Trinity Forum Conversations

As we start to approach middle age (or beyond), how do we think about our vocation and purpose? Should our sense of mission change? What should we do to equip ourselves for a joyful, purposeful, and meaningful second half? Arthur Brooks joined us to discuss ideas in his latest book Strength to Strength , which weaves together philosophy and research on human flourishing to illuminate the inescapab...

We all long to be fully known. Yet so often this desire for true connection and community is impaired by trauma, shame, and suffering. In October of 2021, we hosted psychiatrist Curt Thompson to discuss his book, The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community. In his book, Thompson weaves together neurobiological insight and spiritual formation to open up new wa...

Public Faith in Polarized Times with Mark Labberton, Claude Alexander, Walter Kim In a public square increasingly riven by tribalism, identity politics, and polarization, how can Christians wisely and faithfully engage? We were joined by Mark Labberton, Claude Alexander, and Walter Kim in August of 2021 to explore ways of understanding and approaching Christian public engagement beyond the ruts of...

Character, Virtue, and Leadership with Michael Lamb The increasing conflict, chaos, and moral confusion of our time has made leadership more challenging, and the role of character increasingly questioned. What does it mean to lead wisely and well? Is successful leadership defined by “winning”? How is trust built in a cynical age? The Link Between Virtue and Leadership Wake Forest professor, author...

Redeeming Power with Diane Langberg Psychologist and author Dr. Diane Langberg joins our podcast to discuss the themes in her book, Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church . Dr. Langberg who has been working with survivors of trauma and abuse, clergy, and caregivers for almost 50 years, desires to increase awareness and understanding of power and its abuse so those who hav...

Crisis Ready Leadership with Justin Giboney, Russell Moore, Shirley Hoogstra, Walter Kim What does it take to listen, respond, learn, and lead? How do leaders prepare for the unexpected and unpredictable? In this episode Shirley Hoogstra, Russell Moore, Justin Giboney and Walter Kim consider the historic values of leadership, share lessons learned from their own lives, and provide encouragement fo...

Lincoln in Private: Leadership Behind Closed Doors with Ron White Lincoln did not keep a diary but he developed the habit of writing reflections and ruminations on little slips of paper. These notes, which Lincoln never intended for anyone to see, help us understand the depth of Lincoln’s character and thinking and introduce us to the private Lincoln behind the public Lincoln. In his new work Linc...

The Blessing of Limitations with Kelly Kapic   We live in an age of speed and overwhelm, where we often feel we are constantly expected to do more, move faster, work harder, brush past boundaries and limits, and shave margins. When we inevitably fail to meet all demands, we are left feeling not only exhausted and discouraged, but often disoriented and diminished.   But what if, instead of seeing o...

Beauty from Darkness with Curt Thompson How do we seek, find and share hope and healing in hard times?   In this fourth episode of our Advent Series, psychiatrist and author Curt Thompson and Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder discuss healing, grace, and reintegration — both for our individual and spiritual lives, and our shared life together. Together they consider how being known and believin...

Time and Hope with James K.A. Smith In this third episode of our Advent Series, philosopher and author James K.A. Smith helps us consider what it means to be creatures that are bound and formed by time. Each of us is shaped by the stories that precede us:   “I think to be a creature who is living into the fullness of being human means grappling with, reckoning with, and sort of gratefully receivin...

Beauty and Wonder with Andrew Peterson In this second episode of our Advent Series, celebrated author and songwriter Andrew Peterson shares his insights about the importance of location and living responsibly and attentively in whatever specific place you inhabit. He discusses how deeper attentiveness to the beauty around us can awaken us to wisdom and wonder. This podcast is an edited version of...

This podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation from November 2021. You can access the full conversation with transcript here . Learn more about Diana Butler Bass . Diana’s Substack, The Cottage is available here . You can find Diana’s book Grateful and others here . Grace and Gratitude: The Eucharistic Theology of John Calvin by Brian Gerrish Mary Jo Leddy Join the Trinity Forum Soci...

With Thanksgiving and the season of Advent approaching, The Trinity Forum is offering a new podcast series to help you think more deeply about ideas and practices related to gratitude, attention, anticipation, and what it means to behold beauty. We’ll talk with Diana Butler Bass about the meaning and practice of Gratitude Andrew Peterson will share his insights on how deeper attentiveness to the b...

Our series on Reading & The Common Good concludes with this episode on the importance of reading poetry. Trinity Forum President, Cherie Harder speaks with internationally acclaimed poet and writer, Dana Gioia, who is a former California Poet laureate and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. As poetry often does, the conversation in this episode considers the personal as well as th...

Christians have been called a “people of the book,” yet how often do we spend time gathering together to read deeply? In a fast-paced technological world, taking time to read deeply and well, let alone alongside others, can feel like a daunting task. And while reading alone has extraordinary value (and, research shows, is intriguingly linked with spending more time with others), reading in communi...

Cherie Harder speaks with author and literature professor Karen Swallow Prior about her own history of reading as well as the challenges and possibilities for virtue formation that reading literature presents. Visit ttf.org/bookclub to get everything you need to start your own bookclub.

Reading for Regeneration In this episode, Jessica Hooten Wilson and Claude Atcho join Cherie Harder to discuss the countercultural practice of reading carefully and communally. This podcast is an edited version of an Online Conversation, which you can find with video and transcript, here . If you're interested in reading old books in community, we encourage you to check out our newly announced Boo...

Alan Jacobs joins Cherie Harder to discuss his book, Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Readers Guide to a More Tranquil Mind . This podcast is an edited version of the Online Conversation, which you can find with video and transcript, here . We encourage you to put the ideas discussed in this episode into practice by starting your own reading group. The Trinity Forum Bookclub Box has everything you...

Reading & The Common Good is our new podcast series with Jessica Hooten Wilson, Karen Swallow Prior, Alan Jacobs, Dana Gioia, Anika Prather, and Matthew Lee Anderson. Few things in life are as enriching and humanizing as reading deeply and well. Yet the pace and technology of modern life make it hard for many of us to give books the time and attention they demand. Join us this season as we hea...

Neurobiology and the Soul What is the connection between our mind and our soul? New discoveries in neuroscience reveal that love can literally change our minds — that our relationships and interactions with others help shape our brains – which in turn, shape our relationships and behaviors. The link between our habits and spiritual practices and the renewing of our mind may be far more direct than...

Science, Faith, and the Pursuit of Truth What does it mean to pursue truth — and how do we know what we know? Science and religion have often been assumed to offer either contradictory or unrelated forms of knowledge, with any intersection between them presumed to be a conflict. Such assumptions have grown more contentious in recent years in a world awash in misinformation and epistemic battles. H...

Understanding Transhumanism Rapid developments in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies can add confusion to the existential questions of who we are and why we are here. Through this conversation, Mouw and Picard explore the potential benefits and cautions of these technologies and thoughtfully examine the philosophical foundation of transhumanism.   This conversation is a part o...

Science and Faith in Conflict? We live in an era where science and faith are widely believed to be in conflict. A spreading materialism asserts, even assumes, that only empirical knowledge is reliable, and denigrates ways of understanding reality beyond the quantitative. Others believe that the realms of science and religion are entirely separate — each with interesting things to say, but nothing...

Discovery and Doxology This special podcast series is called Discovery and Doxology conversations on science and faith and is created in partnership with Templeton, Religion Trust , Biologos , and Church of the Advent .  The four conversations in this series features conversations between scientists, philosophers, and theologians helping us explore the relationship between science and faith. Scien...

In our final podcast episode of our special Lenten series, we're considering the meaning of the good news view through the lens of scripture, with an emphasis on Christ, passion and triumph.    Reading Scripture with New Eyes To help us explore the spiritual discipline of reading scripture, we’re returning to an evening conversation we hosted back in 2016 with Anglican Bishop, and New Testament sc...