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.
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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
