In the earlier post, MacDonald acknowledged his own inconsistency: he knew he should not have “used strong language” to scold others for being harsh in their criticism of the Elephant Room strategy. But in yesterday’s post and video, MacDonald casts off restraint and reverts to angry-sounding rhetoric.
Despite their starkly contrasting styles, both statements have one thing in common: MacDonald wishes those with concerns about what he is doing would just shut up.
He says it euphemistically: “We are asking that those interested in what we are doing allow the conversations to take place before making final conclusions about their wisdom or helpfulness.” But clearly, that plea applies to critics, not to MacDonald himself or to those who support his strategy.
There are multiple layers of irony in that. MacDonald purports to be championing fearless dialogue with people he says he doesn’t necessarily agree with. But there’s a distinct and clearly discernible direction to the drift of the “dialogue.” It is painfully obvious that MacDonald is not so keen to listen and learn when someone more conservative than he wants to share a perspective.
But let’s set all of that aside. What troubled me much more about the video MacDonald posted yesterday was his repeated insistence from beginning to end that the participants of Elephant Room 2 are a true Band of Spiritual Brothers…
Not for the Stout of Heart, Either
See also:
Fractures in the Gospel Coalition?
The Elephant in the Elephant Room
T.D. Jakes (and the like) Part One: Isn’t ‘unclear leader’ an oxymoron?
