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What is a hill you are willing to die on?

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🧵 The Rise & Fall of the “Elephant Room” In 2011, seven high-profile pastors gathered for an unscripted roundtable called Elephant Room. It promised raw dialogue on church, theology, & ministry. But instead, sparked a controversy that reshaped the future of evangelicalism.

🧵 1. What Was the Elephant Room? In early 2011, an influential Pastor named James MacDonald launched “The Elephant Room”, a roundtable-style event where well-known evangelical pastors tackled controversial topics in ministry. Framed as an honest, unscripted space for

🧵 2. What Set the Stage for the Elephant Room? By 2011, evangelicalism was under strain. The seeker-sensitive movement had built massive churches but left many questioning theological substance. At the same time, the rise of New Calvinism brought renewed focus on gospel

🧵 3. Who Was Involved in Elephant Room (2011)? The event featured: • James MacDonald (Harvest Bible Chapel) – the host and central personality • Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church) – co-moderator, culturally brash voice • Matt Chandler (The Village Church) – thoughtful

🧵 4. What Was Discussed? Elephant Room 2011 tackled five key ministry tensions: 1. Church Growth – Furtick and Noble defended pragmatic growth strategies; Chandler and Platt cautioned against shallow metrics. 2. Preaching & Culture – Noble’s use of “Highway to Hell” sparked a

🧵 5. Public Critique Afterward John MacArthur condemned the Elephant Room for confusing doctrinal boundaries. He wrote, “They blurred the lines between sound doctrine and serious error.” Voddie Baucham also refused to participate, citing concerns over theological

🧵 6. Where Are They Now? Most Elephant Room 1 speakers saw major shifts after 2011: • James MacDonald was fired in 2019 for bullying, deception, and financial abuse. Now largely sidelined. • Mark Driscoll resigned in 2014 amid Mars Hill’s collapse due to spiritual abuse

🧵 7. The Second Elephant Room (2012) The second Elephant Room in 2012 proved far more destructive than the first. The controversy centered on the inclusion of T.D. Jakes, a megachurch pastor long associated with prosperity theology and modalism which is the denial of the

🧵 8. The Legacy and Impact of Elephant Room The Elephant Room wanted to model honest conversations. Instead, it exposed a crisis: evangelical unity was being built on platforms, not principles. Doctrinal clarity was softened. Personalities went unchallenged. Public fallout

🧵 Sources and Further Reading Much of this thread information comes from my firsthand experience, watching all of the sessions available on YouTube for Elephant Room. However, there are several articles and resources below that also helped and were referenced in this thread.

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Josh Barzon We need something like this again. It was invaluable, imo

If an “Elephant Room 3.0” was hosted today, who would be the “7 diverse evangelical leaders” represented? And what would be the current topics facing the church that they would discuss?

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