Trinity Forum Conversations

What does redemptive leadership mean? As Christians, we have a unique calling: not just to lead, but to serve. What does this look like in today’s culture, and how can we serve as leaders and foster an environment of abundant grace and joy wherever we are?Christianity Today’s Dr. Nicole Massie Martin helps us to understand how we can nail outdated models of leadership to the cross, and what it will take to replace them with Biblical ones:“We need to nail to the cross what is a very secular understanding … of [power, ego, and performance], so that what is resurrected through Christ might be redemptive and bring glory to God and good to the people that we lead.”This conversation is from an Online Conversation recorded in May 2025. We hope this conversation will inspire you to identify the ways you lead, and how you can step further into leading with grace, humility, and joy.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Peter ScazzeroKilling Comparison: Reject the Lie You Aren’t Good Enough and Live Confident in Who God Made You To Be, Nona JonesGo deeper into the issues discussed in this episode with these Trinity Forum Readings:How Much Land Does a Man Need?; Leo TolstoyA Man Who Changed His Times; William WilberforceLetter from Birmingham Jail; Martin Luther King, Jr.Who Stands Fast?; Dietrich BonhoefferNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; Frederick Douglass

Mark Buchanan, a pastor and author known for his work on spiritual formation, delves into the profound connection between walking and spirituality. He highlights how a slower pace fosters attentiveness and nurtures our relationship with God. Buchanan discusses the humbling aspects of pilgrimage, emphasizing that walking deepens our sense of place and cultivates virtues that thrive in stillness. He also touches on barriers in modern cities, offering practical advice for making walks meaningful, even providing alternative options for those unable to walk.

In this conversation, guest Beth Moore, an inspiring author, and Bible teacher, shares her journey of resilience and faithfulness amidst life’s challenges. She discusses nurturing faith through scripture engagement and the complexities of familial legacies, addressing racism and forgiveness. Moore also explores the unique struggles women face in ministry, emphasizing the importance of embracing life’s imperfections and the healing journey of forgiveness, especially in the context of mental illness. Her insights encourage deep self-reflection and renewed commitment to one’s vocation.

Marilynne Robinson, a celebrated novelist and essayist known for her profound works on faith and American history, delves into the power of storytelling as a tool for truth and community-building. She emphasizes the sacred uniqueness of every individual and the beauty found in literature. Robinson discusses navigating motherhood and identity in a secular world, alongside the importance of empathy, creativity, and engaging with diverse perspectives. The conversation also touches on the need for hope in times of civil unrest and the transformative potential of generosity.

Join David Bailey, a public theologian and culture maker, alongside Mia Chung, an internationally renowned pianist and founder of the Octet Collaborative. They delve into how the principles of music—mutual support and balance—can transform Christian communities. The duo reflects on the role of the arts in fostering reconciliation and the importance of empathy in communication, particularly post-COVID. They discuss how collaborative creativity can enhance community bonds and joy, emphasizing the spiritual connection between music and a flourishing life.

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.Our guest this episode is the poet Christian Wiman, a master of the written – and spoken – word. After long wandering, he returned to the Christian faith in which he’d been raised, in part because of a terminal cancer diagnosis – one he has now long outlived. Both before and after his diagnosis, and his return to faith, his experience of despair has fueled his powerful poetry. In grappling with it, Christian uses words in ways that are a tonic against despair.“I deal with despair because…I don’t know how not to, and it would be an evasion not to. And I think if you don’t feel it, then you’re not paying attention.”This podcast is drawn from an online conversation from 2024. We hope this conversation will resonate with you as you explore the good, the true, and the beautiful in your own corner of creation. If it does, please consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. You can find the full video of this conversation there too. And while you’re here, please subscribe to this podcast on your chosen platform. Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair, by Christian WimanMarilynne RobinsonDanielle ChapmanWilliam BronkWilliam WordsworthEvery Riven Thing, by Christian WimanMy Bright Abyss: Meditations of a Modern Believer, by Christian WimanPrayer, by Carol Ann DuffyThe Bible and Poetry, by Michael Edwards Augustine of HippoBittersweet, by George HerbertSurprised by Joy, by C.S. LewisRichard WilburJürgen MoltmannWhen the Time’s Toxins, by Christian WimanRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Augustine’s ConfessionsDevotions by John Donne, paraphrased by Philip YanceyGod’s Grandeur: the Poems of Gerard Manley HopkinsBulletins from Immortality, by Emily DickinsonWrestling with God, by Simone WeilRelated Conversations:Connecting Spiritual Formation & Public Life with Michael WearThe Kingdom, the Power & The Glory with Tim AlbertaA Life Worth Living with Miroslav VolfTowards a Better Christian PoliticsChristian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of DifferenceWhat Really Matters with Charlie Peacock and Andi AshworthScripture and the Public SquareHow to be a Patriotic ChristianLife, Death, Poetry & Peace with Philip YanceyThe Fall, the Founding, and the Future of American DemocracyFear and Conspiracy with David FrenchTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum Society.

Join Lanta Davis, author of *Becoming by Beholding* and a professor of humanities at Indiana Wesleyan University, for an enlightening discussion on imagination's impact on spiritual formation. She highlights the rich interplay between faith and the arts, encouraging listeners to see deeper meanings in Jesus' parables. Davis shares insights on practices like Lectio Divina, emphasizing how engaging with art can enhance our relationship with the divine. Explore how virtues, vices, and global artistic traditions shape our understanding of faith and beauty.

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.In this episode, our guides are modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty. Back in 2019, we hosted a live Evening Conversation in which they explored the ways in which music can speak to our spiritual hunger and shape our sense of beauty, truth, and purpose: "Our singing doesn't just affect each one of us. We are a witness to the world around us. When we sing, we are always a witness."We hope this conversation will resonate with you as you explore the good, the true, and the beautiful in your own corner of creation. If it does, please consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. You can find the full video of this conversation there too. And while you’re here, please subscribe to this podcast on your chosen platform. Learn more about the Gettys. Watch our Evening Conversation. Authors, artists, and books mentioned in the conversation:Peter KreeftThe Republic, by PlatoDamon of AthensSing: How Worship Transforms your Life, Family, and Church, by Keith and Kristyn GettyUnwearied Praises: Exploring Christian Faith Through Classic Hymns, by Dr. Jeff GreenmanThe Pedagogy of Praise, by Dr. Jeff GreenmanJohn LennoxLucy ShawEugene PetersJ.I. PackerMartin LutherLeonard BernsteinAmy CarmichaelCecil Frances AlexanderOs GuinnessCharles SpurgeonLloyd JonesD.L. Moody Related Trinity Forum Readings:Handel’s Messiah Related Conversations:Waiting on the Word with Malcolm GuitePoetry & Beauty in Solitude with Dana Gioia

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we’ll focus on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.In this episode, our focus is Jane Austen, and our guide is Karen Swallow Prior, one of our Trinity Forum Senior Fellows.Karen explores the faith-informed perspective on virtue that Austen’s novels reflect:"Underneath the surface [Austen] is inviting us to look at our own interactions with one another, our own misperceptions, and misreadings, and I think that’s really why her work has remained so endearing to us today; because she reveals the truths of our human condition that never change, and that we’re always wrestling with."Jane Austen’s world and concerns seem distant from ours. Yet across the centuries, she illuminates the importance of the seemingly mundane, and the path towards repaired and rightly ordered relationships. If this work resonates with you, consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. This episode is drawn from an online conversation held in 2021. You can find the full video of this conversation here. And while you’re here, please subscribe to this podcast.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility,   by Jane AustenAmusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil PostmanPraying with Jane, by Rachel Dodge  Alasdair MacIntyreWilliam ShakespeareRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Pride and Prejudice, a Trinity Forum Reading by Jane AustenBulletins from Immortality, a Trinity Forum Reading by Emily DickinsonRevelation, a Trinity Forum Reading by Flannery O’Connor God's Grandeur , a Trinity Forum Reading by Gerard Manley Hopkins 

Diana Glyer, an author and professor specializing in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, discusses the enchanting world of the Inklings. She highlights how small communities of like-minded individuals foster creativity and collaboration, transforming rivalry into deep friendships. Glyer explores the necessity of thoughtful inquiry and active listening in bridging differences, and the lasting impact of their literary contributions. Her insights illuminate how nurturing connections can inspire culture-shaping creativity in our own lives.