Trinity Forum Conversations

As we continue our journey through the season of Lent, we’re offering a series to help each of us prepare the way of the Lord. As we go deeper in our spiritual practices during these days, our guide today is the author and psychiatrist Dr. Curt Thompson. In this conversation, Curt talks about the virtue, and discipline, of pursuing hope, even amid the darkness of a broken world:"While I am working to move toward Jesus, while I'm moving to be further in the dance of the Trinity, I continue to suffer because evil is not about to go quietly into the night ... [we must] posture ourselves with our suffering in the same way that the Holy Trinity does when it comes to the suffering that Jesus experienced, such that we can join him in that."This episode is drawn from an online conversation recorded in 2023. View the transcript and other resources there.Related Trinity Forum Readings:Confessions; St AugustineGod's Grandeur; Gerard Manley HopkinsBulletins from Immortality; Emily DickinsonOn Friendship; CiceroOn Happiness; AquinasMan's Search for Meaning; Viktor Frankl

Alan Noble, associate professor of English and writer on faith and culture, reflects on living amid suffering and mental health. He explores invisible burdens, the limits of techniques for coping, and the strain of modern individualism. He urges small outward acts, intentional friendships, and doing the next right thing as ways to witness hope and affirm God’s goodness.

John Mark Comer, pastor and author focused on spiritual formation, guides a conversation on apprenticing to Jesus. He recounts burnout, mentors like Dallas Willard, and why hurry undermines love. He explains being with Jesus, becoming like him, and practices like abiding and contemplative prayer to reorient attention and shape Christlike habits.

Ryan Burge, ordained minister and sociologist who studies American religion, explores America’s “dechurching” and whether it’s reversing. He breaks down who the religiously unaffiliated are and why Gen Z trends matter. He links social isolation and smartphones to civic decline. He also examines polarization inside congregations, shifts in racial and political alignments, and practical steps to rebuild communal life.

Charisma in leaders is a mysterious phenomenon. Maybe even baffling, if you’re the one left cold by a leader others see as charismatic. How has this mysterious word charisma, coined by the Apostle Paul but now applied widely, shaped us? How can this concept help us to understand our world?Our guide in understanding it is the University of North Carolina historian Molly Worthen, who’s also one of our Senior Fellows at the Trinity Forum. She’s written widely on her unexpected turn to Christian faith. In this conversation, drawing on her book Spellbound, Molly will guide us in understanding the powerful effects of charisma in leadership on religious and political life in America, all the way from the Puritans to the 21st century:"We are not that different from humans four centuries ago. The advance of democracy, the rise of the internet, scientific literacy, all of this has not really severed us from the deep past and from this, this fundamental desire to connect with a transcendent story about the universe."This podcast is an edited version of an Online Conversation recorded in 2025. It’ll help people find us if you subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen.And we hope you’ll consider becoming a member of our community, the Trinity Forum Society. Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope. You can do this at our website, ttf.org.

As we celebrate the new year, there’s no better guide than the poet, Anglican priest, and scholar, Malcolm Guite. Through the years, Malcolm has written beautifully on how poetic language can help our imaginations apprehend truth that our reason cannot fully comprehend.In this episode he describes Merlin’s Isle: An Arthuriad, his forthcoming four-volume epic poem on the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, which will be published over several years by Rabbit Room Press. He has described his purpose: making a poem that restores the spiritual elements that have been shorn away from these legends and renews their deepest meaning for our time:"You don’t have to invent yourself because somebody else who loves you has already done it. You from the beginning, the real heart of who you are, deeper and more beautiful than you could ever know, has simmered in the Divine mind since before the beginning of time. And now he’s speaking to you."With this work, Malcolm brings into the 21st century the epic tradition that includes Lewis, Tolkien, Milton and many others. This podcast is an edited version of an Evening Conversation recorded in 2025. You can find the full video on our website, ttf.org. While there, please consider becoming a Trinity Forum Society member too. Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope.We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Singing during Christmastime—and at all times—has deep formative power, shaping our minds and our spirits. In times of distraction and anxiety, how can we access this formation? And how can caroling at Christmas aid us in keeping Christ at the center of our hearts?Our guide is Keith Getty, an extraordinary hymn writer, musician, and catalyst for the modern hymn movement. In a special Christmastime conversation, we explored music, formation, and beauty:“We’re fearfully and wonderfully made. We remember tunes and we forget sermons, not because we’re bad people, but it’s because of how God made us. The carols are special because repetition is a form of liturgy. And each Christmas, the liturgy of singing provides such an opportunity for us.” – Keith GettyThis podcast is an edited version of an Online Conversation recorded in 2023. You can find the full video on our website, ttf.org. While there, please consider becoming a Trinity Forum Society member too. Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope.

Peter Wehner, a senior fellow and former White House speechwriter, joins esteemed panelists David Brooks, Christine Emba, Russell Moore, and Karen Swallow Prior to reflect on the legacy of Michael Gerson. They explore the essential moral responsibilities of writers today, especially in a landscape of sensational media. The conversation emphasizes the power of language to heal and inspire virtue, the writer's duty to tell truth accessibly, and the importance of restoring moral language in public discourse. Each panelist shares insights on balancing personal conscience with the craft of writing.

Thanksgiving is much more than a holiday. The practice of gratitude is a biblical command, it’s a Christian virtue, and it’s even one of the best predictors of personal well-being. But what does the practice of thanks-giving require? How can we cultivate a spirit and habit of thankfulness with the burdens we bear as individuals, and amidst the sorrows and injustices of a fallen world?Join us in this episode in discovering formative practices from our Christian tradition that can help each of us cultivate a deeply thankful heart. Together we’ll be guided by Cornelius (Neal) Plantinga, theologian and author of Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being. “Gratitude makes me content because gratitude makes what I have enough.”This episode is drawn from an online conversation held in 2025. You can find the full video of the conversation on our website, ttf.org. You can become a Trinity Forum Society member there too. Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope.

In this touching tribute, Michael Gerson, a former White House speechwriter and influential Washington Post columnist, reflects on the intertwining of faith and policy. He passionately discusses how moral conviction led to groundbreaking initiatives like PEPFAR in the fight against AIDS. Gerson highlights the importance of viewing international relations through a lens of empathy and human dignity, and he shares inspiring stories from those on the front lines of global health. His insights remind us that faith can drive transformative change in the world.