Read along as we orient ourselves toward the public good.
Thank You for Building With Us
Whether you’ve been with us since our founding in 2022, or have recently joined the community, we are so thankful you are here. Thank you for the ways you have embraced our mission, engaged our work, and contributed in your own ways to our American civic life. We are grateful for your partnership.
Now is the Time to Double Down
As we prepare for Election Day tomorrow, I am praying for the candidates, officials overseeing the election process, poll workers, and I am praying for all of us, the voters.
Preparing for Election Day
As we prepare for Election Day tomorrow, I am praying for the candidates, officials overseeing the election process, poll workers, and I am praying for all of us, the voters.
Announcing CCPL’s New Director of Christian Civic Formation
When the Center for Christianity and Public Life launched just over two years ago, we advanced a diagnosis of our current societal and political dysfunction that went beyond any one political figure or election: we argued that the state of politics is a reflection of the state of our souls. If we want a different kind of politics, we have to become a different kind of people.
A Case for Social Holiness
Britain never ceases to surprise us.
For several years we watched—part with amusement and part with horror—the psychodrama of three hapless Conservative Party Prime Ministers in just six months. And we witnessed the Labour Party lurch ever leftward to unelectable oblivion under its then leader Jeremy Corbyn.
A Statement from CCPL’s President
At the time of this writing, we do not know the motives of the individual who shot former President Donald Trump last evening in an apparent assassination attempt. I am praying for Mr. Trump, his family and his staff. I am glad Mr. Trump is safe, and according to his campaign, “fine.” I mourn the tragic loss of life and injuries sustained by individuals who were participating in our democracy by attending a campaign event.
A Reason to Hope After Last Night’s Debate
If you don’t feel better about our politics after watching last night’s debate, I don’t blame you. But if you were watching the debate where I was, with the people I was with, I think you’d find reason for hope. I think you can find reason for hope today.
A Politics of Contribution
So much political analysis is about what powerful people and organizations do to influence the electorate that it can be forgotten that our politics is not just the sum total of whatever politicians, advocacy groups, corporations and news media put into it.
End of the Year Reflection
I've been crossing borders for most of my life. I first entered the United States on a passenger ferry from Vancouver to Seattle while the sun gently set over the ocean. And I returned to Canada via a sleepy checkpoint on a dusty country backroad.
On Contending for the Credibility of Christian Resources
On December 31, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at the age of 95. Hailed as the “greatest scholar to rule the church since Innocent III,” Benedict was referred to as “God’s Rottweiler” for his tenaciousness on behalf of church doctrine.
Announcing our 2023 Public Life Fellows!
We are excited to announce our inaugural class of Public Life Fellows! At the Center for Christianity and Public Life, our mission is to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good.
Preparing for the Election
There is a feeling, a posture, that concerns me as we head deeper into this election year, and it is pervasive: the sense many people have that our politics is happening to them. As I have traveled this year, one of my main takeaways has been the profound lack of agency that people feel regarding our political life.
The Triumph of Easter
It is hard to call this political moment “aspirational,” but it is certainly full of big promises. The promises will only get bigger and bolder as we head closer to Election Day in November. These promises, and the performative certainty of those who make them, are aimed at not just earning your vote, but your confidence and hope. We are led to believe that with this candidate, this policy, we'll be primed for success.
The Spirit of Our Politics Release Day!
The Spirit of Our Politics is here! Order your copy today. And while you are at it, grab an extra copy (or two!) for your pastor or your neighbor — someone you know who cares deeply about the way that our politics and public life is being shaped.
A Message from Our President on Gun Violence in America
In Alabama, four young people were murdered and fifteen teenagers were injured by a gunman who turned a Sweet Sixteen birthday party into a bloodbath. In Tennessee, a Christian school was targeted by an armed assailant who murdered three nine-year olds and three staff.
We Need Each Other
Earlier this month, we hosted the first retreat for the inaugural class of our Public Life Fellowship program. These retreats are private — it is too rare for civic leaders to have a space and time during which they do not have to be "on" and are treated as though they, too, have souls.