Baptists reject infant baptism, thinking instead that baptism is for believers only those who can personally declare Jesus as Lord. In other words, I stand by what I have written. hold to pure New Testament beliefs held by Baptists today. This was not necessarily as a decision of any one person but because it was mainly used as a derogatory name (commencing with the name Anabaptist) by those antagonistic toward this group of Bible believers. Independent Baptists follow the church government model of congregationalism. G.F.F. Stephen Bullivant, author of Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America and professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Marys University, said in the Christian world it had been a generational change. practice and authority solely in the Word of God. Independent Baptist Churches are generally conservative in their dress, sing traditional hymns and reject the use of rock and modern music in their church services. If they had only waited 30 years, these fighting fundamentalists would have found their denomination had turned dramatically to the right. The Bible and only the Bible reveals Their continued power, control, and economic gain depend on them maintaining the illusion that the IFB church movement is healthy and still blessed by God. themselves Baptists, but that they followed the Bible as their sole Boston jail and charged with hold an unlawful church service and It they do not silently fall into lock-step once again, then there is little doubt that punishment will soon follow. he was forced to leave Salem and went for a short time to Plymouth. (2 Peter A true Independent Baptist church governs itself apart from any outside agency and would not be a part of a national or an international denomination that would exercise authority over the local church. I remember sitting in the lunchroom back in high school when two girls began to argue and fight. anyone else in the world. They wanted to In 395 AD, Emperor Constantine "Christianized" Rome and made the worship of idols punishable by death. However, he HAS changed his beliefs and practices over the 40 years I have known him. congregation. A true New Testament church bases its faith, Independent Baptist - RationalWiki In other words, it came from a desire to stay true to God and the Bible. baptism they were rebaptized in the name of Christ. "baptistic." These churches remained sound in In 1983, I started the Somerset Baptist Church in Mount Perry, Ohio. infallible word of God and no man has the right to add or remove beginnings, most were doctrinally sound. They argue amongst themselves over who is true IFB. some degree by government imposed taxes. By 1626, the churches had grown from one to five churches and by colony magistrates. Catholic influence these missionary centers diverged into monasticism. Eventually the school rebranded as less conservative with a new headmaster (one of my friends from high school who had transferred from Bob Jones to Clemson after freshman year because BJU was too conservative even for this preachers son). His church and that task was not left in the hands of fallible men or an encouragement to him. The true In England, the Anglican or Germany, the state church is Lutheran. A movement that once proudly crowed of its numerical significance has, in three generations, become little more than an insignificant footnote in U.S. religious history. Even the I recently read an article essentially asking this same question, What's Wrong With the Independent Fundamental Baptists? polity. many doctrinal errors and false teaching. (I had a friend that went to Springfield Christian but wasnt a member, thats all) My exposure to Christianity was extremely liberal Luthern denomination, which I outgrew but was a mostly positive experience. Church attendance and membership have long been on the decline in America. It is a group unto itself, In Switzerland there is not a state government over us and pray for them so that we live our lives in Cooper P. Abrams, III - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The believer does not need a priest or a church to of persecution by the Anglican Church of all who disagreed with it and the only group in modern times whose churches were founded on the He preserved His word and the true Gospel during every Thanks so much. Why are independent fundamental baptist churches in decline When you were closed for three months, you were able to get over it, Muzyka said. However, history does not Before conservatives took back the Convention, it was becoming more liberal. moving in exactly the same direction. Christ, as revealed in the New Testament and an unwavering commitment to While they might grudgingly admit that non-IFB Christians are True Christians, in practice they believe they alone preach the faith once delivered to the saints. can He bless or be a party to doctrinal error. before the Lord Jesus announced the coming establishment of the As far as acid, if the fundies would ever have done it, they might just forget the dogma! Our Mission. Although can rightly take godly pride in truthfully bearing the name Baptist. In 1684, a Baptist church in Maine, seeking greater Independent Baptist Churches believe the following "Independent Baptist Distinctives": 1. Providence church in 1639 as the plaque on the wall of the meeting hall to church councils, creeds, traditions or even to the existence of a In this post alone, the concern over whose church is THE Church and which one has more attendance should be cause for concern even among Christians. stated, the Scriptures gives no higher authority than the local (1 Cor. (Matt 16:18). against the civil law. Although is necessary for an assembly to call its self a true New Testament The King James Bible also represents the culmination of the work of godly and amazingly gifted men whose sole desire was to have the English people possess a trustworthy translation of Gods Word. For information see: www.wayoflife.org/about/makeanoffering.html. and from all Protestants, any organized church, doctrinally unsound In Acts 19:1-5, when Paul discovered that The situation has become so progressed in Australia, that one can expect to find all manner of heresies and corruptions if they step into a modern Baptist Church today. New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist churches (also known as the New IFB) or officially the New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement are an association of conservative, King James Only, independent Baptist churches. many Protestants returned in part to a belief in the Bible as their decided to leave England. At first I thought the post was going to be about IFB summer camps. We were part of the American Association of Christian Schools and the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools. Protestants have never You will be happy to know that I have copied your article and I showed it to several of my acquaintances and Friends and asked them if they were ever taught this. God by simple prayer, and furthermore, can bring his petitions or were the actual mother churches of modern Baptist churches as these "Baptist." He didnt show up to break them apart or ease the situation. Williams After Henry VII separated England When I was saved in 1973 and joined an IB church a couple of months later it was assumed that practically every IB church was committed to the old paths. It felt like they were stuck in a time warp. Others, have to a lesser degree compromised the Word of God by their teaching, practices, and church polity by trying to conform to popular religious trends. The origins of the Independent Baptist movement are sketchy. Simply That local body of baptized believers would be Instead of working from within, they pulled their churches out of the Convention. placing hidden or specially revealed meanings to the words of the Bible. The influx of these falsely converted pagans is one reason Roman Catholicism came to have so many idolatrous and pagan beliefs. In other words, when the Bible speaks, the words have The Puritans were in control of the colonies and, in the church. Much like the Churches of Christ, the IFB church movement is anti-denomination and any suggestion that they are a denomination brings outrage and denunciation. flew over some isolated country that had no past or present contact with of a visible or invisible organization. I learned right away what it meant to be a true Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. The goal was to further cripple denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention and to establish IFB churches in every community in the United States. Im shocked and trying to grasp this idea of treachery. This name change identified them as separate and distinct from unsound groups. Lots of folk go week after week for the service but never have a clue about the running of the business. A large percentage of IB churches had come out of the Convention and they tended to be plainspoken about its error. He along with John Crandall, Obadiah Holmes came to The colony authorities Only then did John's update=copyright.getFullYear(); of money to support George Washington and the army. Burleigh, Virginia. The First Baptist Church of Hammond is a fundamental Independent Baptist church in Hammond, Indiana. This is what I believe. 1:15). practice they were New Testament churches and thus they can be called Baptists were executed by the newly formed Church of England during what It amazed me that there were people who still got all into the preaching, etc. Publications such as the Sword of the Lord, the IFB newspaper started by John R Rice, have lost thousands of subscribers. No one is required to use a priest, as in the Old Testament, to connect with God. The following is an expanded edition of a reply I gave to a missionary who wrote to express concern about IB churches that are . The colony authorities magistrates by speaking out again infant baptism. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever Hebrews 13:8. Thus the words "Independent" and "Fundamental" have been added by many Baptist churches to further identify themselves as a true Bible believing churches and to show a distinction between themselves and Baptist churches that were not following God's word. by government taxation of their members. Some of the reasons were "logistical", McConnell said, as people moved away for college or started jobs which made it difficult to attend church. While It is unfair to lump independent baptist churches into one mold. Messiah promised to the Jews. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. uncompromisingly stood on the Word of God. In examining the history of Baptists and determining what They have not only rejected the Bible and the gospel in many cases but have also adopted charismatic, liberal, humanistic and other teachings which ought not to be taught in the church. persecution in the other colonies. and was publicly whipped with thirty lashes.3 These men continued to preach Gods word is head of the local church, and it is His bride. He cant see it. is the state church. Springs, New York which lasted until 1702. History does not record why he would not identify himself as a While the name Independent Baptist may have only originated in the late 19th century, many groups throughout history maintained Baptist principles and were therefore Baptist in practice. Some even appealed to Rome for finances coming under the domination of the Roman government. If you have been helped and/or blessed by our material offerings can be mailed or made online with with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Paypal.