Independent Baptists

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Baptist churches were awakened to the advancement of modernism and liberalism into national Baptist denominations and conventions in both the United States and the U.K.. Many local Baptist churches began to feel that the core elements and doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the nature of God, the infallibility of the Bible, the literal person of Jesus Christ as both God and man, the nature of the Trinity, the literal resurrection of Christ, and the need for Christians to be separate from worldliness were being watered down and abandoned. Although during the same time period mainline denominations were struggling with the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy, many within these local Baptist churches felt that any association with Liberalism/Modernism even in the forum of debate was tantamount to compromise and was therefore unscriptural. As a result, many of these local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and conventions and reestablished themselves as independent churches. Often within these Denominational churches more conservative elements would set about establishing new Independent Baptist churches instead of remaining within the denominational churches.

The common thread of Independent Baptist is the statement "we are not Protestants." The claim of Independents is they represent the Apostolic Church of the apostles. It is their claim to a heritage built around the immersion of believers only, regenerate church membership. Through the priesthood of believers all members in the fellowship are equal consequently discipline rests with the congregation. Deacons and presbyters are elected, ordained and responsible to the local church. The church is not a building but a gathering of God's people for partaking of the ordinances, bible study and worship. Baptists say these beliefs are apostolic and not a product of the reformation. They are beliefs held by a dissenting church existing under a number of names from the days of the disciples of the Lord. These groups stoutly refused to conform to the mold of the Eastern and Western Catholic Churches accepted suffering, persecution, judgment for heresy and ending in martyrdom. Unknown to many protestant Christians is this claim by Independent Baptist to a historic linage best propagated by W.W. Everts in the 19th century. Because of this unique linage which the claim runs through history, Independent Baptist do not feel bound to the teachings of the 16th century reformers and often speak of them as these reformers as building upon the Roman Catholic heritage. Independent Baptists speak of themselves as Biblicists, rather than Calvinists or followers of Zwingli. The Independent Baptists they are not products of either the Catholic or Protestant churches and they speak of themselves as holding the line against the antichrist throughout all ages. The ecclesiology of the church is very simple. When the believers gather together for bible study, worship and taking of the two ordained ceremonies of the Lord's Supper and Baptism there is a church. When the church is dismissed and departs from the place of worship there is no church until 2 or 3 are gathered in the Lord's name. There is no organization above the local congregation although they have associations for fellowship. The Independent Baptist Alliances fellowship believe in the absolute separation of church and state and many churches refuse to register as churches and most church related colleges refuse accreditation. Although they show signs of the liberal or modernist movements and have long lasting scars from these controversies the history of Independent Baptist is older an richer than these minor arguments.

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