Thoughts on the Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement

Jack Hyles, pastor of First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana and founder of Hyles-Anderson College

Independent Fundamental Baptists are not the problem when it comes to abuse and coverups.

Now that I’ve made that statement, I’m going to make some more that may not be quite as welcome. Before I start, I do want to make this known: I have not seen “Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals,” although I intend to, eventually. However, many people that I know have seen it and have told me what it contains. I am not going to comment further about the documentary because to do so would be dishonest, considering I would be commenting on hearsay.

My background

I joined an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) church by baptism when I was 12 years old. I remained in that circle until I left to pastor a Southern Baptist (SBC) church at age 36 (in March 2023). For 24 years I was a member and served in IFB churches, surrendered to preach in an IFB church, briefly attended an IFB college, was married in an IFB church, and was completely immersed in that culture. If you name a prominent IFB preacher or evangelist, I’ve either heard him preach, read his works, or heard him referenced in sermons for most of my life.

I have known many godly people within the IFB circle. In fact, most of the Christian influences I’ve had in my life come from that sphere, and I can honestly say they were for the most part very godly men, at least as far as I can tell. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached faithfully and boldly from pulpits, on street corners, and on foreign mission fields daily by IFB lay preachers and ordained ministers alike. In my experience, the majority of people are salt-of-the-earth believers in Christ, doing their best to follow His example on earth.

However (you had to know I was getting to this), some of the most damaging practices I’ve seen in 24 years of being an IFB Christian have come from those who are entrenched the deepest in the “Fundamental” aspect of IFB. Now, I know at its root, fundamental means they stick by the stuff, holding fast to the fundamentals of the faith. Unfortunately, though, the denomination as a whole (although they would eschew the affiliation with the word “denomination”) has drifted into isolationism and a form of legalism that is very dangerous and ungodly. I know I am speaking in general terms most of the time when I refer to the IFB, so please understand that. But it is hard to find anyone in that movement (pastors, at least, if not lay people) that won’t say in word and/or in practice one or all of the following:

If a woman wears pants, she’s a hussy in need of repentance
The KJV 1611 is the only inspired word of God in English; all others are per-versions
Calvinism is a heresy that is worse than atheism
If you don’t go to church 3 times a week (and more if the man of God (MOG) deems it necessary), you are a backslider
The MOG is not to be questioned or held accountable
Beards are ungodly and unbecoming for a MOG
If you don’t stand with Israel, Back the Blue, or get goosebumps when the National Anthem is played in church on July 4th, you are a communist and/or a Democrat
If you don’t homeschool your children, or (better yet) put them in the church’s school, you aren’t right with God
Don’t drink Diet Coke from a can because from a distance it could be mistaken for a beer

There’s more, but this is just a small sampling of the things I have personally heard over the years. Granted, most of these are not things my pastors have said, but the preachers who filled their pulpits or taught classes in Bible College certainly did. In Bible College, I was pressured to fully subscribe to the high-pressure salesmanship, I mean evangelism, of the ministry; this was a task I failed to accomplish. Later, when in a different church, my wife (who was then my fiancée) was taken to task by some of the leaders because she picked me up from work when my car was broken down. The crime? She did not bring a chaperone (mind you, this was about 1 month before our wedding). Another time, she was chided by the pastor’s wife because the collar of her shirt was 3 fingers’ width from the collarbone, rather than the prescribed 2 fingers’ width. There are many other examples I could share from personal experience, and hundreds more that I have seen or heard from other people.

The problem

This is a major problem that I think actually stems not from the Fundamentalism, but from the Independent part. They hold to “no creed but Christ,” which basically means, each church is only beholden to their pastor’s personal interpretation of the Bible. And, let’s be honest, if he was trained by an IFB pastor or school, chances are his interpretation of the Bible is Jack Hyles‘ interpretation of the Bible. But it’s worse than that, because much of the abuse, tyranny, and legalism is not even remotely an interpretation of the Bible. Sometimes it is framed as such, with taking verses grossly out of context, but often times it is packaged in the generic wrapping of “godliness.” It is extra-biblical, but arbitrary by nature because of being independant. Again, this is a general observation because there are always exceptions. But in an urgency to separate from the centuries-old creeds and confessions of Calvinistic Baptists that gave birth to Charles Spurgeon, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, and the Baptist forefathers of America, they embrace the creeds of Arminians and Dispensationalists like John R. Rice, Jack Hyles, and C.I. Schofield. The “old paths” are actually nothing more than divergent paths that are sometimes less than 100 years old. And their creed is that they have no creed, which is kind of amusing to the outsider.

Old is not always better, and I freely acknowledge that. There are heresies that Paul, James, and Peter had to combat in their day, and some of them persist until the present. However, in an effort to break away from the impure practices in the SBC or other Baptist affiliations, they have created a monster that is swollen with pride and new ideas. I have lost track of how many sermons I have heard that barely went to Scripture but were a diatribe against all other unworthy Baptist affiliations or Bible versions or doctrines. To quote one I heard earlier this year, “I thank God I am not a Calvinist!” as if it were an incurable disease. Never – and I mean not once – have I heard an IFB preacher attempt to explain where the Calvinists went wrong with their interpretation of the words “elect,” “predestination,” or passages like Romans 9, for example. No sir, but they have spent countless precious hours railing against it!

The IFB is a doctrine of legalistic “holier than thou,” at its core. It reminds me of the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14. It saddens me.

Unfortunately, it is this dedication to outward Godly appearances that has fostered a culture of coverups of abuse and ungodly practices. Sadly, I’ve seen it happen. Thankfully I was not involved and did not know about it until years later, but people I and my wife served alongside were involved in scandals and abuse, some as victims and others as the perpetrators. This mindset of not holding “godly” men accountable to maintain appearances is quite prevalent, but I digress.

I thank God for the many faithful and Godly men and women in the IFB who serve the Almighty. Many of them put me to shame in their dedication and perseverance. However, I would be remiss if I did not make this post, considering I was in that world for so long.

I don’t write this because I am an all-wise “man of God”, or a pastor, or any of that, but because I saw things while I was in that world that I could not speak about then, and that is partly because I couldn’t see clearly or how deep the problem was until I was out.

I don’t write this to anger anyone or to upset anyone, although I know some will experience both emotions.

I write this because people who are in the IFB may be tempted to circle the wagons after the aforementioned documentary hits the screens. Pastors are already speaking out against it and defending the IFB movement. Rather than circling the wagons (which has been going on far too long), you need to be looking within the circle to see if the enemy is inside the circle with you. The enemy is not the SBC or Reformed Baptist church down the road who uses the ESV or doesn’t sing only Fanny Crosby songs in church. Your enemy is my enemy, and that is the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Not all wolves look like Kenneth Copeland. Some look like Jack Schaap.

Independent Fundamental Baptists are not the problem when it comes to abuse and coverups. The Roman Catholic Church has done the same abuses and coverups for much longer. The Methodists’ and Episcopalians’ embrace of sexual immorality is proof of their apostasy. The SBC is full of red flags. There are problems everywhere. Independent Fundamental Baptists need to acknowledge when there is a problem and stop covering it up to save their ministry and reputation. That reputation has already been stained. Now I exhort you to go make restitution and repent and bring honor to the Lord God Almighty’s reputation.

Are You Worshipping A Golden Calf?

Exodus 32 gives us an account that should be chilling to the Christian. Moses has gone up to Mt. Sinai (chapter 24-31) to receive the Torah from Adonai. He remained on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. While on the mountain, Moses charged Aaron and Hur with handling the affairs and questions of the people.

In Moses’ absence, the people began to grow impatient. They began to murmur. Likely, they believed he had died on the mountain. But they knew he had been in the presence of Adonai, for at the beginning of the ascent, the mountain had been veiled in smoke for 7 days, out of which Adonai spoke to Moses. This was not dissimilar to Exodus 19 when Moses had earlier ascended the same mountain, was enveloped in smoke, and received the Torah, including the 10 Commandments (Chapter 20). But at some point, in this second occurrence, they lost faith that he would return.

And when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exodus 32:1, KJV

Now, some would say forty days is a long time, and anyone would eventually have to give up on his returning and leave him for dead. This may be true in many instances, but a closer look at the text indicates they lost hope much earlier than that. Skipping down to verse 4, we see that Aaron melted down the jewelry of the Hebrews and fashioned it with a graving tool into a sculpture of a calf and the people (presumably the elders) said, “these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” I do not know how long it would have taken Aaron to carve a sculpture of gold, but I take the assumption that he was not a skilled sculptor. Perhaps carving sculptures was his job as a slave in Egypt, but notwithstanding, there is nothing that points to this fact in Scripture. Nevertheless, he would not have been likely to carve out a golden calf overnight. This task would likely have taken several days or weeks, depending on the size of the idol. The significance of this is that the people lost faith in Moses, and Adonai, very early in his mission. It is probable, according to this timeline, that the golden calf incident occurred during Moses’ first week on the mountain.

Failures of the Elders

The second significant part of this incident is the failure of the elders. As we see in chapter 24:14, Moses left the elders at the base of the mountain. They were to lead the people in his absence, and the elders would in turn go to Aaron and Hur for weightier matters. When the people began to grow restless, the scripture does not record the elders standing in the gap. Instead, it says “the people,” which we can assume included the elders, went to Aaron and demanded a graven idol. So quickly the Hebrews went from Chapter 24:3 where they declared “all the words which Adonai hath said will we do!” to “up, make us gods!” And the elders did nothing. In fact, they caved to the pressure of the congregation. I am reminded that the Hebrews were only mere weeks outside of leaving a pagan culture where they had been for 430 years. There was a lot of superstition, tradition, and false notions about deities, be they false or the one true God, Adonai. But the elders were their leaders; men of high esteem and pious character who were their judges, patriarchs, and one could say, pastors. But they, too, were steeped in false beliefs that crept in during this time of trial, and rather than stay strong, they buckled, as did Aaron. The one who Adonai was declaring to Moses at that very time to be the first high priest failed in pointing the crowd to the Almighty and instead had the people turn in their jewelry (vanity, pride, originating with the heathen Egyptians) and used it to fashion a graven image in the form of a calf. What’s worse is they then declared (verse 4), “these be thy gods!” In one fell swoop, the Hebrews, led by the newly minted high priest, violated the first 3 commandments. Let’s recap what those are:

I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery. ב “You are to have no other gods before me. You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot. ג“You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.
Exodus 20:2-7, Complete Jewish Bible

Notice the preface to the Commandments is, “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” yet the Hebrews immediately declare the same of the golden calf. They are violating the commandment to not create a graven image, but in so doing they are calling the same image Adonai, the one who delivered them. This is a violation of the commandment to not use His name in vain (lightly). This is reiterated in verses 5-6,

On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a feast for Adonai.” Early the next morning they got up and offered burnt offerings and presented peace offerings. Afterwards, the people sat down to eat and drink; then they got up to indulge in revelry.
Exodus 32:5-6, CJB

So Aaron then built an altar, declared the next day to be a feast to Adonai, and then the people brought offerings (as commanded previously in Torah) to Him. In essence, they violated Torah, called the violation an iteration of Adonai, then sacrificed to the violation and worshipped it, all while calling it the image of Adonai. How discombobulated can you be?

We are no better than the Hebrews

Lest you grow unjustly critical of the Hebrews, let me point out that modern Christians are guilty of the exact same sins.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say, “my God would never…” or “Jesus would never…” I would be significantly better off financially. Or on the other hand, many people attribute doctrine or happenstance to the will or word of Adonai. “God told me,” or, “I believe,” are no substitute for what His actual Word says. What about when we take the Word to justify our sin or false belief? Just as the Hebrews took the word of Adonai and applied it to the idol, so are we often guilty of taking the Word and using it to fuel our heart’s depiction of Him.

Believer, you have been chosen by God and called out of your Egypt. You have been saved from the sins of the heathen, but do not use this as an opportunity to bring those sins with you and call them holy! Your traditions and previous beliefs are a weight you need to shed. They should have been cast off in the sea when you passed through unto a new life, but we all bring something with us. The time to cast them away is now. This is not to say that everything from the past is unfit for a follower of Adonai. The Hebrews had been commanded by Adonai to receive jewelry, riches, and clothing from their Egyptian neighbors when they left their captivity. He meant to use the riches of the heathen for a new purpose: to fashion the basins, ark, candlesticks, and other furniture in the tabernacle that was to come. The talents, passions, and faith that we bring from our old life can be used for His glory, but that is for Him to do a work within us and not for us to use to define who He is in our own deceitful hearts.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9, KJV

Elders beware!

Preachers, we must be careful that we also do not bring our own traditions and past experiences into our exposition of the Word and Will of God! We are part of “the people” even though we are called to lead and teach them. We are no less susceptible to following our own designs when seeking to worship and follow the Almighty. The danger comes when we break the law of God and encourage others to follow us in so doing. Matthew 5:19 gives us a grave warning:

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:19, KJV

If using the Lord’s name in vain (as in swearing) is terrible, how much more so is attributing His name to something He never did? Did God really declare righteous what you say is righteous, or are you attributing His name to your opinion or prejudice? Is something you call evil what He would call evil, or are you applying your own experiences or societal norms to a practice or activity? In doing this, is this considered one of the “least commandments,” or is using His name in vain a great commandment?

Furthermore, we must resist the temptation to not speak the truth for fear of the mob. Sometimes it is easy to “take the high road,” and live in silence on a matter to keep the peace or avoid division, but what did Christ do? Along with His declaration that He did not come to abolish the Torah, He also stated that He came to divide.

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Luke 12:51, KJV

He obviously did not mean that He was cause for strife and division within the body of believers, but that He would be a cause for division among those who held to the world and those who embraced Him. He also reminded us that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). Traditions alone are not wrong, but when they dictate how we worship Him, they become a master and we are slaves to our past. In this case, we must cast off Egypt and worship Adonai, free from the bondage of our traditions. And we cannot allow the opinions and traditions of others to cause us to disregard this requirement. We will not stand guiltless if we teach people to disregard any portion of God’s word because it is outdated, not applicable, or if we conflate His word with our tradition. How sobering is this reminder!

I come in love, not condemnation

As usual, I do not bring this word as a condemnation, but a plea. Many in our churches are in bondage, not to gross wickedness or unrighteousness, but in adherence to false attributions to God. If God says it, do it! If He says not to, don’t do it! Sola scriptura is not only for the reformers; indeed, all Christians should lean not on their (or a teacher’s) own understanding, but on the Scriptures alone. How many have fallen away from the Truth because they were taught a truth that was false? How many have worshipped a graven image that they were told was Adonai? How many times have we been instructed, or instructed others, to follow such and such a belief that was contrary to the true Word of God?

Christian, whether you are “the people” or “the elders,” please remember this account of the golden calf and ask in prayer, “am I following a golden calf of my own design or the Adonai of the mountain?”