Archived: For the Good of the Public

Spiritual Formation for Activists

Michael and Phebe wrap up this season of For the Good of the Public podcast with a talk by James Catford, founding board chair for the CCPL. James shares how spiritual practice is not at odds with activism and public leadership, but rather our spiritual formation is about the very well we have to draw on for our public engagement. He shares practical wisdom to remind us to listen to the longings of the heart and remember the motivations of our service in the first place. Watch the video recording of this talk on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOn5k-57Znw] “Ending on this talk is hopefully something that reminds you that you are more than the work that you do. While your work is so valuable, you are a person and a human first.” -Phebe [01:43] “I think what James gets at here is a level of integration… You take your spirit with you when you protest. You take your spirit with you when you’re knocking on doors or drafting that policy or having a conversation around the dinner table, around politics and civic issues.” -Michael [03:03] “Well don’t leave your hunger, your longings, unsupervised. Don’t allow your longings to be put to one’s side. Listen to the longings of the heart. Because if you don’t, you will hit what some people have called the wall.” -James [15:15] TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [05:23] Who formed you? [11:32] Black and white vs Color [14:24] Listen to the longings of the heart [19:22] The importance of spiritual formation [23:02] How activists can practice spirituality [28:34] Pray with me [29:47] Outro REFERENCES * For the Good of the Public Summit [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/summit] * James Catford [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/plf-mentors/mindy-belz-7j3hf-zf2p3], founding board chair for the CCPL * British Bible Society [https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/] * Theos [https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/] * Renovaré [https://renovare.org/] * SPCK Publishing [https://spckpublishing.co.uk/] * Public Life Fellowship [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/public-life-fellowship] * The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850-1960 [https://marinamaral.com/books/colour-of-time/] by Dan Jones and Marina Amaral * Richard Foster [https://renovare.org/people/richard-foster/bio] CONNECT WITH US: Website: www.ccpubliclife.org [http://www.ccpubliclife.org] X: @CCPublicLife [https://x.com/CCPublicLife] Facebook: Center for Christianity & Public Life [https://www.facebook.com/ccpubliclife] Instagram: @ccpubliclife [https://www.instagram.com/ccpubliclife/] Podcast: For the Good of the Public [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/TSF7809756736] Mentioned in this episode: For the Good of the Public Summit 2025 For the Good of the Public Summit '25 [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/summit25] New Updated Feed Here! New Podcast [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/newpodcast] The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/spiritofourpolitics]

Africa’s Bright Future

In this episode of For the Good of the Public podcast, Michael and Phebe present a talk by Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, President and CEO of ONE Campaign. Ndidi shares the vision she sees for the future of Africa and the role the ONE Campaign has played to ensure that everyone has a seat at the table. She takes us through the organization’s history of fighting for justice and equity and her personal motivation that is grounded in humility, curiosity and upholding the dignity of all people. Watch the video recording of this talk on YouTube! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb1HVIBRaMk] “(Ndidi’s) really one of the most compelling social entrepreneurs that I’ve come across in my life.” -Michael [00:26] “So much of the advocacy and the wins that the ONE Campaign has had over the last two decades of their work have been grounded in faith-based activism and have been the result of faith leaders, pastors, Christian artists coming together to advocate for the end of global poverty.” -Phebe [02:29] “What we want to do under my leadership is really invite people who are sitting across the aisle to connect in a deeply human level. A level where we see each other, where we trust each other, but where we also believe we’re here on assignment. And where we are here because we have a legacy that is bigger and deeper than our own.” -Ndidi [12:20] TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [04:43] History of ONE Campaign [08:07] Ndidi’s vision for Africa [13:30] Humanity and equity [17:06] Outro REFERENCES * For the Good of the Public Summit [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/summit] * Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli [https://www.one.org/us/person/ndidi-okonkwo-nwuneli/], President and CEO of ONE Campaign [https://www.one.org/us/] * Drop the Debt campaign [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_the_Debt] * President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) [https://www.cgdev.org/page/overview-president%E2%80%99s-emergency-plan-aids-relief-pepfar] * TED Talk: The role of faith and belief in modern Africa [https://www.ted.com/talks/ndidi_nwuneli_the_role_of_faith_and_belief_in_modern_africa] CONNECT WITH US: Website: www.ccpubliclife.org [http://www.ccpubliclife.org] X: @CCPublicLife [https://x.com/CCPublicLife] Facebook: Center for Christianity & Public Life [https://www.facebook.com/ccpubliclife] Instagram: @ccpubliclife [https://www.instagram.com/ccpubliclife/] Podcast: For the Good of the Public [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/TSF7809756736]

Creating a Culture of Care Panel

In this episode of For the Good of the Public podcast, Liz Tenety, co-founder of Motherly and Founding Women, moderates a conversation on creating a culture of care with Elissa Strauss, journalist and author of “When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others,” Joe Waters, co-founder and CEO of Capita, Tim Carney, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and Dr. Charles Daniels Jr., founder and CEO of Fathers’ Uplift. The panelists explore what it means to have a culture of care in this country and how it relates to today’s concept of care, drawing from their professional experiences and personal journeys with parenthood. They dig into the practical solutions that would approach care in a more humane way, both on a policy level and a community level. Watch the video recording of this talk on YouTube! [https://youtu.be/oZb-upXnq2Y?feature=shared] “Caregiving is a hot topic. It’s on the campaign trail right now. It’s in the headlines, but there’s such depth to what we need around caregiving.” -Liz [07:44] “I believe that care consists of various peoples–aunties, uncles, teachers, coaches–that contribute to the being of one person. And I believe that it’s mutually beneficial. I think members of their culture have someone to contribute to their being. None of us arrive to this place of love and care by ourselves. It takes a village.” -Charles [13:35] “Caring for others is self care. It is challenging and stressful and hard, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not nourishing us in other ways.” -Elissa [21:20] “If we want to support stay-at-home parents, if we want to empower choices by parents to care for their children in the ways that they think best and align with their values, one of the most important things we can do is address the cost of housing.” -Joe [45:32] “It’s really tough to fix this because what we have on one hand is parents who can’t afford safe, clean, reliable childcare, and the biggest input into that is the wages.” -Tim [52:15] TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [04:04] About the panelists [07:36] The deeper meaning of caregiving [14:10] America’s concept of care [21:29] Economic and cultural pressures [25:43] The role of women [32:05] Learning from other countries and cultures [41:25] A more human approach to care [51:12] Questions from the audience [1:08:39] Outro REFERENCES * For the Good of the Public Summit [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/summit] * Liz Tenety [https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethtenety/], co-founder of Motherly [https://www.mother.ly/] and Founding Women [https://www.foundingwomen.co/] * Elissa Strauss [https://www.elissastrauss.com/] * “When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others” [https://www.elissastrauss.com/when-you-care] by Elissa Strauss * Joe Waters [https://capita.org/person/joe-waters/], CEO and co-founder of Capita [https://capita.org/] * Tim Carney [https://www.timothypcarney.org/], journalist at the Washington Examiner [https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/] and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute [https://www.aei.org/] * Dr. Charles Daniels [https://www.drcharlescdanielsjr.org/], founder and CEO of Fathers’ Uplift [https://www.fathersuplift.org/] * “Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be” [https://www.timothypcarney.org/family-unfriendly] by Timothy P. Carney * The Atlantic: Why Do So Many Parents Think Kids Need Their Own Bedroom? [https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2024/05/children-home-solo-bedroom/678354/] * Child Care is Infrastructure: Evidence from Universal Pre-K [https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/cea/written-materials/2024/09/27/child-care-is-infrastructure-evidence-from-universal-pre-k/] * Loneliness in America: Just the Tip of the Iceberg? [https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america-2024] * Call Her Daddy: Vice President Kamala Harris [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-president-kamala-harris/id1418960261?i=1000671959211] * Friendship Bench [https://www.friendshipbench.org/] * Invisible Labor, Visible Needs: Making Family Policy Work for Stay-At-Home (And All) Parents [https://capita.org/publication/invisible-labor-visible-needs/] * Glamour: They Raised the World’s Biggest Superstars. Now They’re Telling Their Own Stories [https://www.glamour.com/story/tina-knowles-maggie-baird-mandy-teefey-donna-kelce-women-of-the-year-2024] CONNECT WITH US: Website: www.ccpubliclife.org [http://www.ccpubliclife.org] X: @CCPublicLife [https://x.com/CCPublicLife] Facebook: Center for Christianity & Public Life [https://www.facebook.com/ccpubliclife] Instagram: @ccpubliclife [https://www.instagram.com/ccpubliclife/] Podcast: For the Good of the Public [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/TSF7809756736] Mentioned in this episode: The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/spiritofourpolitics] New Updated Feed Here! New Podcast [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/newpodcast] For the Good of the Public Summit 2025 For the Good of the Public Summit '25 [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/summit25]

Democratic Leadership in Fractious Times

In this episode of For the Good of the Public podcast, Michael and Phebe present a talk from Eduard Heger, former Prime Minister of Slovakia. Eduard shares the challenges he faced  leading Slovakia from 2021 to 2023, through the escalation of the Russian-Ukraine war, a pandemic and an energy crisis. He focuses on what is required of leaders in tumultuous times–moral, integrity and character–to help build a resilient society for a more positive and better future.    Watch the video recording of this talk on YouTube! [https://youtu.be/QQ8zk-rwJD0] “What we need in this moment are leaders who are willing to tell the truth, who are honest about the challenges that their people are facing, who respond with care and compassion and have a spirit of generosity, and Eduard Heger is a leader like this.” -Phebe [01:44]  “One of the things we try to do throughout our summit, but really throughout the whole of the work at CCPL, is help to expand and reground our imagination for what public leadership can look like, the kinds of values that can ground public leadership and motivate it.” -Michael [03:14] “Serving politics is about serving. Nobody really believes that anymore, because they think it’s about ruling. Well we know that if you want to rule, you must start with serving, because actually serving, that’s how you rule the best. It’s not in your interest. It’s for the interest of society, of the good, of human mankind.” -Eduard [24:20] TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [04:50] Governing Slovakia in unprecedented times [06:59] What’s going on in the World today [13:47] In the digital era [17:07] Building a strong resilient society [23:54] Serving politics [32:02] Outro REFERENCES * For the Good of the Public Summit [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/summit] * Eduard Heger [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardheger/] * Russia’s War in Ukraine: Identity, History, and Conflict [https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-war-ukraine-identity-history-and-conflict] CONNECT WITH US: Website: www.ccpubliclife.org [http://www.ccpubliclife.org] X: @CCPublicLife [https://x.com/CCPublicLife] Facebook: Center for Christianity & Public Life [https://www.facebook.com/ccpubliclife] Instagram: @ccpubliclife [https://www.instagram.com/ccpubliclife/] Podcast: For the Good of the Public [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/TSF7809756736] Mentioned in this episode: New Updated Feed Here! New Podcast [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/newpodcast] The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/spiritofourpolitics]

Strengthening Our Democracy

Michael and Phebe return for the second half of Season Two of For the Good of the Public podcast with six conversations from last year’s For the Good of the Public Summit. We start this week with a talk by Romanita Hairston, CEO of M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, a 50-year-old organization that partners with non-profit organizations and community leaders around the Pacific Northwest to invest in transformational ideas that enable the region to flourish. Romanita is a respected national leader who not only guides the Murdock Trust, but shapes the entire philanthropic sector’s approach to strengthening democracy. In her talk, she shares her vision for the role philanthropy can play in shaping and supporting civic life, drawing on her experience leading the Trust, her broader philanthropic experience and her faith. She believes philanthropy can lead the way to civic renewal through these highly polarized times within a trifecta society, the civic and social sector, and its relation to faith. Watch the video recording of this talk on YouTube! [https://youtu.be/-0MAIViOdk8] “Romanita is someone with real vision for the future of philanthropy." -Michael [02:57] “One of the reasons why we wanted to host this conversation is because we believe philanthropy is an essential and powerful lever in the work towards civic renewal.” -Phebe [03:27] “The best gift we give is love. Transforming enemies into friends, healing the divides, and honoring diversity. Not only can we all be philanthropists, we in fact, all are philanthropists, with every choice we make for our time, our resources, and our money to different degrees.” -Romanita [24:51] TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [04:46] About the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust [09:57] Philanthropy in the tri-sector [13:56] Philanthropy's role within the civic and social sector [18:59] Philanthropy in faith [22:38] In summary [25:43] An act of prayer [26:42] Outro REFERENCES * For the Good of the Public Summit [https://www.ccpubliclife.org/summit] * Romanita Hairston [https://romanitahairston.com/] * M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust [https://murdocktrust.org/] * Steven Garber [https://washingtoninst.org/author/stevengarber/] * Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good [https://www.ivpress.com/visions-of-vocation] by Steven Garber CONNECT WITH US: Website: www.ccpubliclife.org [http://www.ccpubliclife.org] X: @CCPublicLife [https://x.com/CCPublicLife] Facebook: Center for Christianity & Public Life [https://www.facebook.com/ccpubliclife] Instagram: @ccpubliclife [https://www.instagram.com/ccpubliclife/] Podcast: For the Good of the Public [https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/TSF7809756736] Mentioned in this episode: The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/spiritofourpolitics] New Updated Feed Here! New Podcast [https://for-the-good-of-the-public.captivate.fm/newpodcast]