Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental Baptist or IFB or Bible Baptist Churches) are Christian congregations, generally holding to conservative (primarily fundamentalist) Baptist beliefs. Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded.
The modern Independent Baptist tradition began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among local denominational Baptist congregations whose members were concerned about the advancement of modernism and theological liberalism into national Baptist denominations and conventions in the United States and the United Kingdom. [1] [2]
In response to the concerns, some local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and conventions and reestablished the congregations as Independent Baptist churches. In other cases, the more conservative members of existing churches withdrew from their local congregations and set about establishing new Independent Baptist churches. [3]
Although some Independent Baptist churches refuse affiliation with Baptist denominations, various Independent Baptist Church denominations have been founded. [4] There is the World Baptist Fellowship founded in 1933 at Fort Worth, Texas by J. Frank Norris. [5] Doctrinal differences in the latter led to the founding of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International in 1950 and the Independent Baptist Fellowship International in 1984. [6] Various independent Baptist Bible colleges were also founded. [7]
During the 21st century, the New Independent Fundamental Baptist movement was founded out of the Independent Baptist movement by Steven Anderson, which Independent Baptist writers have criticized. Independent Baptists generally reject many of the doctrines taught by the New IFB, including the claim that the atonement was not fully fulfilled in the cross, but instead done by Jesus in burning in hell. [8]
The beliefs are mainly Baptist and fundamentalist. [9] They refuse any form of ecclesial authority other than that of the local church. Great emphasis is placed on the literal interpretation of the Bible as the primary method of Bible study [10] as well as the biblical inerrancy and the infallibility of their interpretation. [11] Dispensationalism is common among Independent Baptists. They are opposed to any ecumenical movement with denominations that do not have the same beliefs. [12] Due to a lack of central authority and an independent congregational polity, Independent Baptist churches may often have variances from each other in a number of areas in theology and practice. This includes issues such as on music, dress standards, the practice of communion and soteriology, however they are homogeneous on issues such as opposition to the practice of homosexuality, the ordination of women, the charismatic movement, evolutionism and abortion. [13]
Many IFB churches adhere to only using the King James Version, a position known as King James Onlyism. [14] Independent Baptists generally believe in abstinence from alcohol, and do not use fermented wine in communion. They believe that the Lord's Supper in the early church was done by heating up must into grape syrup, and then diluting it with water when it was needed for use again to avoid fermentation. [15] Many are opposed to Contemporary Christian Music. [16]
Soteriologically, Independent Baptists may differ from each other. Some Independent Baptists have views similar to Free Grace theology, including writers such as Jack Hyles, [17] Curtis Hutson, [18] Shelton Smith, [19] and Peter Ruckman. [20] Some others also espouse more moderately Free Grace oriented views such as David Cloud. However, there are also many among the Independent Baptist movement who espouse Lordship salvation. [21]
Independent Baptists believe that the literal shedding of blood on the cross was a necessary part of Jesus' atoning work, denying that the biblical references to blood are intended as metaphors for death as some theologians maintain. They also often emphasize the belief that after Jesus' resurrection, he took his blood into heaven to be applied into the heavenly mercy seat. [22] [15] [23]
Independent Baptists disagree among themselves on the issue of secondary versus primary separation, which is a debate on if a Christian should separate from merely from the unbelieving (primary separation) or also from those Christians who do not sufficiently separate themselves from the unbelieving (secondary separation). The concept of secondary separation was heavily criticized by Independent Baptist writer Curtis Hutson in the Sword of the Lord newspaper [24] and was opposed by influential figures like John R. Rice [25] and Lee Roberson [26] . However, it found strong support from prominent pastor Jack Hyles. [27] Some Independent Baptists also believe in so-called "third degree separation", which is the belief that one needs to separate from Fundamentalists who do not practice secondary separation. [28]
Some Independent Baptists adhere to "Baptist Successionism," the belief that Baptists trace their origins through an unbroken lineage of Christians dating back to the Apostles, with medieval groups like the Waldensians and Albigenses cited as pre-reformation representatives of Baptist principles. [15] Some proponents take this further by embracing Landmarkism, the view that only Baptist churches constitute the body of Christ and that only Baptists will be raptured at Jesus' coming. However, this perspective is not universally accepted within the Independent Baptist movement. Writers like David Cloud have strongly criticized the denial of a universal body of Christ comprising all true believers. [29]
Baptist churches that adhere to fundamentalism often call themselves "Bible Baptist Church", "Fundamental Baptist Church", or "Independent Baptist Church" to demonstrate their membership in the movement. [30]
Independent Baptists believe in memorialism, the belief that the Lord's Supper is symbolic. However, Independent Baptists may differ in how frequently each church takes communion, believing that there is no set frequency on how often it must be taken. Independent Baptists refuse to use fermented wine in the Lord's Supper, believing that the yeast in the fermented wine corrupts the symbolism of the Lord's Supper. [15]
As Baptists, Independent Baptists are strongly opposed to the pracrice of Infant Baptism. [31]
Members of Independent Baptist churches comprised 2.5% of the United States adult population, according to a 2014 survey by the Pew Research Center. [32]
In 2018, an investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified 412 abuse allegations in 187 independent fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches and institutions across the United States and Canada, with some cases reaching as far back as the 1970s. [33] [34]
In November 2023, Investigation Discovery released Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals , a 4 part documentary, highlighting sexual abuse and cover up within the Independent Baptist movement. [35]
Baptists are a denomination of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists recognize only two ordinances: baptism and communion.
Evangelicalism, also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that puts primary emphasis on evangelization. The word evangelic comes from the Greek word for 'good news'. The Gospel story of the salvation from sin is considered "the good news". The process of personal conversion involves complete surrender to Jesus Christ. The conversion process is authoritatively guided by the Bible, the God in Christianity's revelation to humanity. Critics of the conceptualization of evangelicalism argue that it is too broad, too diverse, or too ill-defined to be adequately seen as a movement or a single movement.
Seventh Day Baptists are Baptists who observe the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as a holy day to God. They believe in conscious baptism of believers by immersion, congregational government and the scriptural basis of opinion and practice. They profess a statement of faith instituted on fundamental precepts of belief. Seventh Day Baptists rest on Saturday as a sign of obedience in a covenant relationship with God and not as a condition of salvation. Many, have adopted a Baptist covenant theology, based on the concept of regenerated society.
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Christian body in the United States. The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions.
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a Baptist Christian denomination established in 1907 as the Northern Baptist Convention, and named the American Baptist Convention from 1950 to 1972. It traces its history to the First Baptist Church in America (1638) and the Baptist congregational associations which organized the Triennial Convention in 1814.
Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a significant summary of the beliefs of Reformed Baptists. The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century to denote Baptists who retained Baptist ecclesiology, and reaffirmed Reformed biblical theology, such as Covenant theology.
Free Will Baptists or Free Baptists are a group of General Baptist denominations of Christianity that teach free grace, free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced to the 1600s with the development of General Baptism in England. Its formal establishment is widely linked to the English theologian, Thomas Helwys who led the Baptist movement to believe in general atonement. He was an advocate of religious liberty at a time when to hold to such views could be dangerous and punishable by death. He died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of Protestant dissenters under King James I.
The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during the 17th and 18th centuries. German Baptist Brethren emerged in some German-speaking states in western and southwestern parts of the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the Radical Pietist revival movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, where people began to read and study their Bibles on their own- rather than just being told what to believe and do.
The King James Only movement asserts that the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is superior to all other English translations of the Bible. Adherents of the movement, mostly certain Conservative Anabaptist, traditionalist Anglo-Catholic, Conservative Holiness Methodist and Independent Baptist churches, believe that this text has been providentially preserved as a perfect translation of the Bible into English.
The Alliance of Mennonite Evangelical Congregations (AMEC) is an association of conservative evangelical Mennonite churches. The organization was officially formed in 2002 over concerns relating to the merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church.
The Independent Assemblies of God International (IAOGI) is a pentecostal Christian association with roots in a revival of the 1890s among the Scandinavian Baptist and Pietist communities in the United States. Independent Assemblies of God International is a member of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America. International offices are located in Laguna Hills, California.
Jack Frasure Hyles was a leading figure in the Independent Baptist movement, having pastored the First Baptist Church of Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, from August 1959 until his death. He was well known for being an innovator of the church bus ministry that brought thousands of people each week from surrounding towns to Hammond for services. Hyles built First Baptist up from fewer than a thousand members to a membership of 100,000. In 1993 and again in 1994, it was reported that 20,000 people attended First Baptist every Sunday, making it the most attended Baptist church in the United States. In 2001, at the time of Hyles's death, 20,000 people were attending church services and Sunday school each week.
Baptist beliefs are not completely consistent from one church to another, as Baptists do not have a central governing authority. However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches.
An ordinance is a term used by certain Christian denominations for a religious ritual that was instituted by Jesus for Christians to observe.
Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U.S. population is Protestant. Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total Protestant population. The U.S. contains the largest Protestant population of any country in the world. Baptists comprise about one-third of American Protestants. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest single Protestant denomination in the U.S., comprising one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve of the original Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, with only Maryland having a sizable Catholic population due to Lord Baltimore's religious tolerance.
Ecclesiastical separatism is the withdrawal of people and churches from Christian denominations, usually to form new denominations.
The New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement is an association of rightwing King James Only, independent Baptist churches. The New IFB began with Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in response to perceived liberalism in other independent Baptist churches. The New IFB does not consider itself to be a denomination. As of 2019, the New IFB listed 32 affiliated congregations on its website, most in the US with some in Australia, Canada, the Philippines and South Africa.
Evangelical theology is the teaching and doctrine that relates to spiritual matters in evangelical Christianity and a Christian theology. The main points concern the place of the Bible, the Trinity, worship, salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism and the end of time.