Who We Are
The Center for Christianity and Public Life (CCPL) is a new, nonpartisan institution in the nation’s capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. We offer what we have not as an act of imposition, but out of a spirit of loving service.
Our board and our staff affirm the Nicene Creed, and the Christian resources in which we have confidence are not new or novel, but shared and found true by Christians across time and context. We advance not a parochial faith, but look to promote the contributions of various streams and expressions of the creedal Christian faith.
We are convinced of the centrality of spiritual formation for civic renewal.
We believe Christians have much to contribute to the effort to build a healthy, inclusive civic pluralism in 21st century America.
We believe politics is prudential, not dogmatic; penultimate, not ultimate; important, but not sufficient.
Christian public participation ought to be oriented toward the public good. We hold to the confident hope that public life and politics does not have to be a place of conflict and antagonism, but can instead be a forum for love and service.
Our Staff
Michael Wear
Founder, President and CEO
Founding Board Member
Michael Wear is the Founder, President and CEO of The Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation's capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. For well over a decade, he has served as a trusted resource and advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life, including as a White House and presidential campaign staffer. Michael is a leading voice on building a healthy civic pluralism in twenty-first century America. He has argued that the kind of people we are has much to do with the kind of politics we will have.
Michael previously led Public Square Strategies, a consulting firm he founded that helps religious organizations, political organizations, businesses and others effectively navigate the rapidly changing American religious and political landscape.
Michael's next book, The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, will be released in January 2024. Michael’s first book, Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America, offers reflections, analysis and ideas about the role of faith in the Obama years and what it means for today. He has co-authored, or contributed to, several other books, including Compassion and Conviction: The AND Campaign's Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement, with Justin Giboney and Chris Butler. He also writes for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Catapult Magazine, Christianity Today and other publications on faith, politics and culture.
Michael holds an honorary position at the University of Birmingham’s Cadbury Center for the Public Understanding of Religion.
Phebe Meyer
Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor
Phebe Meyer is the Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for The Center for Christianity and Public Life, building the organizational structure and designing the programmatic direction and strategy for the organization alongside the President and CEO. She brings with her a wealth of experience establishing partnerships between unlikely allies to promote the common good; consulting start-up organizations and initiatives on their vision and brand; and working across corporate, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors to co-create high-impact cause campaigns. Phebe has worked with major family foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Annie E. Casey Foundation, building partnerships with conservative faith organizations and center-right political organizations to further economic opportunity and mobility policy issues.
Before CCPL, she was a Senior Associate at The Clapham Group, a social impact agency working at the intersection of politics, faith, and culture. Phebe is also a founding partner of We Own Now, an organization founded by Grammy Award-winning artist, Derek Minor, that exists to celebrate Black ownership and shrink the racial wealth gap through storytelling, education, and policy advocacy.
Phebe is a graduate of the College of William & Mary, with a B.A. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology.
Joy Harris
Executive Office Manager
Joy Harris has over a decade of operations and administrative experience, specializing in work with faith-based content, churches, and nonprofit organizations. Joy thrives on taking care of behind-the-scenes details: making sure the "trains are running on time" and that our daily operations are in line with our priorities.
Outside of work, Joy is a committed fundraiser for the ALS Association, serves as the People's Warden on her church's Parish Council, and enjoys running. She holds a Bachelor of Science in English Education from Bowling Green State University.
Our Board
James Catford
James Catford had a career in commercial publishing with Hachette and HarperCollins in London before inaugurating and chairing Theos, the leading UK think tank on religion and the public square. More recently he has been chair of Renovaré founded by Richard Foster, Dallas Willard and others, and of SPCK the third oldest publisher in Britain. A frequent visitor to the United States, he currently serves as chair of Cultura at the Martin Institute at Westmont College and as a consultant to American Bible Society where he supports Christians in leadership around the world.
FOUNDING CHAIR
Dr. Nicole Martin
Dr. Martin serves as the Chief Impact Officer at Christianity Today. She is the founder and Executive Director of Soulfire International Ministries, which accelerates thriving for pastors, churches, and younger leaders. She is also active in her local congregation in Maryland at Kingdom Fellowship AME Church where she supports the Discipleship Ministry. Dr. Martin is a gifted writer and author of Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Ministry and Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional. She serves on the boards of the National Association of Evangelicals and the Center for Christianity and Public Life and has been inducted into the esteemed Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.
FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER
Chris Crawford
Chris Crawford is a policy advocate at Protect Democracy. He previously worked as a senior program associate at Democracy Fund, where he managed a portfolio of faith-based initiatives focused on promoting pluralism in the United States. Chris began his career doing political organizing at Susan B. Anthony List, the nation’s largest pro-life political organization. He is a graduate of The George Washington University and earned a master’s in nonprofit administration from The University of Notre Dame. His writing has appeared in Our Sunday Visitor, America Magazine, Real Clear Politics, and other secular and religious publications.
FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER
To download CCPL’s President and CEO’s bio and a high-res headshot, logos, and boilerplate language, check out our media kit.