What is an Institution?

Jake Meador returns to the show to discuss the nature of institutions with Matt and Derek.

Jake Meador

Jake Meador, Editor-in-Chief at Mere Orthodoxy, joins Matt and Derek to discuss religious institutions. Listen in to hear discussions on what makes institutions different than websites, how to avoid institutional drift, what to do when charismatic figures effectively function as the institution itself, and more.

Resources mentioned:

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin

To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davidson Hunter

Mere Fidelity is excited to announce our new partnership with Lexham, a publisher that seeks to increase biblical literacy, thoughtful Christian reflection, and faithful action around the world by publishing a range of Bible study materials, scholarly works, and pastoral resources. The Book of the Month is Dual Citizens: Politics and American Evangelicalism, a collection of articles from Christianity Today originally published between 1956 and 2016. Timothy D. Padgett has collected a number of articles that traces a variety of perspectives in evangelical political thought, giving a more nuanced understanding of how American evangelicals have acted politically over the past decades. For the month of October 2020, our listeners will get a 25% discount on their purchase of this volume with the code MEREFIDELITYOCT at checkout.

Timestamps

0:00
What are institutions, and how are they different than websites?
11:50
Institutional drift and how to avoid it
15:24
The necessity of discipline in institutions
24:05
When a charismatic figure functionally is the institution
26:25
The difference between fundamental commitments and bylaws
29:42
When cultural moments and secondary doctrines become the telos of an institution
36:07
How can people inside of institutions who are not running them best conduct themselves?

Follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Caleb Wait for keeping us organized. Special thanks to Tim Motte for sound editing. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

Institutions Culture
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