Independent Baptist
Independent Baptist churches (which may be referred to as Independent Fundamentalist Baptist, or IFB) are
Christian churches holding to generally
Baptist beliefs. Like all Baptists they are characterized by being independent from the authority of denominations and church councils. However, the reason for the distinction, "independent," is that they eschew even the Baptist conventions or associations in which other Baptist churches participate (although many Independent Baptist churches do belong to fellowships). They remain
autonomous and
congregationalist in nature and are generally
fundamentalist in teaching. The IFB movement is not a denomination
per se, but there are similarities that run throughout most Independent Baptist churches.
The term Independent Baptist was applied to these unaffiliated churches in the late
1800s and early
1900s when national
Baptist denominations and conventions in the
United States and
England started modernising and
liberalising. Perceived weakening beliefs in these denominations about core Christian doctrines such as the infallibility of the
Bible, the nature of
God and
Jesus, and separation from worldliness caused the more
conservative local churches to react by separating from these denominations. Some joined new denominations that were more conservative in their beliefs while others did not join any particular denomination and remained "independent". These local churches often set about establishing other Independent Baptist churches.
Because they are independent, there is considerable variation in the beliefs of Independent Baptist churches and colleges.
Many Independent Baptist churches support exclusive use of Bible translations based on the
Textus Receptus (Received Text)
Greek New Testament and the
Masoretic (but non
Biblia Hebraica or
Leningrad Text)
Hebrew Old Testament. These translations include the Authorized
King James Version (KJV) in English and the
Reina-Valera 1909 Version in Spanish due to the belief that newer Bible versions have various problems in text and translation. (
See also: King-James-Only Movement)
Independent Baptist churches are very conservative in their beliefs and styles of worship. They tend to reject many things found in many denominational churches because they consider them to be associated with worldliness and appeal to the flesh. These often include many of the following (the list is not all-inclusive, and depends on the group involved):
*
rock and roll and other forms of modern music, including
contemporary Christian music,
*certain contemporary dress styles such as pants on women or long hair and earrings on men,
*visiting movie theaters,
*drinking of
alcohol,
*use of
tobacco,
*sex outside of marriage between one man and one woman, such as pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, and
homosexuality, and
*
abortion (in some cases, all forms of
birth control are opposed).
They tend also to support conservative American politics, with one notable exception--the general consensus opposes
school vouchers, on the basis that such vouchers, if accepted by church-operated schools, would allow the government a "foothold" into the teachings and practices of the individual church and give it authority to dictate what could and could not be taught.
Many Independent Baptist churches have very organized outreach ministries such as weekly "soul winning," in which groups go and
evangelize areas surrounding the church building. Many churches will also have "bus ministries," in which volunteers drive church buses or vans to surrounding areas to bring people (mostly children) to the church's services. A few still practice "street preaching," the open-air preaching of the Gospel in a public setting such as a park or street corner, though this is very rare. Like many other types of churches, Independent Baptist churches often have
prison ministries and send
missions or evangelists to other parts of the country or to other countries to start more local churches.
Many churches start and maintain their own college. These colleges are usually
unaccredited and rely heavily on an "apprentice" approach to education, rather than extensive formal training in ancient languages of the Bible,
Systematic Theology, and
Hermeneutics.
In the early 1990's, several prominent Independent Baptist works found themselves caught up in a series of scandals which affected member morale as well as public perception of their ministry methods. Sexual scandal, public criminal trials of pastors, deacons, and church workers indicted for sexual crimes, financial impropriety, and domestic/child abuse, all increased divisions, accusations, and counter-accusations within the movement. Additonally, controversy over use of the King James Version of the Bible has created deep schism. Most recently, the rise of
Calvinism in what had been a predominantly
Dispensationalist and
semi-Arminian religious movement has prompted some IFB church members to resort to denominations such as the
Southern Baptist Convention for a more stable church environment.
In the last ten years reformers from within the IFB movement have turned to writing memoirs and exposés of abuse, exploitation, and manipulation within local churches. The outstanding issues that members and former members have identified as culprits in abusive IFB churches are sole eldership, in which the pastor has all authority; lack of accountability of the pastor to any board of colleagues; inadequate education of men in the ministry; and misinterpretation of Scripture. In early 2004, Phil Johnson of Grace to You ministries, presented a lecture on the demise of Fundamentalism entitled "Dead Right (revised)" [
1]. Since then, the rise of a group of scholarly Independent Baptist Fundamentalists, often called "The Young Fundamentalist Movement" (sometimes in derision) has made its presence felt on the internet. The influence of this informal group has not yet been measured.
The Internet community has also given rise to a distinction within Independent Fundamental Baptist circles. Realizing that the umbrella term "IFB" covers a very broad territory and includes quite balanced and loving churches along with fringe groups which have many characteristics of a sect or cult, the internet community known as the "Fighting Fundamentalist Forums" began using the term "IFBx" as an abbreviation to denote "Independent Fundamental Baptist-Extreme."
*
A Brief Survey Of Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches - by Cooper Abrams
*
Plains Baptist Challenger - an independent Baptist periodical
*
BIMI, an Independent Baptist mission board
