Category: Independent Baptists

Can We Expect a Special Whisper from the Holy Ghost?

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit2 Comments

With apologies for an exceptionally long post…

I have argued that the quest for a “special whisper” from the Holy Spirit amounts to a search for further revelation. God’s Word is sufficient. The Holy Spirit works through the Word and through wisdom acquired from the Word to lead us in our decisions. And so, while God may direct us in extraordinary ways, we shouldn’t expect this. After all, extra ordinary isn’t ordinary.

Nonetheless, I have had a few questions about Bible verses suggesting that the Holy Spirit will give a tangible word of guidance in the more critical decisions. I promised to take time with these passages, so here goes.

Here are some specific questions I have been asked:

(from Missionary Matt Northcutt) What do you do with passages that seem to indicate that God does, indeed, give peace as an arbiter as we follow Him in faith (such as Is. 26:3, Phil. 4:6-7, and Col. 3:15)?

Continue reading “Can We Expect a Special Whisper from the Holy Ghost?” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, Part 4

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit4 Comments

In three posts, I have sought to establish from the Bible that God does guide us, that we are taught to trust Him to guide us, and that we shouldn’t look for tangible signs of His leading. But does that mean God never gives us what I have called a “special whisper” or some token of His leading?

I do not say this. I say that we shouldn’t look for it, that we should trust God to lead us in the absence of any kind of sensational guidance. But I have had some experiences in my own life that could only have been the Lord. My experiences are not authoritative but are very real and meaningful to me. Let me share three of them and then get down to the brass tacks of how God communicates His will for our lives.

Photo by Matthew Montrone on Pexels.com

I was in my fourth year of ministry as an Assistant Pastor at Berean when God began to work on me about becoming a pastor. I did not realize that God was the one at work until the very end of that period of wrestling. Initially, I thought my desire to pastor was a pride issue, as if I presumed on this calling. Ultimately, God helped me see that He was calling me into this ministry. Within a few weeks of surrendering to this call, I met with my pastor to discuss it with him. Though God’s dealing in my heart was very real to me, I came to that meeting believing that God’s call would be confirmed or denied when I told my pastor. To my surprise (and horror), he said to me that he had been praying for this very thing for some time and that he was praying that God would make me the pastor at Berean. After I got past that shock, I met with him again about a week later, and he repeated this desire. A month later, on a fateful September evening, we received word that my pastor had tragically drowned. In the moment when I received word of his death, I had a very concrete thought that has never left me: “This is what I have been preparing you for.” I didn’t (and don’t) believe that experience was authoritative. I didn’t tell the church or anyone besides my wife. When the church formed a pulpit committee and began the search for a new pastor, I offered no hint of these phenomenal words of guidance. I waited for the church to ask me to be the candidate. When they asked, I said nothing about what our former pastor had said, and I said nothing about what I believed the Lord said to me. If these thoughts came from the Lord, I knew the church would vote me in as the next pastor. If they were merely voices in my head, the church would decline. When they took the vote, it was confirmed to me that this was, in fact, from the Lord.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, Part 4” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit1 Comment

You might wish God would communicate every step you should take each day. Anytime you had choices, God would telegraph His will for that decision. God would make His choice known if you had to decide between McDonald’s and Denny’s, pick between mowing the lawn or washing the car, or take the job at the bank or the local flour mill. Such a deal!

Now, you might be thinking that this would be wonderful. You would never make a wrong choice again. You would immediately know God’s first choice in a spouse, in a job, in a house, in a car, in a church, and so on down the line. This plan, it would seem, would be the very best way to keep all God’s children in line.

So, why doesn’t God provide us with a CPS – the celestial version of a GPS? First, we have to say that since God doesn’t equip each of us with our own personal ephod, it must be contrary to His will to give us this kind of direction for our every decision. In fact, such micro-direction wouldn’t help us grow into maturity or measure up to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). Divine micro-managing would keep us in a perpetual childhood, which must be contrary to God’s will.

Photo by Sami Aksu on Pexels.com

You might object that nobody wants this kind of guidance for every little inconsequential decision. We only need God’s clear direction for the major decisions we have to make. And that is fair enough. Of course, we don’t always know when a decision qualifies as “major.” Some decisions would obviously count, like choosing a life’s partner or a life’s calling. But major decisions sometimes sneak up on us. Without recognizing the significance of the decision, we take a step and then learn, to our horror, that we can’t walk it back. The guy who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident didn’t know what a fateful decision he made when he chose to go riding that day.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 2

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Preaching and Teaching3 Comments

In the initial post on God’s guidance, we argued that we can be sure of God’s leading in our lives. Besides the many places in Scripture that teach us to look for His direction, we can add that the entirety of Scripture would lead us to believe that God will guide us.  God is our Father; we are His sons and daughters by adoption. If a good father directs His children, how much more can we look to our Heavenly Father to lead us and guide us in the way we should go? “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” God isn’t moving the football, concealing His will, or being tricksy or coy with us. Since God wants His children to do His will, we can be sure that God will guide us and not withhold the information we need like a catty secretary.

We know this also because God’s Holy Spirit indwells us, and a vital part of His ministry includes teaching and instructing us.

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. (I John 2:27)

The Bible doesn’t teach us to look for the same method or means of guidance as we see men in the early church receiving. Remember that the Holy Spirit worked more overtly and sensationally then. Without the entire canon of Scripture, God allowed men to walk by sight. 

In our day, God expects us to live by faith, looking to His Word more than we look for signs or sensations. So, we don’t look for God to speak to us now the way He spoke to the men of that day. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for God to guide us at all.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 2” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Independent Baptists, Preaching and Teaching, The Holy Spirit8 Comments

My article series on things I wish would change among Independent Baptists provoked a fair amount of discussion and raised more than a few questions. In particular, the article on “Holy Spirit Kookery” gave a little heartburn to a few readers. As one commenter asked,

How would a man know if he is called to preach if God does not lead him through the Spirit?

How could I have perfect peace that my wife was God’s choice for me if He did not impress this upon me by His Spirit?

As I have committed to answering these and similar questions, I invite you to hop aboard, buckle up, and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. The question, as I see it, is not whether the Holy Spirit directs us, but how, and how do we know He is the one leading us and not just our baser impulses or (worse yet) an evil spirit back of those voices in my head.  

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths” →

Nothing to Lose

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Personal4 Comments

Whether the dust has settled from my recent series or not, who can say. In my experience, these things tend to bounce around for a bit, and sometimes, they don’t gain a head of steam until further downstream. Maybe the next time I gather with friends, I will feel that awkward silence that says, “Somethin’ ain’t rat.” Who knows?

But I have the urge to unpack a few thoughts in conclusion. Consider this my apology for not apologizing.

I was pretty young when Berean Baptist Church called me to become her pastor. I was woefully unprepared. Pastoral ministry always seemed to have a romantic quality in my imagination – a fiction that evaporated quickly once the church voted me into office. I quickly discovered the nature of the battle we are in for the hearts and souls of men. 

Early on, I felt the weight of responsibility that God had placed on me. God made me see the importance of rightly dividing the Word of truth so believers would be built and not destroyed. I fear that I hurt more than I helped in those early years. God pressed on me a sense that eternal souls hung in the balance and that if I did not carefully handle God’s Word, those souls would be destroyed.

This impacted me profoundly. In my earliest years as a pastor, I followed the examples of men before me. I offered heavy doses of opinion sprinkled lightly with Biblical references. It didn’t take long for me to recognize that, not only were my opinions like a bruised reed and smoking flax, but that the people didn’t travel all the way to church three times a week so they could learn more about my mind.

That launched me into a long practice of expository preaching. I wouldn’t give much for those early series (my first series was through the book of Romans), but I will say that the challenge of digging into the text so I could give the meaning and application (instead of my impressions based loosely on the text) transformed me and shaped my ministry. 

In those early years, I came to recognize a strange kind of pressure to conform to the opinions of others. I felt in my bones that if I followed certain texts to their plain meaning, I would be ostracized and rejected. My sense of foreboding was confirmed one unfortunate day when I publicly expressed an opinion outside the vein of conventional wisdom. The attacks against me were furious and personal, and to my shock and horror, I discovered that several pastors were gunning for my church, attempting to persuade the men of my church to expel me as pastor. 

Continue reading “Nothing to Lose” →

One Last Thing I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Personal6 Comments

Despite those I’ve offended, I can’t help but notice the overwhelmingly positive response to this little series. And though I might undo that goodwill with this post, it has been worth it if I have at least gotten you to consider these things. 

Change, for me, has been a very slow process. I was raised in the fluff of the IFB, and it takes a long time to get rid of that mindset. Honestly, most of the change has come from people who loved me enough to challenge my assumptions and demand that I defend my positions with Scripture. I am thankful for those who have done so (HT: Kent Brandenburg). And I hope to do the same for my readers.

That said, here is this series’s final installment. Think of it as the 39th stripe. The others can be found if you follow this set of links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and for Part 5, scroll down one post (sorry, I can’t link it right now).

Overstated Anti-Calvinism

And there go all my readers. 

You aren’t going to like this. You’ll probably say mean things about me for writing it. But rabid anti-Calvinism isn’t the answer to Calvinism. And Calvinism isn’t a doctrine of devils. 

I heard a preacher say from the pulpit, twice in fact, in two separate sermons, “The God of Calvinism isn’t the God of the Bible.” 

I didn’t say “Amen.” I understand why good men disagree on the Doctrines of Grace. I recognize why good friends of mine despise Calvinism while other friends embrace it. The disagreement won’t likely end in our lifetimes, and I doubt it will end until the Millenial Reign of Christ. But some of the slanders I hear hurled at Calvinism are absolute garbage.

To say that the God of Calvinism isn’t the God of the Bible, one must also maintain that Charles Spurgeon, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, and most other Baptists before the 1900s were all false prophets and today burning in hell. Because historically, Baptists were nearly all Calvinists until the late 1800s. 

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Two More Things I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church3 Comments

Now that I have lost a few friends and alienated a few admirers, I want to move into two areas that might not be as controversial but should still be addressed. But before I do, let me say again that I don’t say these things as the enemy of Independent Baptist churches. Not at all. My dad led our family into an Independent Baptist church when I was maybe 8 or 9, and I have been one ever since. I have no desire to leave. 

One of the things I love about being an Independent Baptist is that we respect each other’s right to be different. I will admit that the idea of being “Independent” is somewhat sullied by the heavy-handed way some leaders have imposed their opinions on everyone else and demanded lock-step loyalty or risk separation and alienation. As I said in an earlier post, the “F” in “IFB” isn’t supposed to mean “Fragile.” But I find that many of my brethren turn into candy canes when they encounter a differing view. 

I also hold some stout and passionate opinions about the way things ought to be in God’s churches. I’ve limited my list to ten of the things I think are more grievous errors among Independent Baptist churches. You are welcome to, as they say, take it or leave it. But as I believe these things contradict Scripture, I find that I must at least appeal to Scripture to call for a return to those legendary “Old Paths” – which, as I understand it, stands for faithfulness to God’s Word.

Here is #8 and #9 on my list of things I wish would change. You can read the earlier installments here, here, here, and especially here.

Using people to build the program

Of all the points I have made so far, I would guess this one will be overlooked more than any. And that’s too bad. Sure, this isn’t a hot-button topic. People haven’t done extensive rage blogging or started podcasts to deal with this particular fault. But still, there it is. 

I doubt this problem is limited to the IFB. But I’m quite sure this is a problem in many IFB churches. I understand how it happens. I’ve been a pastor for long enough to know how easy it is to fill holes and find people to carry on in a ministry they aren’t equipped to do because we have to keep the ministry going. We really should pause for a minute and consider what we are doing.

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One Big Thing I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Preservation29 Comments

For a few weeks, I’ve been laying out my own personal objections to commonly held views amongst Independent Baptists. I’ve given my wish list in twos up to now. But to keep within a readable word count, I find that I must give you a single point in this article, the seventh of ten things I wish would change among Independent Baptists.

The King James Only controversy is probably the most heated and passionate of all our disputes, both within the IFB and without. Even among those who call themselves King James Only, there are a variety of meanings and heaps of fire all around. For example, the KJV Churches website uses seven categories, five of which refer to varying degrees of commitment to the King James Bible. Our church is listed as “Use KJV.” Other churches are listed as “KJV Inspired,” “KJV Position Undeclared,” “KJV Preserved,” “KJV Preferred,” or simply “KJV.”  I couldn’t find any definitions for these various positions, nor could I find any explanation of the differences. I’m unsure how they concluded that we “Use” the KJV (as opposed to these other positions). But I don’t dispute it either.

Perhaps we earned that tag because of what I am about to say. The historic view of preservation has been set down in some of the old confessions of faith, including this statement from the London Baptist Confession of 1689:

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Even More of What I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Music, Worship5 Comments

In making my wish list of things to change about the IFB, I figured I would have a few things on my list that some would find offensive. As I begin this particular contribution then, let me remind you that the “F” in “IFB” doesn’t stand for “Fragile.”  We in the IFB have taken our share of beatings from those outside our movement, especially those who have left it. I don’t write these things to give them props. I’ve pushed back against them plenty. But in some ways, we have lost the ability to be self-critical, evaluate our traditions, and say, “This part of ‘old-time religion’ isn’t really Biblical.” 

So, I want to add a couple more things to my list of things I wish we would change. Some commenters have suggested that I have forgotten what the “I” means in “IFB.”  I have not. In fact, some might consider these comments to be a mark of my own “Independence.” This is my list. I offer it for your consideration. If you disagree, let’s talk about it.  

And now, for the fifth and sixth items on my wish list (you can access the first two points here and the second two here).

Silly songs

I know that many of the regular readers of this blog find contemporary worship music distasteful. And I have written enough in the past that my opinion of this kind of music is well-known. But many who reject contemporary worship for its style have embraced the silly-ditty songs of the revivalist era, even though this music is probably the forerunner of modern worship music. 

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