The Great Evangelical Hand-Off (That Never Happened) with Jake Meador

Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts host Jake Meador for a wide-ranging conversation on why evangelical institutions struggle with leadership transitions and long-term succession. They explore how evangelicalism's emphasis on discontinuity, charismatic personality-driven leadership, and brand-over-institution thinking undermines durability. The discussion touches on the boomer generational bottleneck, the producer-consumer framework shaped by technology, and what healthier models—like RTS or long-tenured churches—might teach us about building things that outlast their founders. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at . Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, R30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to: Apply for a full-tuition scholarship for Beeson Divinity School's M.Div program that begins Fall 2026 here: — Chapters 00:00 – Introduction & Framing the Problem 02:48 – Evangelicalism's Built-In Bias Toward Discontinuity 06:34 – Charisma, Personality, and the Exoskeleton Problem 08:46 – Brands vs. Institutions 11:22 – RTS as a Positive Case Study 15:24 – Market Forces and Media Adaptability 17:33 – Long-Tenured Churches and the Mold vs. Platform Distinction 24:18 – The Boomer Generational Cliff 30:16 – Carson, Piper, Keller, and Golden Age Expectations 39:23 – Evangelical Anxiety About Institutional Betrayal 43:31 – Technology, Formation, and the Performing Self 51:26 – Birth Rates, Legacy, and Thinking About Succession

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The Great Evangelical Hand-Off (That Never Happened) with Jake Meador is an episode from Mere Fidelity by Mere Fidelity.

This episode is 57:12 long.

This episode was published on Feb 11, 2026.

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