The Reformed Fundamentalist

A fellow on a Forum that I’m on, made a couple of posts today, one on why he likes being an IFB, and one on why he doesn’t like being IFB. He raised a couple of interesting points on both sides of the argument. I agree with him, that most IFB churches aren’t really “independent”. There are different circles within the IFB movement, that although the churches are “independent” of a hierarchy(like Southern Baptist Churches), they still tend to participate in the same conferences, endorse the same ministries and missionaries, etc. You have the Hyles-Anderson College circle, the Crown College circle, the Sword of the Lord circle, and various others. Another problem, is that in being “independent”, there is little accountability. Some churches have pastors in the pulpit who are bullies.

Some churches think they are more “Fundamental” than others, because they have pulled out man-made standards and turned them into “Fundamentals” of the faith. For example, some years ago, Baptist Magazine put out by Longview Baptist Temple and College did an article on what IFB colleges were really “Fundamental”. They called up various IFB colleges, and asked them questions about certain standards, and then declared themselves “the only Fundamental college”. They called up various colleges, posing as students, to make some inquiries. One college they called up was in the Northeast, where during the winter it gets rather cold. The “student” who called asked if they permitted girls to wear pajama pant bottoms, and the Dean told them that the girls could, but only in the dorms. When the magazine article came out, Baptist Magazine claimed that this college permitted girls to wear pants, thus making them “not Fundamental”. This is a bit of an extreme example of how some places operate, but there are those IFB churches that think that you have to adhere to certain “standards” to be considered Fundamental.

But despite this, there are many IFB churches that are good churches, that don’t necessarily adhere to this kind of stupidity. I’m currently a member of a good SBC church, that is fairly conservative. We had a missions conference recently, something that many IFB churches like to do. Most IFB’s, unlike most Southern Baptists or othe churches, tend to utilize just one translation in the churches(normally the KJV), and I personally like the concept of using only on translation within the church. Standardization of that sort tends to make things go better, in my opinion. I also prefer hymns over most modern Praise and Worship music, another IFB strength. Most Southern Baptists use either modern Praise and Worship(which is normally rather weak theologically, or 7-11 music), or they do a mix of hyms and modern with a preference towards modern. IFB’s also normally know exactly which missionaries they’re supporting, and they have them preach at their church and present their work prior to taking on a missionary. Whereas most Southern Baptists just give to the Co-op, and they don’t know much about their missionaries. I think that the IFB way of doing it, makes the supporting of a missionary more personal.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many IFB churches in my area that I feel like I can attend. I have some personal preferences that keep me from attending some of the IFB churches in my area, and a few theological issues with one or two of them. The church that I am at now, is very theologically sound, and fits with most of my personal preferences. But it’s SBC, not IFB. Perhaps someday, if I find the right church, I’ll rejoin IFBdom. But until then, I’m content to be an Independent, Reformed, Southern, Fundamental Baptist.

Tags: Independent Fundamental Baptists, Southern Baptists