Trinity Forum Conversations

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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.

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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.

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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 Getty

This 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.

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This special episode is taken from the launch of the inaugural Michael J. Gerson Prize for Excellence in Writing on Faith and Public Life. Through this conversation, held at Washington National Cathedral in November 2025, you’ll learn a lot about Michael, and what his legacy means for us now. 

What you’ll hear in this episode is a conversation moderated by Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder on “Conscience, Courage and Craft: The Duty of the Writer in an Age of Confusion.” 
The all-star panelists are Peter Wehner, David Brooks, Christine Emba, Russell Moore, and Karen Swallow Prior. 
You’ll also hear videos provided in Michael’s memory by two of his friends – President Bush, and Bono.
“Our responsibility [as writers] is to … remind our readers and our audiences of the good, the true, the beautiful, the virtuous … to show that those things can be lovely, actually, to redefine those words in ways that don't make them smell of just old books and past lectures that we've moved past, but something that can be alive in this moment.” —Christine Emba
Later that evening, Matthew Loftus was named as the inaugural winner of the award. You can find writings by Matthew, and by Michael Gerson, at TTF.org. You can also find the full YouTube video of the evening there. 

While you’re there, why not consider becoming a member of the Trinity Forum? 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 - including through next year’s Michael Gerson Prize.

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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.