Trinity Forum Conversations

Lincoln in Private: Leadership Behind Closed Doors with Ron WhiteLincoln 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 Lincoln in Private, renowned historian and biographer Ronald C. White takes the reader through a tour of Abraham Lincoln’s private notes that illustrate the ways in which he struggled with the national, moral, and spiritual crises of his times, and reflected on the possibilities of God’s purposes during the Civil War. In doing so, White shows the struggles of leadership behind closed doors — and what can be learned from Lincoln’s example.At the end of the day, character does matter that policies are important, but policies will come and go. Character is what is lasting and over the long haul, whoever the person is. We don't need to think even simply of political figures. Leaders in business, lawyers, teachers, presidents of colleges or universities, character is what will endure or what will actually cause a person to fall.Whether we know it or not, whether we talk about it or not. Character might sound like an old-fashioned word, but I think it's the underlying definition of who leaders are. - Ron C. WhiteThis podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation from May 2021. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.Learn more about Ron White.Related Trinity Forum Readings:Abraham Lincoln: the Spiritual Growth of a Public ManThe Great Lives Collection Related Conversations:Leadership in Tumultuous Times with Ron C. WhiteTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

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 our limitations as an impediment, we could learn to view them as a blessing, even a gift? In You’re Only Human, theologian and scholar Kelly Kapic provides a theologically grounded approach to understanding and receiving the gift of our human finitude. On this final podcast episode of our Advent series, Kelly Kapic offers us a way to find joy and relief in our incarnational limits and use them to foster greater freedom, spiritual growth, and deeper community.This podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation from December 2022. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.Learn more about Kelly Kapic.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:You’re Only Human, by Kelly KapicEmbodied Hope, by  Kelly KapicThe God Who Gives, by Kelly KapicThe Devoted Life, by Kelly KapicBecoming Whole, by Kelly KapicWendell BerryThe Sabbath, by Abram Joshua HeschelRobert EmmonsRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, Madeleine L’EngleA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Babette’s Feast, by Isak DinesenRelated Conversations:Practicing Gratitude with Diana Butler BassBeauty and Wonder with Andrew PetersonTime and Hope with James K.A. SmithBeauty from Darkness with Curt ThompsonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Beauty from Darkness with Curt ThompsonHow 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 believing what is true about our stories can transform our perspective and bring hope and healing: "Shame is the antithesis and is that force that evil wants to use to undermine not only our ability to be known by one another deeply, which we were made for, we were made to be known, but we were also made to be known on the way to creating artifacts of beauty, whether those artifacts are relationships, whether they're new pieces of music, art, businesses, and so forth."– Curt ThompsonThis podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation from November 2020. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.Learn more about Curt Thompson.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Makoto FujimuraM. Scott PeckRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, Madeleine L’EngleA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Babette’s Feast, by Isak DinesenRelated Conversations:Practicing Gratitude with Diana Butler BassBeauty and Wonder with Andrew PetersonTime and Hope with James K.A. SmithTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Time and Hope with James K.A. SmithIn 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 receiving the way that our past, our history, our our  embeddedness in time has contributed to this unique identity that God has made us to fulfill. And, , it's hard work.”As we mark Advent, a season of waiting, of reckoning with time, and of hopeful longing for the fulfillment of the Kingdom, Smith helps us rightly locate our hope in God: “Hope is possible precisely because you don't think the present is all there is. And you also don't think that humans are the only agents in this, that the God of the cosmos who fires the world with love is out ahead of us, which is precisely why there can always be new possibilities. I think that's radical for us to think about personally and individually. And I think it's radical for us to think about collectively and communally.”This podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation from September 2022. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.Learn more about James K.A. Smith.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Who's Afraid of PostmodernismDesiring The Kingdom.The Devil Reads Derrida - and Other Essays on the University, the Church, Politics, and the ArtsYou Are What You LoveAwaiting The KingOn the road with St. Augustine: A Real World Spirituality for Restless HeartsHow to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, and Living Faithful NowMakoto FujimuraHenri NouwenSt. Teresa of AvilaThomas MertonRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, Madeleine L’EngleA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Babette’s Feast, by Isak DinesenRelated Conversations:Practicing Gratitude with Diana Butler BassBeauty and Wonder with Andrew PetersonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Beauty and Wonder with Andrew PetersonIn 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 our Online Conversation from December 2021. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.Learn more about Andrew Peterson.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:The God of the Garden, by Andrew PetersonTim Mackey, The Bible Project’s Tree of Life podcast seriesJaber Crow, by Wendell BerryWilliam WordsworthThe Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane JacobsThe Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape, by James Howard KunstlerSidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith, Eric O. JacobsenGilead, by Marilynne RobinsonRich Mullins10 Resolutions for Mental Health, Clyde KilbyRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, Madeleine L’EngleA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Babette’s Feast, by Isak DinesenRelated Conversations:Practicing Gratitude with Diana Butler BassTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

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 GerrishMary Jo LeddyJoin the Trinity Forum Society

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 beauty around us can awaken us to wisdom and wonder. James K.A. Smith will help us explore the importance of being time-bound creates and how to best inhabit time Curt Thompson will consider the ways that beauty can emerge from the most difficult situations. Subscribe to Trinity Forum Conversations wherever you listen to podcasts to make sure you don't miss an episode. And thank you for allowing us to be part of your Thanksgiving and Advent season.

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 the universal, including how Dana became interested in poetry, and what can be done to interest a generation of readers to the habit of reading--and even memorizing--poetry.

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 community is a uniquely formative endeavor that shapes how we think, what we value, and our ability to have genuine and meaningful dialogue and relationship with others.The Trinity Forum hosted an Online Conversation with Matthew Lee Anderson and Anika Prather to explore the importance of reading together and the impact that such small but meaningful interactions can have on ourselves, our communities, and our civic structures. 

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.