Where's the Elephant?

I'm certainly not done rambling on about orphans and the church's role in their lives, but I figured I'd take a break from that for a post or two.

Last January there was an event in the Chicago area that was a sort of debate called the Elephant Room. Here's the official description of the Elephant Room:

"The Elephant Room features blunt conversations between seven influential pastors who take differing approaches to ministry. No keynotes. No canned messages. These are “the conversations you never thought you’d hear.” All conversations are moderated by James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel and Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church"

Back in January, Jason and I really wanted to do the simulcast of this event, but it was too expensive.  Since that time, we've had random conversations here and there and we've watched video clips that we could find on YouTube and the Elephant Room website as we ran across them. 

Over the summer we started talking to some friends about some of these clips, and then we finally decided just to break down and buy the DVD set.  The DVDs came in the mail a couple of weeks ago and we've spent hours watching the sessions, pausing for commentary, rewatch sessions, and pausing to insert our own opinions.  We've watched with a couple of our friends, and that is where my thoughts for this post were born.

Four of us sat in the living room watching one of the sessions (I honestly don't even remember what the topic was) and David Platt, our pastor, made a comment.  He wasn't one of the debaters for that topic, but usually they'll ask the pastors sitting on the "sidelines" to interject their thoughts on a topic throughout the session.

Let me mention before I go any further than in my opinion, Platt kind of sticks out in the context of the Elephant Room.  He doesn't stick out in a bad way, but he's quieter than the other pastors and he doesn't necessarily jump at every opportunity to speak.  He's careful about what he says, and most importantly, he's extremely humble throughout each and every session.

While we were watching this particular sessions, Platt said something which prompted a lot of thought and was kind of a different take on the subject in contrast with what most of the other pastors had been saying.  One of our friends said, "Wow, he's really the elephant in the room."

I'm not sure how he meant this, and honestly, it doesn't really even matter that much (to me the Elephant Room isn't about celebrity pastors, who's podcast sermons I listen to the most, or even about who I identified with more in each session).  But, this comment made me think, "Am I ever the elephant in the room?"

As believers we're called to be different, set apart from the world and set apart from our flesh.  We're called to live for eternity instead of earthly desires.

This is what the trusted Wikipedia says about the expression "Elephant in the room":

"Elephant in the room" is an English metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss. It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook; thus, people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there have chosen to avoid dealing with the looming big issue.

My goal is to be the elephant.  Sometimes Jason will jokingly call me an elephant because I never forget anything that he says (an elephant never forgets).  But after some thought, I truly aim to be an elephant in the room.

I want to be so clothed in Christ that my faith and my salvation cannot go unaddressed.  I want to take risks that people are afraid to take themselves in hopes that it will encourage others to take risks themselves and it will foster discussion about Christ.  I want it to be so impossible to overlook my belief in God's Word that people will feel it His presence looming and it will open up opportunities for me to share the Gospel with them.

Let us not shy away from the Gospel.  Let us not sink into the background and blend into the world.  Let us be set apart and bold.  Let the God's truth be so evident in our lives that we are the elephant in every room.