Events
Join the conversation on faith, work, culture, and the common good by attending one of our events.
Our events are designed to rally, network, and support our our partner churches, New City Fellows alumni, friends, and others in the community. They include forums, socials, roundtable discussions, workshops, book studies, and service opportunities.
LAUNCHING FALL 2025
What if our faith in Jesus really changed how we work? We believe that work transformed by the gospel has the power to renew the Triangle, and to give our cities and neighbors glimpses of God’s gracious kingdom.
That’s why we’re launching New City Forums – conversation-based communities designed for professionals working in specific industries to integrate their faith with their work, connect with likeminded people, and bring gospel renewal to their industries. Learn more on the New City Forums page.
PAST EVENTS
Friday, April 4, 2025 | 6:30 – 8:00 PM
The Illusion of Freedom in the Digital Age
Digital technology seems to offer us endless freedom. But it also leads to the very opposite of freedom – addiction, slavery, anxiety, and uncertainty. Much of the freedom that technology promises turns out to be an illusion. How can we think about and use tech in ways that actually liberate us? Join us for an evening with Dr. Bradford Littlejohn we explore the unique, life-giving wisdom that Christianity offers for living with true freedom in the digital age.
Thursday, February 6, 2025 | 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Rediscovering Friendship with Jonathan Pennington
Join us and Dr. Jonathan Pennington as we rediscover the biblical and classical vision for friendship, and for being known and loved in God’s family. Explore how Christian resources and teaching can equip you to overcome the loneliness of a hyperconnected yet isolating world.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 | 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Disarming Doubt
How can we explore life’s hard questions, and questions about God, without anxiety or fear? Join us as newly hired executive director Dr. Jack Carson hosts Dr. Josh Chatraw for this gathering. Dr. Chatraw will speak, with a breakout discussion to follow.
CHRIST & CULTURE SERIES
WINTER & SPRING 2024
Our Christ & Culture Series explored the intersections of faith, work, and culture.
Thursday, February 8, 2024 | 6:30 PM
What is Christianity’s Place in the World Today?
How can Christians and churches in our cultural moment bear witness to the truth and beauty of the gospel in ways that contribute to the common good and flourishing of our cities? Join us for this gathering with Dr. Jonathan Pennington on Christianity’s place in the world today, and renew your vision for Christian mission, witness, and work in our cities.
Monday, February 26, 2024 | 7:00 PM
Renewing the Evangelical Imagination
We all imagine ourselves in stories, and see ourselves as living out a story. But are the stories we are living out true, good, and beautiful – do they line up with the true Story of the world that God tells in Scripture? How can we renew the evangelical imagination so that it aligns more with the gospel story, and not other merely cultural stories? Join us for an evening with groundbreaking author and scholar Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, and explore what it means to renew the evangelical imagination.
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Faith & Work 101 Workshop
Many of us struggle to connect two of the most important parts of our lives: our faith in Jesus Christ, and our work. What does it look like to integrate the two?
Join us for this workshop on how to start connecting your faith in Jesus with your work and career. Learn how to live an integrated life.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Wrestling with History: Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus
Did Jesus of Nazareth rise from the dead?
Join us for an evening with UNC professor of history Dr. Molly Worthen as she shares the story of how she investigated the resurrection of Jesus and ended up converting to Christianity.
Friday, October 20, 2023
Leadership @ Work
All are invited to explore God’s calling of women to gospel-shaped leadership at work, and the joys, opportunities, and challenges that come with stepping into that calling. Hear from from Katherine Leary Alsdorf and Lynn Easterling, engage in conversation, and connect with others thinking about women and leadership at work.
Flourishing in a Broken World
Public Forum Series | Fall 2022 — Spring 2023
Christianity’s rise surprised everyone in the ancient world. This strange sect’s claims—a crucified Messiah, a bodily resurrection, and an ethic that held out the equal dignity of every person—all swam against the norms of antiquity. In short, no one saw Christianity coming.
Fast-forward 2,000 years later in the West. The fundamental claims of Christ are not only mostly “ho-hum,” they are often cast as irrelevant to the daily experiences of life. Today people find themselves more likely to be surprised, paradoxically, by the universal experiences of life than the claims of Jesus.
For those raised in religious communities, we are surprised by debilitating doubts. In the midst of abundance and youthfulness, we are surprised when death comes knocking. In a world in which we are told we can do whatever we put our mind to, we are surprised by own failures.
The Flourishing in a Broken World forum series aims to remind us of our personal vulnerabilities and the contingencies of human life, so that we might consider afresh the surprising claims of a world-changing movement that began as a tiny sect in Jerusalem. Could it be that Jesus of Nazareth might just once again surprise us with his answers to the human situation?
Surprised by Suffering: Life After Perfect | January 25, 2023, 7:00-8:30 pm
- Venue: Holy Trinity Anglican Church
- Speaker: Dr. Kate Bowler
Surprised by Doubt | October 5, 2022, 7:00-8:30 pm
- Venue: Vintage Church Downtown
- Speaker: Dr. Richard Beck and Dr. Josh Chatraw
Now What? Flourishing in Uncertain Times
Public Forum Series | Fall 2021 — Spring 2022
We live in uncertain and difficult times. Two years of a global pandemic and social unrest have taken their toll on us, and we long to just get back to the way things were before. However, these past two years have raised questions we’d ignore at our own peril. What was wrong with the old normal? What lingering problems might we now face with new eyes? What new challenges and opportunities has the pandemic blip presented to us? The Center for Public Christianity invites you to join us as we seek to reimagine the different dimensions of our life together by asking the question: “Now What?”
Now What? Facing Anxiety in Uncertain Times | September 30, 2021
- Speaker: Dr. Warren Kinghorn (Duke Divinity & School of Medicine)
Now What? Beauty in a Time of Despair | November 11, 2021
- Speaker: Dr. Karen Swallow Prior (Southeastern Seminary)
Now What? Beauty in a Time of Despair | November 11, 2021
- Speaker: Dr. Karen Swallow Prior (Southeastern Seminary)
Now What? Friendship in a Time of Loneliness | February 24, 2022
- Speakers: New City Fellows alumni Margaret Duke, Gary Freeman, Tyler Graybeal, Melissa Thornton
- Moderator: Dr. Josh Chatraw
How to Thrive in a Digital Age with Andy and Amy Crouch
Thursday, March 4, 2021, 7:00-9:00 pm
The pandemic has only exacerbated our use of technology. We count our digital devices as constant companions. And at what expense? Perhaps you’ve shared a meal with your spouse or a friend in silence, while fixated on your phones. Or as a family you find yourselves hanging out in far corners of the house, each engrossed in a game, video, work or online shopping. If you are looking for a better way for yourself, your family or your teenager – or all three, listen in to hear leading author and thought leader Andy Crouch and his daughter Amy Crouch help us reimagine how to thrive in a digital age.
What is the Good Life and How Do We Find It? Christianity’s Surprising Answer
Thursday, February 11, 2021, 7:00-8:30 pm
As followers of Christ, we embrace Jesus’ promise of abundant life. But if we’re honest, the life Jesus offers is sometimes confused with the beautifully appointed, neatly arranged images out of Better Homes & Gardens – and when it doesn’t quite measure up, we become disillusioned or disappointed. Dr. Jonathan Pennington, Biblical scholar, author and teacher, joins us to help us redefine the good life and rediscover Jesus who shows us how to live deeply meaningful and flourishing lives.
Kingdom & Race with Dr. George Yancey
Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 7:00-8:30 pm
The Center hosted Dr. George Yancey for a conversation on race and his distinctive Christian approach to race relations. Following Dr. Yancey’s talk, Dr. Joshua Chatraw interviewed Dr. Yancey.
Dr. George Yancey is a professor of Sociology at the Baylor University. He has published numerous research articles on the topics of institutional racial diversity, racial identity, and anti-Christian hostility. He is also the author of many books, including Beyond Racial Gridlock.
Center for Public Christianity Inaugural Lunch Lecture feat. James K. A. Smith
Friday, February 21, 2020, at 12:00 pm
A launch event for the Center for Public Christianity, featuring award-winning author of You Are What You Love James K. A. Smith.
Dr. James K. A. Smith is the award-winning author of a number of books, including Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?, Desiring the Kingdom, and How (Not) To Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor (2014), You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit (2016) and Awaiting the King: Reforming Public Theology (2017). His latest book is On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts (October 2019).