Swimming Pool or Ocean

Dave Mallinak, who pastors in Ogden, UT, wrote these comments but sent them to me directly rather than putting them in the comments of a previous post. I felt he shed light on a current theme of some who have forsaken old fashioned Christianity. We are being accused of shallowness. I admit some “IFB” are very shallow. I posted about that last summer. But being an “IFB,” or even an “IFBx” doesn’t automatically equate with shallowness. Some get in so deep they drown. Well, I’ll stop and let his comments speak for themselves:

__________, for your sake, I think I should clarify my earlier comment. I’m not saying that Fairhaven has depth because God uses them to bring many souls to Christ, though I see that many souls do come to Christ through their ministry. This does not indicate depth, it indicates usefulness. Fairhaven is and has been very useful to the glory of God.

But results do not indicate depth. One of the shallowest places I know of, both theologically and spiritually, claims to have baptized over 5,000 converts on one day. Results are no indication of depth.

But claiming you are deep also does not indicate that you are deep. Deep is a relative term. If you compare the depth of the ocean to the depth of a ten-foot deep swimming pool, the pool is shallow. But to one who can’t swim, the pool is deep. I can swim well enough to keep from drowning, so the swimming pool doesn’t scare me. The ocean scares me.

I brought up depth because one who was of us now accuses us (I think in pride) of shallowness, claiming that God has blessed him with a “sharp mind,” and basically saying that he has the power to go deep. I simply wanted to point out that we aren’t as shallow as he makes us out to be.

But that doesn’t mean that I think we need to always be deep, or even deeper than the next guy. Depth has no value if it only serves to drown. Shallow is best for bathing. We are not all equally blessed with the ability to dive deep. If a person can go deeper than others can, he should not promote himself for it. Of what use is it? How does it edify the body of Christ? He has gone deep. Can he come back up? Because we know he can’t live down there. Unless he is a fish.

Fairhaven is a great blessing because men who deeply love God insist on bringing what they find up to a level where others can also be blessed. Is that shallow of them? Then I’ll take the shallow. I can drink in shallow water. But I don’t want to try to drink when I’m on the bottom. On the other hand, it is a great blessing to take the ocean of God’s Word, and to look below the surface. Everyone really ought to try. If you need a snorkel, put one on. If you can handle deep-sea diving, the deeper you go, the more of blessing you will find.

I think we all need to wade out into that ocean until our feet are off the bottom, and we must trust the water to carry us. In that ocean, I’m not afraid of drowning. To drown in the water of life — that would be blessing. As Spurgeon said, blessed is that man who gets his feet off the bottom, and swims in the stream where he has no hope but his God, and no confidence and no helper but the Invisible One who sustaineth all things.

Sincerely,
Dave Mallinak
Pastor
Berean Baptist Church
3846 Jackson Avenue
Ogden, Utah 84403