On Thursday (Oct. 27), Trinity Church senior pastor Mark Driscoll posted a photo of himself with Elevation Church lead pastor Steven Furtick to Facebook, drawing mixed reactions in the post’s comment section.
The photo showed the former Elephant Room alumni with their wives while the Steven and Holly Furtick were in Scottsdale, Arizona, for an Elevation Worship Tour stop.
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“Really fun to see an old friend. Thanks for preaching Jesus and leading AZ in worship on the Elevation tour. Praying for you and your family along with many others who love and appreciate you,” Driscoll wrote.
Driscoll’s post soon received numerous comments, both for each pastor and against them as well.
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Some commenters were glad to see Driscoll with Furtick, indicating that the Driscoll is a good influence on the Elevation Church pastor, because Driscoll would hopefully help him teach “all the scripture.”
“Oh man you’re friends with Steven Furtick,” one of Driscoll’s social media followers wrote. “Like you ACTUALLY think he is a preacher who preaches God’s truth…smh..hopefully God can use you to show Furtick the right path.”
Nevertheless, not every comment was critical. One person said that the photo made them happy, writing, “I love to see unity in the church. Not one where we beat each other over the head over open handed issues. The discernment bloggers are in full force on this comment thread. You can pretty much pick any pastor out there and you’ll find discernment bloggers calling them heretics.”
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Another wrote, “I love Driscoll and Furtick! Furtick and Driscoll don’t even believe the same on every topic but they understand what love is to a brother. Come on guys. Furtick loves and serves the same Jesus to his best knowledge. Don’t try to be superior to him because you believe differently. And then, none of will mention where he’s wrong in scripture.”
The two pastors, who both receive their fair share of criticism, debated each other during now-disgraced pastor James MacDonald‘s Elephant Room in 2011 and 2012—an event described as a forum for influential pastors from different denominations to discuss theological differences in a healthy way.
