Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental Baptists or IFB) are Christian congregations that generally hold to fundamentalist or conservative views of evangelical Christianity and Baptist beliefs, such as believer's baptism, individual soul liberty, and the priesthood of all believers.
The term "independent" refers to the doctrinal position of church autonomy and a refusal to join any affiliated Baptist denominations or non-Baptist association, though they usually maintain some sort of fellowship with like-minded churches. As fundamentalists, these churches are strongly opposed to the ecumenical movement.
Around 3% of the United States adult population belongs to the IFB movement, half of whom live in the Southern United States.
History The modern IFB movement began in the early 20th century among local Baptist congregations whose members were concerned about the advancement of modernism or theological liberalism into national Baptist denominations in the U.S.Marsden (1980), pp. 55–62, 118–23.W. Glenn Jonas Jr., The Baptist River, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 96 In response to the concerns, some local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and re-established their congregations as independent churches. In other cases, the more conservative members of existing churches withdrew from their local congregations and established new IFB churches. However, earlier churches such as the Metropolitan Tabernacle led by Charles Spurgeon have been also associated with IFBs, as they separated from the British Baptist Union to become a self standing church due to holding more conservative beliefs than the Union.The World Baptist Fellowship (originally the Premillennial Missionary Baptist Fellowship) is an IFB organization founded by J. Frank Norris (1877–1952) in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1933 based on the idea of a fellowship consisting of independent, premillennial Baptist churches. This was done to combat what he saw as the "modernist" influences within the Southern Baptist Convention. However, after John Birch, a graduate of his seminary, was shot by Chinese Communists, he began very strongly to preach against communist influences in the U.S., and later urged U.S. President Harry Truman to recognize the State of Israel. Later, however, major divisions were created within his organization in 1950, leading to a rival group of IFBs led by Beauchamp Vick in Springfield, Missouri.
Other IFB organizations that were founded include the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1932 (became independent in 1934), which separated from the Northern Baptist Convention; the Baptist Bible Fellowship International in 1950; the Southwide Baptist Fellowship in 1956; the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International in 1967; the Independent Baptist Fellowship International in 1984; and the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America in 1990. Various independent Baptist Bible colleges were also founded.William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 297William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 623Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 357William H. Brackney, Congregation and Campus: Baptists in Higher Education, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 376 Such organizations were also born outside the U.S., notably the Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines.
In 1934, the major IFB newspaper The Sword of the Lord was funded by John R. Rice, who edited the publication until his death on December 29, 1980. At first, it was simply the four-page paper of Fundamentalist (later, Galilean) Baptist Church of Dallas, where Rice was the pastor. The paper was handed out on the street, and Rice's daughters and other Sunday school children delivered it door-to-door.Fred Barlow, "A Brief Biography of Dr. John R. Rice: Giant of Evangelism," Sword of the Lord (September 22, 2006), 14. The chief editor of newspaper after Rice's death became Curtis Hutson, which has been highly controversial among IFB, as he held to a Free Grace view of salvation, believing that repentance is simply a synonym for belief in Christ. Some IFBs believe that Hutson changed the original stances of the newspaper held by Rice, while the current chief editor Shelton Smith argued that Rice did not disagree with the soteriological views of Hutson.
In 1959, Jack Hyles became the pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, which became the largest IFB church of the 20th century. When he arrived, the church had a membership of about seven hundred, many from affluent backgrounds. About a third of the members left the church after hearing Hyles' preaching style, which was very different from that to which they had been accustomed. Hyles then led the church to its status as an IFB church, freeing it from its ties with the American Baptists. Hyles started his bus ministry and soon shepherded the church from a congregation of several hundred to more than 20,000. In the early 1990s, a national survey ranked First Baptist Church of Hammond as the largest church in the nation, by average weekly attendance figures.Chalfant, H. Paul, Religion in Contemporary Society (3rd Edition), Itasca, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers (1994); pp. 363–364.Falsani, Cathleen. "Brother Jack Hyles of Hammond dies at 74" Chicago Sun Times, February 8, 2001.
Within the 21st century, some IFBs voices have noticed a shift within some younger IFBs, particularly in their approach to separatism and their approach to theology. Paul Chappell notes that Millennial IFBs tend to emphasize theological knowledge and avoid the more rigid forms of the doctrine of separation. Although at the same time, the very radical New Independent Fundamental Baptist (New IFB) movement, founded by Steven Anderson, emerged out of the IFB movement and gained prominence online. However, mainstream IFB leaders have criticized the New IFB for its doctrinal positions, many of which are rejected by the broader IFB community today.
Beliefs Denominational beliefs are strictly Baptist. As Christian fundamentalists, they believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and great emphasis is also placed on a literal-historical interpretation of Scripture. Other common beliefs include separation of church and state, young Earth creationism (YEC), cessationism, and dispensationalism.Bill J. Leonard, Jill Y. Crainshaw, Encyclopedia of Religious Controversies in the United States, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 387W. Glenn Jonas Jr., The Baptist River: Essays on Many Tributaries of a Diverse Tradition, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 125: "Independents assert that the Bible is a unified document containing consistent propositional truths. They accept the supernatural elements of the Bible, affirm that it is infallible in every area of reality, and contend that it is to be interpreted literally in the vast majority of cases. Ultimately, they hold not merely to the inerrancy of Scripture, but to the infallibility of their interpretation of Scripture. The doctrine of premillennialism serves as a case in point. Early on in the movement, Independents embraced premillennialism as the only acceptable eschatological view. The BBU made the doctrine a test of fellowship. When Norris formed his Premillennial Missionary Baptist Fellowship (1933), he made premillennialism a requirement for membership. He held this doctrine to be the only acceptable biblical position, charging conventionism with being postmillennial in orientation." In general, IFBs are opposed to theological liberalism, ecumenism, Roman Catholicism, the Charismatic movement, the ordination of women pastors, homosexuality, and evolution.Bill J. Leonard, Baptists in America, Columbia University Press, USA, 2005, p. 115 Independent Baptist author are often also critical of the Magisterial reformers, including Martin Luther, John Calvin and Zwingli due to their hostile relations with the early Anabaptists.
Fundamentalism As Christian fundamentalists, IFBs are opposed both to liberal Christianity and neo-evangelicalism (which is particularly associated with Billy Graham). IFBs believe that neo-evangelicalism errs by failing to practice separation sufficiently, rejecting its perceived ecumenical attitudes in some modern evangelical circles.
King James Onlyism
Many IFB churches adhere to only using the King James Version of the Bible (KJV), a position known as "King James Onlyism."Bill J. Leonard, Baptists in America, Columbia University Press, USA, 2005, p. 141 David Cloud, an IFB author, drawing on the arguments of textual scholar and theologian Edward Hills, asserts that the KJV should not be viewed simply as a translation of the Greek and Hebrew texts. Instead, he regards it as an independent edition of the Textus Receptus itself, rendered in English rather than Greek, and providentially preserved as the purest form of the Textus Receptus. The King James Only position was also advocated by notable IFB pastors such as Hyles and Lester Roloff, who maintained that the King James Bible is the perfectly preserved the Word of God in English. Similarly, Jack Chick, who was best known for his comic tracts, also advocated a King James Only position. A more extreme form of King James Onlyism was developed by Peter Ruckman, who argued that the KJV constitutes "new revelation" or "advanced revelation" and is superior to the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. However, some IFBs like Rice, Hutson, Lee Roberson, R. L. Hymers Jr., and others took a more moderate position in arguing that although the King James Bible is preferable to most modern translations because of its manuscript tradition, it is not divinely inspired.
IFBs who support newer translations of the Bible acknowledge that there are varying opinions on textual matters. However, they believe that the fundamental concern is what the translators of the KJV advocated for: that the average person should have access to the Bible in a language they can understand.[http://www.dbts.edu/pdf/shortarticles/statement.pdf DBTS Statement on Bible translation issues, November 1996"FBF, BJU and the NASV" by Stephen Ross, October 2001, published on Wholesome Words website (accessed October 13, 2007)A 2001 article in Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, "Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Committed to Modern Versions ", characterized Bob Jones University, DBTS, and Central Baptist Theological Seminary as having "turned their guns on the defenders of the KJV." However, an April 2001 review by Dr. Thomas M. Strouse, also published by the Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service , of the article "The Preservation of Scripture", by William W. Combs of DBTS, describes the Combs article as "a significant service for fundamental Baptists in the arena of bibliology" that "has enunciated once and for all the bibliological watershed for fundamentalists: what does the Bible attest to its own preservation?"Pastor's Comments on "The Importance of Bible Preservation" and "Would-Be Pastors Attempt To Change Churches from the King James Bible", by Pastor D. A. Waite, Th.D., Ph.D., naming DBTS as one of "four leading Fundamentalist schools" that "either deny or re-define Bible preservation." March 13 and May 1, 2005.The Dean Burgon Society website (accessed October 18, 2007), names DBTS as one of seven fundamentalist institutions accused of propagating "distortions on Bible versions."