Independent Fundamental Baptist

An Independent Fundamental Baptist church is a very conservative type of Christian church which originated from, and is nearly endemic to, the American South. It is often seen as being the most fundamentalist, conservative type of Christian church - "making the Southern Baptists look like liberals".

There are a substantial number of IFB churches in the Bible belt (the South), with a lesser-yet-growing number elsewhere in the United States and internationally.

Attributes

IFB churches are defined by several attributes:

• Very conservative Christianity; "hellfire and damnation", "fire and brimstone" preaching
• Taking a literal ("fundamentalist") interpretation of the whole Bible (in other words, believing the Word of God as God had it written), and thus also believing in Biblical inerrancy; this includes young earth creationism theology, as well as dispensationalist theology (particularly of the pre-tribulational premillennial variety)
• Being independent (local and autonomous like the church that Jesus Christ established when he lived on earth, as opposed to being affiliated with a national or international organization or governing body such as the Southern Baptist Convention or the Roman Catholic Church); this is due to the Biblical idea that a church should be beholden only to God, not to anyone or anything else such as an organization or governing body created by man
• Having congregational polity
• Practicing believer's baptism, by immersion, as described in the Bible (in other words, baptizing people who get saved and make a profession of faith, as opposed to sprinkling water on the foreheads of infants which cannot make an informed and free-will choice to dedicate their lives to God)
• Being part of the King James Only movement (exclusively using the King James Version of the Bible, which is truest to the original Greek manuscripts)
• Shunning of the ecumenical movement
• Shunning of liberalism in all forms -- social, political, and religious
• Emphasis on patriotism
• Awarding war veterans with higher positions in the church, such as being deacons
• Shunning of non-traditional music such as rock and roll and so-called "praise bands", in favor of Southern Gospel music and traditional old-time hymns
• Coming down firmly on the missionary side of the missionary/anti-missionary controversy (for more on the latter, see primitive baptist)
• Shunning of social movements that are perceived to be anti-Biblical such as feminism, environmentalism, and acceptance of homosexuality, as well as pre-marital sex and divorce and other such things
• Shunning of activities seen as immoral in light of the Bible, such as gambling, consumption of alcoholic beverages (see temperance movement), drug use, and tobacco use
• Advocating a traditional paternalistic lifestyle - a family based around a husband who works, his wife who is a housewife ("homemaker") and submits herself to him, and his children
• Shunning of needless pomp and circumstance which was created by man for man's enjoyment and which may violate Exodus 20:4 (the 2nd Commandment), in favor of glorifying God and focusing on the eternal fate of people's souls. This manifests itself in ways such as the choir wearing their normal clothes ("street clothes") instead of wearing matching uniforms, the preacher wearing a regular suit-and-tie instead of fancy robes and shawls, the sanctuary being very basic and austere in terms of architecture and decoration (an absence of stained glass is not uncommon), and the church building itself being rather simple in terms of architecture and construction.
• Advocating sending children to a fundamentalist Christian school, or home-schooling them, to keep their young minds away from the corrupting influences of public school such as drugs and alcohol and gang violence and the teaching of ideas which are viewed as contradicting the Bible's teachings (such as the theory of evolution)

Services

File:7-note-shape-note-hymnal.png

A traditional IFB hymnal, which uses the 7-note shape note system of writing musical notes. Note also the stern, Biblical lyrics.

Most IFB churches hold three weekly services: on Sunday morning (usually 11:00 am), on Sunday evening (usually 6:00 pm), and on Wednesday evening (usually 7:00 or 7:30 pm). Church members typically attend all three services weekly. In addition, there is typically a Sunday School taught an hour before the Sunday morning service (which is held in the sanctuary, and is for the adults, as opposed to the "Sunday School" of other denominations which is for young children).

IFB church services typically last for 1 to 1.5 hours, and go as follows:

• MUSIC PART
  • If it's a Sunday morning service, the choir assembles in the choir box behind the pulpit. If it's not a Sunday morning service, this step is skipped.
  • The music leader (who is typically just a man from the church who likes music) will come to the pulpit and call the room to order and call out a hymn number; congregants stand and sing the indicated hymn, with the congregation often singing in 3-part or 4-part harmony (as is common the South). The hymnal is often printed using the seven-note shape-note system. The hymns are played Southern Gospel style (which is a unique Southern style influenced by ragtime and stride piano; audio examples and a YouTube video and another) on a piano and often simultaneously on an electronic organ (such as the electronic parlor organs common in the 1960s and 1970s); an acoustic guitar and an electric bass are frequently also used. The musicians are simply church members who are willing and able to volunteer to play.
  • Several hymns -- typically between two and four -- are sung in the manner previously described, one right after another. This concludes the congregational hymn-singing for the service, which is a departure from other denominations and northern churches where the hymns are scattered around from the beginning to the end of the service.
  • Prayer requests are taken, and the church members silently pray in unison.
  • If it's a Sunday morning service, the choir sings one to three Southern Gospel songs; then the choir members come down out of the choir box and go to their seats in the pews while the musicians instrumentally play another verse or chorus of the song the choir just finished singing. If it's not a Sunday Morning service, this step is obviously skipped since the choir wasn't assembled in the first place.
  • An offertory prayer is said by a deacon chosen by the preacher; then, an offering is taken, with the deacons coming around with collection plates; an instrumental Southern Gospel song or hymn is played during this time.
  • There is so-called "special singing" at this point. "Special singing" is where a member or a few members of the church will come to the front of the sanctuary and sing a Southern Gospel song, sometimes to piano accompaniment, but more often karaoke-style to pre-recorded music. There are typically one or two "special singing" songs, then the music part of the service is over.
• PREACHING PART
  • The preacher steps to the pulpit, and asks everyone to open their Bibles to a given passage, which he reads out loud.
  • The preacher says a prayer thanking God for the Bible passage just read, and asking for His blessing on the upcoming sermon.
  • Occasionally, a church member (or a few church members in succession) will interject here by standing up and "testifying" about the ways God has blessed them in their life.
  • The preacher preaches a sermon generally based around the subject of the Bible passage he previously recited.
  • The preacher says a prayer thanking God for the sermon just given, and for the church service.
  • An "invitation" (also known as an "altar call") is given. The church members stand with their heads bowed and eyes closed, while the pianist and organist play instrumental music softly in the background, and the preacher gives an invitation to anyone sitting in the church who is not saved, to come kneel on the altar and ask Jesus to save them. If someone comes, the pianist and organist will continue to play for as long as the person stays at the alter, which often is very emotional and takes a few minutes.
  • The preacher gives any reminder announcements (such as for an upcoming church function), thanks the congregants for coming out, and dismisses the congregation.

Unlike in other denominations and northern churches, congregants are vocal during IFB services and participate in them. In other denominations and northern churches, the congregants sit still and silently during the sermon; in IFB churches, as is common in the South, congregants randomly call out "A-men!" or "That's right, preacher!" during the sermon when the preacher says something which resonates with them particularly strongly. Also, congregants oven whoop or cheer or call out "A-men!" or raise a hand during a hymn or song when the lyrics say something which resonates with them particularly strongly.

This is based on the Biblical notion that if you're saved (going to Heaven), the Holy Spirit dwells within you (1 Cor. 3:16, 1 Cor. 12:13) - and since the Holy Spirit is a living and active thing, anyone filled with it cannot possibly act like they're dead inside (silent & still) when the Word of God is being preached.

Other info

IFB churches tend to be very committed to mission work, revival meetings, and local evangelism. Frequent methods are door-to-door canvassing, distribution of Bible tracts, operating Christian radio stations such as the Fundamental Broadcasting Network, operating a Christian school, and encouraging members to become involved in local politics and school boards.

Traditional gender roles in church management are observed. All preachers, deacons, and ministry leaders are male. All adult members, both male and female, are allowed to vote on matters of church business, which is done open-meeting style, in the sanctuary after Wednesday evening services. The preacher and the church's men go off into a separate room about 15 minutes before each service to pray for the church and the impending service, as well as the nation and its military.

Nomenclature

Not all churches which fall into the IFB category choose to self-identify using the term "Independent Fundamental Baptist". Some use other terms like "Bible-believing", while others simply call themselves "Baptist", "Bible Baptist", "Missionary Baptist", or simply "Christian" (though not all churches using those names are Independent Fundamental Baptist churches).

It should be noted that there is no difference between the meaning of the terms "fundamental" and "fundamentalist"; save that fundamentalist Christians typically self-identify using the term "fundamental".

External links

• Fundamental Baptist Churches - What They are and What is Their History
• Online Baptist Active Community of Independent Fundamental Baptists