Christian Writer and Pastor Chris Rosebrough Threatened With Arrest At The Elephant Room 2

Posted by Christine Pack

These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed.

Fighting For The Faith radio host Chris Rosebrough, an outspoken critic of syncretism and ecumenical alliances, recently traveled, along with his colleague and fellow discernment writer Erin Benziger, to Rolling Meadows, Illinois to attend The Elephant Room 2, an event hosted by James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel and Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church.

Chris Rosebrough and Erin Benziger had both purchased online registrations for this event.

Upon entering the building to attend the conference, Chris Rosebrough and Erin Benziger (Do Not Be Surprised blog) were approached by security personnel who informed them that their registrations to The Elephant Room II had been revoked, and that they needed to immediately leave the premises, or be arrested for trespassing.

The Elephant Room 2 says in its purpose statement:

The Elephant Room is more than an event. It is the outgrowth of an idea. The idea that the best way forward for the followers of Jesus lies not in crouching behind walls of disagreement but in conversation among all kinds of leaders about what the scriptures actually teach. We must insist on the biblical Gospel, right doctrine and practice but not isolate ourselves from relationship even with those who believe much differently.

You may listen to Chris Rosebrough's interview about this event here.


 Additional Resources 

Hypocrisy Reaches New Heights in The Elephant Room

Threatened With Arrest At The Elephant Room 2 - Chris Rosebrough's Article

Elephant Room 2 Features Trinity Denier T.D. Jakes As A Keynote Speaker

The Doctrine of the Trinity

Running Scared: Why Is The Elephant Room Afraid of Scrutiny

Even Better Than The Race Card

James MacDonald Resigns From The Gospel Coalition

A Church Breaks With James MacDonald's Harvest Bible Fellowship

A Review of T.D. Jakes Code Orange Sermon

Code Orange: Revival or Deception?

Why Is Oneness Pentecostalism Heresy?

James MacDonald Digs Deeper Hole For the Elephant Room

T.D. Jakes' Modalism is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

James MacDonald, T.D. Jakes and Postmodern Obfuscation

Oneness-Pentecostals vs. Christians

Is Nicene Christianity That Important? An historical-ecumenical note

Hypocrisy Reaches New Heights in The Elephant Room

Posted by Cathy Mathews and Christine Pack

The Christian discernment blogosphere has already been very, very busy in just the first 4 weeks of 2012. First was Passion 2012 in Atlanta, GA, with its concerning alliances and seemingly mystical activities which led to obvious questions among many Christians. Next we had the whipped up Code Orange Revival which took place in Charlotte, NC under the direction of rising superstar pastor Steven Furtick, and at which Oneness heretic T.D. Jakes was......rebuked? corrected for his false teaching? asked to leave? No, none of those things. In fact, Trinity denier* Jakes was welcomed with open arms as a keynote speaker for the conference. In an even more surprising turn, well-regarded pastor and Gospel Coalition member James MacDonald spoke very warmly from the stage about T.D. Jakes, and in tweets after the event proclaimed his love for Jakes and his teaching. It was shortly after the Heresy Love Fest Code Orange Revival that James MacDonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, chose to resign from The Gospel Coalition, of which he had been a founding member.

Whew. But wait, there's more.

The reason these events have been so controversial is because discernment writers, who are often charged with being hateful, judgmental, divisive, etc., have helped to put the spotlight on these concerning alliances (thus creating controversy), and have written numerous articles aimed at helping their fellow Christians understand why it's a problem that T.D. Jakes denies the orthodox understanding of the Trinity, that doctrine really does matter, and why Christians can't just willy-nilly link to anyone who comes down the pike claiming to be a Christian brother. Words matter. Terms matter. Definitions matter. After all, we demand precision from cab drivers, surgeons, airline pilots, and elevators: should we ask any less from those who are handling God's word? And thus, controversy has arisen. Should high profile pastors like James MacDonald (and by default, well-regarded groups like The Gospel Coalition) be associated with someone like T.D. Jakes, a character that my grandfather would have given the old-fashioned term "huckster"?  So a number of Christian apologetics and discernment bloggers, including:

Dan Phillips (Biblical Christianity and Team Pyro) 

Ken Silva (Apprising Ministires) 

Talk show host Chris Rosebrough (Fighting For the Faith Radio) 

Erin Benziger (Do Not Be Surprised) 

Daniel Neades (Better Than Sacrifice)

(among others) have been outspoken critics of events like Code Orange Revival and The Elephant Room II, and have labored to help their fellow Christians understand the doctrinal problems with some of the speakers at these events, including Steven Furtick and T.D. Jakes.

But wait, there's still more.

In an ongoing effort to gather information, talk show host Chris Rosebrough and writer Erin Benziger (as mentioned above) both purchased tickets to Elephant Room II and traveled to the event, which began today. Upon entering the event, however, both were approached by security and told that their registration at the Elephant Room II conference has been revoked. Both Rosebrough and Benziger were told to leave the premises of Harvest Bible Chapel under threat of arrest. Yes, you might want to read that again, and no, it's no joke. (And you can listen to Chris Rosebrough discuss what happened in a radio interview at Issues, Etc. here)

And now read the purpose statement of The Elephant Room:

The Elephant Room is more than an event. It is the outgrowth of an idea. The idea that the best way forward for the followers of Jesus lies not in crouching behind walls of disagreement but in conversation among all kinds of leaders about what the scriptures actually teach. We must insist on the biblical Gospel, right doctrine and practice but not isolate ourselves from relationship even with those who believe much differently. (our emphasis)

As you probably already know, James MacDonald is the pastor at Harvest Bible Church and also the host of The Elephant Room II. Just yesterday, MacDonald resigned from The Gospel Coalition due to his invitation to T.D. Jakes to speak at this year's Elephant Room.

Wow- apparently, MacDonald will separate from an organization that is grouped around the Biblical Gospel (The Gospel Coalition) for the sake of giving cover to a heretic who preaches a different gospel, while at the same time refusing to even admit into attendance some Christians who disagree with MacDonald's yoking to said heretic.

Who is it in this picture that is "crouching behind walls of disagreement?"

* Before the emails start, yes, I know that T.D. Jakes was asked whether he affirms the Trinity at the just begun Elephant Room II, and yes I know that he answered that he does. The problem here is that no-one has asked him to define his terms. Those who have researched T.D. Jakes and know him well can attest that he does not hold to the orthodox view of the Trinity as held by Christians through the centuries.

photo credit: handcuffed.women via photopin cc

 Additional Resources 

Elephant Room 2 Features Trinity Denier T.D. Jakes As A Keynote Speaker

Chris Rosebrough Gives An Interview About Being Escorted By Security From The Elephant Room II 

The Doctrine of the Trinity

Running Scared: Why Is The Elephant Room Afraid of Scrutiny

Even Better Than The Race Card

James MacDonald Resigns From The Gospel Coalition

A Church Breaks With James MacDonald's Harvest Bible Fellowship

A Review of T.D. Jakes Code Orange Sermon

Code Orange: Revival or Deception?

Why Is Oneness Pentecostalism Heresy?

James MacDonald Digs Deeper Hole For the Elephant Room

T.D. Jakes' Modalism is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

James MacDonald, T.D. Jakes and Postmodern Obfuscation

Oneness-Pentecostals vs. Christians

Is Nicene Christianity That Important? An historical-ecumenical note

Elephant Room 2 Features Trinity Denier T.D. Jakes As A Keynote Speaker

Posted by Christine Pack

I would love to love the Elephant Room, I really would.  Elephant Room?, you say. Never heard of it. Well, in a nutshell, the Elephant Room is meant to be sort of a roundtable discussion group for Christian brainiacs. The first Elephant Room was held March 2011, and the one I'm discussing here is the upcoming Elephant Room 2, which is scheduled to be held January 2012. Elephant Room 2 is facilitated by two members of The Gospel Coalition, a group that, according to its website, is committed to the purity of the gospel. Seriously, what's not to like about that? Coming out of the vapidness of the seeker sensitive, "doctrine lite" model of church, as I did, I was primed to love something like the Elephant Room. So what's the problem? Well, there is the ongoing issue of Mark Driscoll (who is one of the facilitators), but besides that, look at who one of the keynote speakers will be:

That's right, the very popular T.D. Jakes. What's wrong with that? Well, T.D. Jakes holds to the Oneness Pentecostal view, which is a heresy that denies the biblical view of the Trinity. From T.D. Jakes' website for his church (The Potter's House):

Yes, the doctrine of the Trinity is deep theological waters, but Christian leaders must line up with Scripture in this area (which is a foundational belief of orthodox Christianity), because not to do so is to wander into heresy, and take others there with you.

"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." James 3:1

Elephant Room 2 might seem like a great idea in theory, but don't forget, Communism also has a way of looking good on paper but playing itself out in disastrous ways when implemented in real life. And remember, as bad as Communism is, it can only kill men's bodies, not their souls. A wrong understanding of the Trinity (as in Oneness Pentacostalism) can damn souls eternally.

What will happen in Elephant Room 2?  Will T.D. Jakes be confronted with truth and exhorted to repent from his heretical views? Will he then go to his many, many followers in humble sorrow over representing God wrongly, and teach his followers the truth about the Trinity? Or will there be a carefully nuanced discussion that will be allowed to stand, unchallenged, and which does not clarify the proper view of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

We'll have to tune in and see.

 Additional Resources 

Why Is Oneness Pentecostalism Heresy? Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (There are 30 segments in total in this excellent series, but 1-10 is a good start, and the rest can be found on YouTube)

James MacDonald Digs Deeper Hole For the Elephant Room

T.D. Jakes' Modalism is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

James MacDonald, T.D. Jakes and Postmodern Obfuscation

Oneness-Pentecostals vs. Christians

Is Nicene Christianity That Important? An historical-ecumenical note

Mark Driscoll and Pornographic Divination

Who Should I Contact At The Gospel Coalition If I Have Concerns?