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 characterized by some or all of these attributes:

• Very conservative Christianity; "hellfire and damnation", "fire and brimstone" preaching
• Taking a literal ("fundamentalist") interpretation of the whole Bible. This typically includes belief in Biblical inerrancy, young earth creationism and dispensationalist theology (particularly of the pre-tribulational premillennial variety)
• Being independent. Fundamentalists believe that local and autonomous churches reflect the church that Jesus Christ established when he lived on earth. Fundamentalists typically shun affiliation with national or international organizations or governing bodies like the Southern Baptist Convention or the Roman Catholic Church as antithetical to a scriptural ideal that a church should be beholden only to God rather than any organization or governing body created by man
• Having congregational polity
• Practicing what is known as believer's baptism, i.e. baptism by immersion, as they claim is described in the New Testament, by those who have expressed faith in Jesus Christ with evidence of repentance. This is opposite of, for example, sprinkling water on the foreheads of infants who cannot make such an informed and free-will choice.
• Holding solely to the King James Version of the Bible, which is believed by them to be a perfect translation of the manuscripts into the English language.
• Shunning of the ecumenical movement
• Shunning of perceived liberalism in all forms -- social, political, and religious
• Emphasis on patriotism
• Shunning of secular music or music believed to be secularized such as rock and roll, jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, alternative and/or so-called "praise bands", in favor of more traditionally religious music such as Southern Gospel music, traditional old-time hymns and/or religious classical music. Some fundamentalist sects will make exceptions for some genres, such as operatic music, non-religious classical music, bluegrass and even music used in movie soundtracks, provided it exhibits no overpowering beat or other characteristics thought to be of a Satanic influence. Other sects eschew music with patently emotional overtones like certain Gospel music.
• Taking the missionary side of the missionary/anti-missionary controversy (for more on the latter, see primitive baptist)
• Shunning of social movements deemed to be unscriptural such as the feminist movement, environmentalist movement, and acceptance of homosexuality(sodomy).
• Shunning of certain societally accepted or tolerated behaviors believed to be proscribed by the Bible such as pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, divorce, homosexuality (sodomy), mixed dancing, drinking of alcoholic (see temperance movement) and in some cases caffeinated beverages, recreational use of drugs, tobacco use, gambling and wearing of clothing or hairstyles deemed "unisex" (for example, women wearing pants, or men wearing long hair or certain jewelry).
• Advocating a traditional paternalistic lifestyle - a family based around what is seen Biblically: the husband is the head of the home, the wife subject to her husband only, et cetera.
• Shunning of ceremonial worship trappings which might dissipate spiritual focus such as choir robes, pastoral vestments and decorations in the place of worship. Some fundamentalist churches intentionally meet in buildings virtually devoid of decor or significant architectural elements in order to encourage attendees to focus, instead, on what is happening in the building.
• Home schooling or church schooling to ensure children are protected from the perceived corrupting characteristics of public or private schools and other secular organizations. In particular, separate education is believed to protect children from drug and alcohol use, gang violence, underage sex and pregnancy, and the teaching of ideas which are deemed to challenge the Bible's teachings such as the theory of evolution, certain aspects of sex education, family planning (including information which may be seen as tolerant of abortion) and the acceptance or tolerance of diversity in sexual preference, value system, religion, etc.
• Antipathy towards many or most religious belief systems that do not conform to the fundamentalist dogma. Some fundamentalist sects or churches have become noted for harsh characterizations of the Catholic and Islamic faiths.
• Belief that God has assigned leadership responsibility only to men, and that women are to play a limited, if any, role in power structures.

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 will come to the pulpit and call the room to order and call out a hymn number; congregants stand and sing the indicated hymn. The hymnal is often printed using the seven-note shape-note system. The hymns are typically played by a pianist, careful to not play in a secular manner.
  • 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 for services is given, then the people divide up into their classes for Sunday School.
  • If it's a Sunday morning service, there is an hymn song by the congregation, led by the song leader. **Following the song is prayer for the service, then a recitation of a memory verse that the pastor has chosen for the church to memorize together.
  • Another song is sung, followed by the ushers coming forward for prayer regarding the offering. Said offering is then taken while the pianist plays softly an hymn.
  • A man will then come up to the pulpit and read a chapter out of one book of the Bible.
  • Sometimes, there has been a song especially chosen to help the congregation prepare their minds and hearts for the preaching ahead. Then, either the church choir, a soloist, duet, trio--however many there are, will come and sing that special song that was chosen.
• 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.
  • 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 plays 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. The invitation is also for anyone else who desires to come to the altar, to pray to God regarding anything that has convicted them, concerned them, or any reason at all. If someone comes, the pianist and organist will continue to play for as long as the person stays at the alter, which often is 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 even call out "A-men!" or raise a hand during a hymn or song when the lyrics say something which resonates with them particularly strongly.

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. This observance is due to the Bible's standards of conduct for church offices: I Timothy 3.

During Wednesday night prayer meetings, which usually start at 7 PM, (some hold their prayer meetings on Thursday nights), is started by singing of an hymn accompanied by the pianist. Then there is prayer given for the service, and then the recitation of the memory verse.

If there are any announcements, (upcoming events, reminders, et cetera), those are given, then an opportunity for people to share testimonies of what God has done for them in their lives lately, (This is also seen in Sunday morning/night services). Another song is sung, followed by a short Bible study given by the pastor.

After the study has ended, (usually only fifteen minutes long), he reads any letters received by the missionaries the church supports. Then, if there are any prayer requests from the congregation, those are shared and prayed over. Typically, the congregation will write down these requests so as to remember when they break off in their respective groups for prayer.

Usually, the men will go to a separate area to pray, while the women will pray amongst themselves. One person at a time will pray aloud, over certain requests they have chosen to pray over. They usually pray over church needs, (finances, witnessing to community, ministries, et cetera), members' needs, health concerns, unspoken requests (one who will simply give their name for prayer, without naming the specific need), missionaries, those who are in need of salvation, Israel, and the United States of America. Usually half an hour goes by during this time of prayer.

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