WHO WILL LEAD US FORWARD? A Conversation with Jon Meacham

October 13, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
Shelton Auditorium | Christian Theological Seminary 

What can history teach us about faith, moral courage, and leadership—and about finding a way forward in moments of division and uncertainty? 

Christian Theological Seminary welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and #1 New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham for Who Will Lead Us Forward?, a timely public conversation exploring the intersections of faith, history, democracy, moral courage, and leadership. 

Moderated by the Honorable Myra C. Selby, the evening will draw on themes Meacham has explored throughout his acclaimed work: the complicated role of faith in American public life, the moral choices that shape history, and the capacity of individuals and communities to meet difficult moments with courage and hope. 

This special evening marks the public introduction of RISE UP: A Campaign for Human Flourishing.  

Jon Meacham 

Jon Meacham is a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer who writes and lectures widely on history, politics, and religious faith. He holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, where he is also a distinguished visiting professor and co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & Democracy. He is also Canon Historian of Washington National Cathedral and a contributing editor at Time. 

Meacham is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle; The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels; His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope; Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power; Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush; and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. 

His biography American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for biography. A former editor of Newsweek and executive editor at Random House, Meacham has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and other publications. He is a fellow of the Society of American Historians and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

The Honorable Myra C. Selby – Moderator 

Myra C. Selby is Chief of Engagement & Belonging at Ice Miller and a former associate justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. Selby made history as both the first woman and the first African American to serve as an associate justice on the Court, where she authored more than 100 majority opinions and expanded public education and outreach efforts. She also chaired the Court’s Commission on Race and Gender Fairness and continues to serve as a member. A former chair of the Christian Theological Seminary Board of Trustees, Selby is an experienced attorney, mediator, and arbitrator. She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan.

Faith, History, and the American Story 

In His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, Meacham examines the faith that shaped civil rights leader John Lewis—a moral courage rooted in the Black church tradition, nonviolent witness, and a steadfast belief in the possibility of the Beloved Community. 

In And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, Meacham explores Lincoln’s evolving moral convictions as the nation confronted slavery, division, and the responsibilities of leadership. 

Across these works and others, including The Soul of America, Meacham returns to questions that resonate deeply with the mission and work of CTS: 

How does faith shape public life? Where does moral courage come from? What can history teach us about hope? And who will lead us forward? 

For more than a century, CTS has brought scholarship and faith together in the formation of leaders committed to justice, healing, and human dignity. Who Will Lead Us Forward? brings Meacham’s work into conversation with that tradition for an honest, historically grounded, and hope-sustaining conversation about what those who came before us can teach us—and the responsibility each of us carries for what comes next. 

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

This event is sponsored by The Indianapolis Foundation and Lumina Foundation.: