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. 

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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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More of What I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching, The Holy Spirit5 Comments

Full disclosure: I struggle with much of what I see in Independent Baptist churches. I try not to be cranky or curmudgeonly, but some things in our tradition drive me crazy. I’m not leaving, and I’m not ungrateful for my heritage. I’ve been an Independent Baptist for over 40 years, since around 1980. I’m not leaving, recovering, reforming, or trashing the trailer park. But much of what I see in our movement is unbiblical. 

For the most part, I can control where I fellowship, one of the more appreciated parts of being an Independent Baptist. I am in Utah, so I get left alone (or ignored), and I’m good with that too. When I am on vacation, let’s say I am very selective about the kind of church I will take my family to visit. And even with my careful research into churches, we have rarely visited an Independent Baptist Church on vacation that we enjoyed. That might be too candid for some, but it is the honest truth. Independent Baptists smirk at expository preaching – it’s too “intellectual” for them. They don’t place a high value on the words of God – despite their nearly rabid commitment to the King James. I find it ironic, in fact, that so many make a big deal about the form of the words and place so little emphasis on the words themselves. 

I’m now in my fifties – not an old man, but no longer young. I’ve been committed to our movement and have publicly defended it. I’ve let myself be tagged as “one of them.”  So, I’m not here trying to make a name for myself by trashing the IFB, and I’m not trying to run a ghetto parade, looting all the stores on Mainstreet, IFB. At this stage in my ministry, candor is appropriate and necessary. I’m not asking anyone to like what I am saying. My ministry hasn’t been built on good-ole-boys style glad-handing. If I have a reputation for anything, it is bluntness, an appropriate gift for the present moment.

My first post covered two things I wish would change among Independent Baptist Churches. Here are two more of the ten on my list. 

Holy Ghost kook-ery

I’m no fan of the “Bapti-costal” tag. Mainly because I don’t see charismatic theology in the Bible anywhere. And I do mean “anywhere.”  Looking for Pentecostalism in the Bible is like looking for fire at the bottom of the ocean – if you find it there, you should swim away fast – like in shark-is-chasing-you fast. 

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What I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching6 Comments

While I am grateful for my Independent Baptist heritage, I am not uncritical of Independent Baptists. And though some might call me picky, I struggle with much of what I see coming from Independent Baptist churches. 

I recognize the independence of each church, and I do not write these things to sow discord among brethren. I have written previously about my love and appreciation for “fundamentalism,” and I am not backtracking here. I hope you will consider this a kind of “gentle nudge” toward what I think would be a more Biblical ordering of our churches. 

In all, I have ten things I wish would change among Independent Baptist Churches. And given my propensity for wordiness, I’ll share those ten in small bites, a couple at a time, beginning with today’s blog post. Here’s my first two…

Gospel lite

There is, among IFB churches, a default easy-believism. Sure, we tend to take the “correct” view of easy-believism itself. I rarely (though occasionally) hear of a church that embraces easy-believism openly. But easy-believism is everywhere in our movement. We deny easy-prayerism, and we preach easy-prayerism. If, in your evangelism, you look at The Sinner’s Prayer as the finish line, then you have a part in this. 

Perhaps my biggest objection to our default easy-believism is the shallow treatment of the riches of God’s grace. Too often, we barely scratch the surface of all that the gospel entails. In the average Independent Baptist church, I am afraid that the gospel is only preached to visitors and children, not to the membership of the church. Or, if the gospel is preached to the membership, it is preached “evangelistically” to produce salvation decisions rather than Biblically to deepen understanding, strengthen saints, and enrich the spiritual lives of the people.

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So What’s the Point of the Armor of God?

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository, Preaching and Teaching1 Comment

In writing this, I realize that I might be confessing too much.  Sometimes I wonder if I’ve been buried under a rock.  How do I miss such important truths for such a long time?  At times, I seem to discover (to my shame) a truth that believers have understood for years.  Nonetheless, when I have that “eureka” moment, I like to share it.

So, here’s my confession: I have never really understood the point of the armor of God.  Pretty sad, huh?  I knew I was to put it on, and I knew what all the pieces were.  But like the guy who shops the bargain bin at the Army surplus store, I had no idea what to do with it.  Should a pastor have a good handle on this, maybe a few years before his ordination?  Probably.  But since I can’t get a do-over on the past 20 years, I’ll have to start where I’m at.  Good for you if you’ve known this. 

So, here’s what I learned: the fiercer the battle rages, the more timid the Christian becomes.  We have this innate sense that if I don’t hit the devil too hard, he’ll leave me alone.  “Don’t rock the boat” becomes the battle plan.  Don’t provoke the enemy.  The enemy will leave me alone if I avoid doing anything too valiant.

I think there is a certain safety in maintaining the status quo within our homes and families.  Remember that the armor of God is set in context with Paul’s instructions related to the family.  When husbands tolerate small insurrections and wives carry on subversive warfare and the children are passively rebellious, we know that any attempt to follow God in our family may result in an all-out war.  If a husband sits down with his wife to discuss a few things where he thinks she is in sin, he expects things to get ugly.  So, he avoids saying anything.  If a parent seeks to correct the kids, he braces for the temper tantrum.  So, we don’t rock the boat. 

We don’t want the fight, so we tolerate the sin.  We make an uneasy truce with disobedience and (sometimes) outright rebellion.  God gives us armor before He sends us out to fight.  But make no mistake: God provides armor because He wants us in the fight. 

And the battle is for holiness.  Three things to consider then…

The Risk of Holiness

Holiness isn’t our default setting.  Nor is it an act of nature.  We fall into sin by the force of gravity, but nobody “falls” into holiness.  Sins grow up like weeds in our life without any special effort; holiness requires careful cultivation.  The way to holiness is the upward way, winding up a steep pass over rocky ground and rugged terrain.  The way to destruction is the pleasing way, a gentle slope, no sudden turns or sharp drops.

Photo by kristen munk on Pexels.com

Maybe that’s why so many Christians have come to terms with their sins and have made an easy truce with them.  Because it seems to me that when you leave a sin alone and don’t try to fix it, it lurks in the background without causing too much of a fuss.  Bad habits and sinful thought patterns pester us without causing us too much disruption.  We can be “at ease in Zion.”  But confronting a sinful pattern in our lives is like poking a smoldering fire.  It is bound to flare up again. 

The Philistines secure their place in the garrison and are pleased to let you come and go.  But if you try to drive them out, they won’t leave without a fight.  And that’s why God gives us armor.  Because you will have to fight; it will cost you something.  You know you can’t drive out an entrenched sin without some pain and suffering and maybe a little embarrassment.  And we are all a little afraid of the damage we might suffer.

God gives us armor so we can confront principalities and powers as they manifest themselves in our own lives.  And we can overcome.  Our armor prevents our being overcome of evil and enables us to overcome evil with good.

When I was a teen, I heard Jack Hyles preach, “You can’t fall from a crawl.”  It rhymed, which made it extra persuasive.  He pointed to some of the great heroes of the faith – Samson, David, even Moses.  And he explained that they fell because they were running.  They were in the fight.  The guy who is doing something is the guy who falls.  You can’t fall from a crawl. 

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When You Strap on the Armor, Be Ready to Fight!

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6:18)

I have always heard prayer linked to the sword of the Spirit as part of the soldier’s offensive arsenal.  E.M. Bounds famously wrote about the Weapon of Prayer, and I think most Christians would consider prayer a weapon.  No doubt we could make a solid case for this view, and I won’t quibble with it.

However, I don’t believe Paul means to treat prayer as a weapon in his catalog of the panoply of God.  Notice what Paul says between the 17th and 18th verses.  He begins with a command – the only imperative in the register of armor: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.”  He follows this command with “praying always” – clearly descriptive of the way we take the helmet and sword.  The grammar supports this understanding.  The Greek uses a genitive prepositional phrase, literally “through all prayer.”  Prayer is the way we take the helmet and sword. 

The message is simple.  You strap on the armor because you are going to war, so be ready.  And nothing prepares us for battle like watchful prayer.  So when you strap on the armor, you better be praying and watching.  Be alert in prayer; be praying watchfully.

Prayer, then, is the soldier’s readiness.  We want soldiers who not only arm themselves but who are poised to strike.  What good is a soldier who sluffs around in his armor?  For that matter, when a soldier straps on his armor, he better not sit down.  Armor can be heavy: he might not get back up if he sits.  Once the armor is in place (and we put it on when we receive Christ), it is time to go to war. 

So then, prayer and watchfulness aren’t additional pieces of armor, nor are they weapons.  Instead, they refer to the soldier’s attitude when He is armed – He is ready to fight.  He prepares for battle by praying and watching.  Let’s expand this into four elements of “readiness.”

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The Practical Value of the Armor of God 3

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository

When we think of sanctification, we tend to think of things like resisting the devil, living godly in Christ Jesus, studying to show ourselves approved to God, not being conformed to this world, being transformed by the renewing of our mind.  We give attention to our walk with God, our time in the Word, our time of prayer.  We focus on overcoming the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

But we pay little attention to the armor of God.  At least, I haven’t given it much thought.  Yet, God has armed us and equipped us for the battle so Satan cannot ultimately overthrow us.  Of course, he can trip us up and stumble us.  He can catch us in his snares.  He can tempt us and cause us to fall.  But he cannot pluck us out of the Father’s hand.  And this is in part thanks to our armor.

Our Heavenly Father is no helicopter Dad, hovering above us to ensure we never have trouble.  He is no Celestial Snowplow, clearing our lane so we can travel smoothly without disrupting our pilgrim way.  Instead, God gives us legs and teaches us to walk.  He infuses us with the strength of His grace so we might walk upright.  God raises us into maturity so we have the strength to confront principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places.  He declares us “more than conquerors.” 

So, God holds us in His hand but doesn’t hold our hand.  He sets us out to join the battle and confront the enemy while protecting us by His grace.  The panoply of God is His grace surrounding us, protecting us, defending us. 

And this armor is of practical value.  It doesn’t exist merely in doctrinal platitudes.  We should give careful attention to the whole armor of God because of the spiritual protection for the spiritual war it provides. 

We gird on the armor when we maintain our relationship with God in vital spiritual arenas related to the armor itself.  The sincere way we pursue the truth, our growing righteousness, our ever-deepening grasp of the gospel, our vibrant witness, and our taking hold of God’s promises and resting in them.  By looking to Christ in the Word and growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, we keep the armor fitted properly and in good repair.

This might not be all that sexy to a generation accustomed to quick fixes, Jiffy Lubes, and row upon row of self-help books.  But this is what God has provided for His saints so that we are armed for battle and ready to join the fray.  So, we must be attentive to our relationship with God to be armed for war. 

I wish I could write “10 hot tips for spiritual warfare.”  I wish I could tell you practical things, like “Tell yourself NO!  LOUD!” or “Spend 30 minutes in prayer before you read your Bible.”  “Stay off sugar.”  “Don’t watch YouTube after 10:00 at night.”  No doubt, these things could be helpful.  But God wants you to be attentive to His gifts of grace.  Ensure your armor fits right, is all in place, and is in good repair.  Be attentive to your salvation, sanctification, sincerity, and soul-winning.  Not fun, not fluff, but fundamental.

The final two pieces of armor will complete the panoply.  May God teach us to utilize His gifts of grace aimed at protecting us in this conflict.

The Helmet of Salvation

Before we consider the helmet, notice how the grammar changes at Ephesians 6:17.  With the first four pieces of armor, Paul used participles to describe how we stand.  “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness…” “taking the shield of faith.”    But now, Paul uses an imperative: “Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.”  He no longer describes the soldier standing, but calls the soldier to action.  Grab your helmet, grab your sword, and let’s go! 

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