Jake Randolph
@jrhett.bsky.social
Asst. Professor of the History of Christianity. Editor at @anxiousbench.bsky.social. Medieval Chivalry and the Making of Anabaptist Identity forthcoming w/ Amsterdam U Press.
Pinned
Jake Randolph
@jrhett.bsky.social
· Nov 22
John Wayne Rides Again
After Trump secures another victory and increases minority support, evangelical pundits scorn critiques of white evangelical culture
www.patheos.com
"When Trump won in 2016, conventional wisdom was white evangelicals held their noses...But here’s the funny thing about odor: if you spend enough time in a stinky room, your nose will grow accustomed to the stench. Over time, you may get to the point where you don’t smell anything weird at all."
Reposted by Jake Randolph
In my most recent post, I attempt the impossible: connecting the Cracker Barrel debacle and Matthew Barrett's conversion to Anglicanism.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Cracker Barrel, Anglican Converts, And Tradition's Aesthetic
What does Cracker Barrel's branding woes tell us about the relationship between tradition and modernity in Christianity?
www.patheos.com
August 25, 2025 at 3:34 AM
In my most recent post, I attempt the impossible: connecting the Cracker Barrel debacle and Matthew Barrett's conversion to Anglicanism.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
In my most recent post, I attempt the impossible: connecting the Cracker Barrel debacle and Matthew Barrett's conversion to Anglicanism.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Cracker Barrel, Anglican Converts, And Tradition's Aesthetic
What does Cracker Barrel's branding woes tell us about the relationship between tradition and modernity in Christianity?
www.patheos.com
August 25, 2025 at 3:34 AM
In my most recent post, I attempt the impossible: connecting the Cracker Barrel debacle and Matthew Barrett's conversion to Anglicanism.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
ICYMI: Last week, I wrote about how Southern Baptists' history of moral crises, from slavery to segregation to sexual abuse, reflect the fragmented identity and mission strategy of the SBC itself.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Southern Baptists And The 'Main Thing'
Southern Baptist leaders want to "keep the main thing the main thing." But what if your very culture gets in the way of the "main thing"?
www.patheos.com
June 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM
ICYMI: Last week, I wrote about how Southern Baptists' history of moral crises, from slavery to segregation to sexual abuse, reflect the fragmented identity and mission strategy of the SBC itself.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
New from me. What’s at stake (and what goes unsaid) when leaders want to keep focus on “the main thing.”
Southern Baptist leaders want to "keep the main thing the main thing." But what if your very culture gets in the way of the "main thing"?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Southern Baptists And The 'Main Thing'
Southern Baptist leaders want to "keep the main thing the main thing." But what if your very culture gets in the way of the "main thing"?
www.patheos.com
June 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
New from me. What’s at stake (and what goes unsaid) when leaders want to keep focus on “the main thing.”
ICYMI:
"When the chips were down, when the temperature was raised, the thief the people knew became more acceptable, more plausible, more benign than the accused they didn’t know...Are we so much more perceptive than them?"
My latest at @anxiousbench.bsky.social
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
"When the chips were down, when the temperature was raised, the thief the people knew became more acceptable, more plausible, more benign than the accused they didn’t know...Are we so much more perceptive than them?"
My latest at @anxiousbench.bsky.social
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
We Keep Choosing Barabbas
How a Passion chorale, Calvin’s commentary, and U.S. deportations reveal the cost of following the wrong voices.
www.patheos.com
April 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM
ICYMI:
"When the chips were down, when the temperature was raised, the thief the people knew became more acceptable, more plausible, more benign than the accused they didn’t know...Are we so much more perceptive than them?"
My latest at @anxiousbench.bsky.social
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
"When the chips were down, when the temperature was raised, the thief the people knew became more acceptable, more plausible, more benign than the accused they didn’t know...Are we so much more perceptive than them?"
My latest at @anxiousbench.bsky.social
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
My latest piece at @anxiousbench.bsky.social.
Today at The Anxious Bench—
What the sham trial of Jesus says about the persuasive power of evil leaders in the era of Trump and Kilmar Ábrego García.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
What the sham trial of Jesus says about the persuasive power of evil leaders in the era of Trump and Kilmar Ábrego García.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Choosing Barabbas
I’ve been intermittently listening to Bach’s Matthäuspassion performed by the Tölz Boys’ Choir over the last week. (You can watch it here.) It’s a
www.patheos.com
April 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
My latest piece at @anxiousbench.bsky.social.
I'm sad to say goodbye to David Swartz, and I'm so thankful for his work at the Bench and in print. He has been a model of collegiality and quality scholarship, characteristics I have no doubt he will continue to exhibit!
Today at The Anxious Bench—
It's the end of an era as David Swartz says farewell after twelve years at the Bench. Read his final reflections on his work with us. We send David in a spirit of friendship, and can't wait to read what he writes next!
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
It's the end of an era as David Swartz says farewell after twelve years at the Bench. Read his final reflections on his work with us. We send David in a spirit of friendship, and can't wait to read what he writes next!
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Twelve Years, Hundreds Of Posts, And One Grateful Exit
A beloved voice at The Anxious Bench says goodbye, reflecting on history, identity, and what it means to write with conviction and care.
www.patheos.com
April 16, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I'm sad to say goodbye to David Swartz, and I'm so thankful for his work at the Bench and in print. He has been a model of collegiality and quality scholarship, characteristics I have no doubt he will continue to exhibit!
This kind of gatekeeping must be just exhausting. (photo 1: 9 AM day of review publication; photo 2: 11 PM same day)
April 3, 2025 at 4:01 AM
This kind of gatekeeping must be just exhausting. (photo 1: 9 AM day of review publication; photo 2: 11 PM same day)
Just sent the manuscript to my editor. 🤢 🥱 😀
March 30, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Just sent the manuscript to my editor. 🤢 🥱 😀
My latest at @anxiousbench.bsky.social. Part 2 of a brief survey explaining how memories of the Reformation shaped evangelical backlash against Pentecostals and charismatics. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Evangelicals, Charismatics, And Reformation Roleplay, Part 2
In my last post, I charted the acceptance and gradual ostracizing of Pentecostals and charismatics within neoevangelical spaces. Neoevangelicalism, as the What makes an evangelical? Is it adherence to...
www.patheos.com
March 21, 2025 at 7:20 PM
My latest at @anxiousbench.bsky.social. Part 2 of a brief survey explaining how memories of the Reformation shaped evangelical backlash against Pentecostals and charismatics. www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Hey, y’all— @ansleyquiros.bsky.social is very good at what she does.
Today at The Anxious Bench—
Bishop Budde's inauguration homily exposed the different theological instincts—perhaps even the different Christianities—of the nation's Christians yet again. Such moments reveal that Americans' political theology really is theology.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Bishop Budde's inauguration homily exposed the different theological instincts—perhaps even the different Christianities—of the nation's Christians yet again. Such moments reveal that Americans' political theology really is theology.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
In the Midst of a Theological Crisis
Years ago, I wrote a book that examined the civil rights struggle not only as a period of intense political and cultural division, but theological
www.patheos.com
February 3, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Hey, y’all— @ansleyquiros.bsky.social is very good at what she does.
Here’s a new one from me. Hashing out some early research that I hope will be a bigger project in the near future!
Today at The Anxious Bench—
The struggle over evangelical identity in the 20th century influenced the way evangelicals read church history. How did Reformed neoevangelicals use church history to try and make sense of charismatic movements?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
The struggle over evangelical identity in the 20th century influenced the way evangelicals read church history. How did Reformed neoevangelicals use church history to try and make sense of charismatic movements?
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Evangelicals, Charismatics, and Reformation Roleplay, Pt 1
Evangelicalism and ecstatic Spirit-filled movements have long had an uneasy relationship. The inclusion of Pentecostal denominations into the newly-formed Evangelicalism and ecstatic Spirit-filled mov...
www.patheos.com
January 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Here’s a new one from me. Hashing out some early research that I hope will be a bigger project in the near future!
Reposted by Jake Randolph
The Magdalene of tradition hasn't always been synonymous with the Mary of the Gospels. Can we still recover her calling?
Lynneth Miller Renberg reviews Jennifer Powell McNutt's newest book, The Mary We Forgot, today at The Anxious Bench
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Lynneth Miller Renberg reviews Jennifer Powell McNutt's newest book, The Mary We Forgot, today at The Anxious Bench
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Lessons from Remembering “The Mary We Forgot”
For me, the days off around the holidays traditionally include many things: more baked goods than wisdom says should be consumed, football, family time,
www.patheos.com
January 7, 2025 at 3:45 PM
The Magdalene of tradition hasn't always been synonymous with the Mary of the Gospels. Can we still recover her calling?
Lynneth Miller Renberg reviews Jennifer Powell McNutt's newest book, The Mary We Forgot, today at The Anxious Bench
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Lynneth Miller Renberg reviews Jennifer Powell McNutt's newest book, The Mary We Forgot, today at The Anxious Bench
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Good weekend with ASCH. Glad to see some old friends and meet a few new ones. Looking forward to the next go-round!
January 6, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Good weekend with ASCH. Glad to see some old friends and meet a few new ones. Looking forward to the next go-round!
This month at @anxiousbench.bsky.social, I revisit an old post of mine, reflecting on how all Christians, like Mary, give birth to Christ in our innermost being.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: In Every Heart There is a Womb
For my post this month, I wanted to revisit my Christmas post from last December. I'm still compelled by the power of this metaphor and the theologians For Luther, the nativity event was itself pregna...
www.patheos.com
December 20, 2024 at 5:56 PM
This month at @anxiousbench.bsky.social, I revisit an old post of mine, reflecting on how all Christians, like Mary, give birth to Christ in our innermost being.
Reposted by Jake Randolph
sesame street isn't supposed to make money. the post office isn't supposed to make money. not everything is supposed to MAKE MONEY
December 16, 2024 at 4:16 PM
sesame street isn't supposed to make money. the post office isn't supposed to make money. not everything is supposed to MAKE MONEY
Crowdsourcing for my evangelical history folks: ISTM neo-evs gradually push Pentecostals and charismatics away after early attempts at coalition-building. Is this bc Spirit movements are seen as at odds with the mission to increase evs' social respectability/intellectual vigor?
December 17, 2024 at 6:28 PM
Crowdsourcing for my evangelical history folks: ISTM neo-evs gradually push Pentecostals and charismatics away after early attempts at coalition-building. Is this bc Spirit movements are seen as at odds with the mission to increase evs' social respectability/intellectual vigor?
I see the CRT bell is being rung yet again in some darker corners of right-wing Baptist world. Here’s the honest truth: the scholarship of CRT proper gifts much-needed conceptual language to tell the story of race in America with honesty and texture. Ex? Interest convergence. 🧵
December 11, 2024 at 9:32 PM
I see the CRT bell is being rung yet again in some darker corners of right-wing Baptist world. Here’s the honest truth: the scholarship of CRT proper gifts much-needed conceptual language to tell the story of race in America with honesty and texture. Ex? Interest convergence. 🧵
ICYMI: Was the 2024 election a vindication of evangelical politics?
A look at campaign rhetoric, recent history, and current survey data reinforces the critical narrative, despite the protest of right-wing evangelical pundits.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
A look at campaign rhetoric, recent history, and current survey data reinforces the critical narrative, despite the protest of right-wing evangelical pundits.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
John Wayne Rides Again
After Trump secures another victory and increases minority support, evangelical pundits scorn critiques of white evangelical culture
www.patheos.com
November 26, 2024 at 5:01 PM
ICYMI: Was the 2024 election a vindication of evangelical politics?
A look at campaign rhetoric, recent history, and current survey data reinforces the critical narrative, despite the protest of right-wing evangelical pundits.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
A look at campaign rhetoric, recent history, and current survey data reinforces the critical narrative, despite the protest of right-wing evangelical pundits.
www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiou...
Nickel Creek tonight. Amazing as ever.
November 26, 2024 at 4:22 AM
Nickel Creek tonight. Amazing as ever.
"When Trump won in 2016, conventional wisdom was white evangelicals held their noses...But here’s the funny thing about odor: if you spend enough time in a stinky room, your nose will grow accustomed to the stench. Over time, you may get to the point where you don’t smell anything weird at all."
John Wayne Rides Again
After Trump secures another victory and increases minority support, evangelical pundits scorn critiques of white evangelical culture
www.patheos.com
November 22, 2024 at 3:42 PM
"When Trump won in 2016, conventional wisdom was white evangelicals held their noses...But here’s the funny thing about odor: if you spend enough time in a stinky room, your nose will grow accustomed to the stench. Over time, you may get to the point where you don’t smell anything weird at all."
Is Trump’s election a vindication of white evangelical politics? My latest at The AB.
John Wayne Rides Again
After Trump secures another victory and increases minority support, evangelical pundits scorn critiques of white evangelical culture
www.patheos.com
November 22, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Is Trump’s election a vindication of white evangelical politics? My latest at The AB.