The Art of Taleh is a multicultural Christian collective where diverse voices come together to both artfully and critically dialogue about the details of God’s Word. We are committed to seeing that both majority and minority Christians, men and women, have equal seats at the theological table. Making space for people across a spectrum of ethnicities, cultures and skin colors is paramount to our vision. This is a place where all people can be among friends, be known, understood, supported and heard.
Our Mission
The Art of Taleh is a Christian reflective publication that moves beyond a cultural center. Our mission is to re-approach conversations and issues within Christian spaces with new, bold and refreshing perspectives. Here, we stay rooted in Scripture, while asking questions, challenging cultural constructs, and exploring paths that move beyond binaries. On our website, you’ll see a range of posts, including devotions, critical essays, prayers and response articles, and our hope is that these resources will both encourage and challenge you in your spiritual walk.
Our Approach
It is our desire for conversations to ebb and flow within biblical passages between historical context, literary analysis and theological implications. These three elements combined create the complex lens through which we want to study Scripture, and we have termed this The Taleh Approach (to learn more, click here). The Bible is more than just a historical document. It’s more than just a good story. And it’s also more than just a theological manifesto. It’s all three things combined. There is depth and layers to the truths of Scripture and the more we study them, each through our own cultural lens, the more we will see how these profound truths are applicable in our everyday lives.
The Founders
Pastor Aaron and Dr. Michelle Reyes founded The Art of Taleh in 2016, and Michelle serves as the Editorial Director.
Dr. Michelle Reyes is an Indian American author, speaker, and activist. She has a M.A. in Contemporary German-Jewish Literature, and a Ph.D. in 18th-Century German Literature from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a focus on folklore, storytelling and narrative justice. She continues to write and speak on issues of justice, culture, faith and identity now within full-time vocational ministry. She is also currently writing a book with Zondervan on cross-cultural relationships, and her work has appeared with Christianity Today Women, ERLC, SheLoves Magazine, The Immigration Coalition, (in)courage and Think Christian, among others.
Pastor Aaron Reyes (B.S., Wheaton College; M.Div., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is a second-generation Mexican American and the lead pastor of Hope Community Church in Austin, Texas. HCC is an urban, multicultural church that predominantly serves minorities in disadvantaged and low-income neighborhoods in East Austin. Aaron also serves as Dean of Vida House, a theological training facility in East Austin for POC ministry leaders, who desire to pursue vocational ministry within their community. His courses include Cultural Hermeneutics, a Theology of Ethnicity and Culture, and Intro to Koine Greek.
Our Contributors
We have a wonderful group of regular contributors, who are both ethnically and ecumenically diverse. Most of our writers are in their mid-20s to mid-40s, regularly attend church, and are sensitive to issues of social justice. They write on a broad spectrum of topics with the goal of fostering genuine conversation and discussion. This is a space where we learn from each other, and value alternative opinions. If you would like to learn more about the topics we discuss, or how to write for us, click here.
Will you join us? You can find us on Facebook, or sign up to receive our articles via email.
