and renewal one day at a time. If you’ve wanted to get involved in justice work but aren’t sure where to start, this conversation will inspire you on how to develop everyday habits to make the world a better place.

Rev. Adriene Thorne

Episode 4

Rev. Adriene Thorne incorporates art and creativity into all aspects of her life, including her faith and her leadership as the Senior Pastor of The Riverside Church in NYC. She talks with us about the importance and value of incorporating play and a childlike spirit into our daily lives, to stay grounded amidst the chaos of the world. As she discovered and gave herself permission to incorporate art and play into her ministry, we also hear about how she discovered the Pacific School of Religion to be a place for her to explore what that could really look like. Rev. Thorne utilizes those same concepts and values in her sermons at Riverside Church, as the first Black woman to serve as Senior Minister there.

Link/Mention:

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

Dr. Peter Rios

Episode 3

On this episode, we sat down with Dr. Peter Rios, author, leadership consultant, professor at the Pacific School of Religion, and Ignite’s Academic Director, to learn what he discovered about himself that led him to shift from teaching in churches to teaching in classrooms and within organizations. He talks with us about the limited voices and representation in higher education and the corporate sector, and what it takes to bring justice and equity to these spaces. He highlights the importance of seeking out coaches or mentors from marginalized spaces, so people of color can continue to do the hard work of justice for human flourishing and organizational thriving. We learn how white supremacy doesn’t just harm people of color, and the importance of us all fighting for a more just, equitable world for all.

Episode 2

We’re celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month on this episode, highlighting 12 Latinx leaders from our community and some impactful insights they shared as previous guests of the show. From Season 1 to our most recent wrap on Season 4, we’ve had the privilege and honor of sitting down to have deep, important conversations around spirituality, identity, and justice, “en conjunto”, or all together.

Links to keep up with and support our leaders’ work:
Joanne Rodriguez and the Hispanic Theological Initiative: https://hti.ptsem.edu/
Victoria Rosales at SHARED: https://sharedsacredspace.com
La Mikia Castillo’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lamikiacastillo/
Grace Martino Suprice and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: https://cbf.net
Dr. Martha Hernandez and the Ronald McDonald House Bay Area: https://rmhcbayarea.org
Jonathan Murillo’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathonjamesmurillo/
Dr. Patrick Reyes’ Books, The Purpose Gap and Nobody Cries when We Die: https://www.thepurposegap.com
Dr. Reyes and the Forum for Theological Exploration: https://fteleaders.org
Heidi Lepe and Brown Beloved Collective: https://www.instagram.com/brownbelovedco/

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When you purchase our bundle of 5 on-demand leadership courses, you get access to exclusive content, like the “The Debrief,” an interactive Live podcast event, with our host, Mo King, and friends.

The Debrief is all about real, casual conversations about our episodes, reflecting on what we’ve been sitting with, fielding questions in the chat, and making connections with our community!

Interactive Live podcast event, THE DEBRIEF w/ host & friends

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