Faithful Discourse with Chris Henry

Conversations at the intersection of religious faith and public life.

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Episodes

Henry Joliet

Wednesday Mar 04, 2026

Wednesday Mar 04, 2026

Thoughtful, deliberate, brilliant, and grounded in faith are just a few of the words that describe 2025 Presidential Scholar Henry Joliet. Join Chris and Henry as they tell the stories of Henry growing up at Second Presbyterian Church and explore the intersection of faith, service, and curiosity. [This episode was recorded in December 2025] 

De’Amon Harges

Wednesday Feb 18, 2026

Wednesday Feb 18, 2026

De’Amon Harges—founder of The Learning Tree and faculty member for the Asset-Based Community Development Institute—is nationally recognized as a social innovator and locally known as the roving listener. Join Chris and De’Amon for this conversation on joy, imagination, abundance, and paying attention to the sacred in our communities

Mayor Chris Jensen

Wednesday Feb 04, 2026

Wednesday Feb 04, 2026

Join us for this special episode with Noblesville’s mayor, Chris Jensen, recorded before a live audience on January 23, 2026. Mayor Jensen shares his stories of leadership, faith, speaking difficult truths, and living out his calling—all with his trademark positivity, humor, and genuine spirit. He distills his vocation down to this simple statement: “My job every day is to serve the public."

Wednesday Jan 21, 2026

What if—despite good intentions—there are real barriers that keep us from loving our neighbors? And what if there are practices, grounded in scripture and science, that can help? Authors and scholars Katherine Douglass and Brittany Tausen join Chris to tackle this topic and share about their new book, Love Your Neighbor: How Psychology Can Enliven Faith and Transform Community.

Brenda Freije

Wednesday Jan 07, 2026

Wednesday Jan 07, 2026

Brenda Freije, President and CEO of the Rethink Coalition, devotes her professional life to naming, facing, and addressing some of the most complex social challenges in our city. Her current project is the collaborative reimagining of interstates, confronting the historic injustices of redlining, and shaping a better future for all. 

Christmas Reflection

Monday Dec 22, 2025

Monday Dec 22, 2025

A Christmas Reflection with Rev. Chris Henry

Dr. Christian Smith

Wednesday Dec 10, 2025

Wednesday Dec 10, 2025

Notre Dame’s Dr. Christian Smith, America’s preeminent sociologist of religion and author of Why Religion Went Obsolete, joins Chris to discuss some of the most pressing questions facing faith communities. How and why has religion’s place in American life changed so dramatically? What cultural forces have reshaped our expectations, institutions, and the way we imagine meaning? How can churches respond with grounded, thoughtful, faithful hope?

Greg Stowers

Wednesday Nov 26, 2025

Wednesday Nov 26, 2025

Greg Stowers, the Indianapolis City Council’s Chief Administrative Officer, navigates policy, politics, and the daily work of making a city function as he supports all 25 city councilors across political divides. He discusses the issues facing our city and his stories of serving in a political space in a non-partisan way, focusing on the work that impacts residents’ real lives. 

Mitch Daniels

Wednesday Nov 12, 2025

Wednesday Nov 12, 2025

Former Indiana Governor and Presbyterian Elder Mitch Daniels tells his stories of a lifetime of faith and public service in roles including senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan, chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar, and president of Purdue University. He and Chris discuss the principles that have guided his leadership and how his faith has kept him rooted through times of crisis and heavy responsibility. 

Two-Year Anniversary Episode

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025

In this special celebratory episode, guest host Gracie Payne interviews Chris Henry about the show’s origins and vision, ministry in fractured times, and his leadership journey. 

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Rev. Christopher Henry

Chris Henry, Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, is a gifted preacher, strategic leader, and devoted teacher who believes in the power of faithful discourse—bringing together voices from different professions, backgrounds, and beliefs to explore the intersection of faith and civic life. Chris lives out his call to congregational ministry and leads out of his conviction that churches have both the capacity and the mandate to be places of transformation in individual lives, the broader community, and the world.

 

Chris is a graduate of Duke University (BA in Religion) and Columbia Theological Seminary (MDiv). He served churches in Atlanta, GA, before his call to Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis in 2018. Chris is married to Rev. Sara Hayden, who serves as Director of Apprenticeships, Residencies and Leadership Cohorts for the 1001 New Worshipping Communities movement of the PC(USA) and hosts the New Way podcast. Sara and Chris met as students at Columbia Seminary and were married in 2008. They are the parents of two sons, Samuel and Benjamin.

 

Chris loves running long distances, coaching his sons’ sports teams, cheering for Duke basketball, reading biographies and novels, exploring the mountains of Colorado and North Carolina, and spending time with Sara, Sam, and Ben.

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