What is it about “fundamentalism” (as in Independent Fundamental Baptists, or IFB) that so many Christians find most troubling? In talking with several folks, browsing some of the Christian sites widely read, such as Sharper Iron, and forums (including the FFF), and “hearing” what others across the spectrum of Evangelical Christianity had to say, two broad categories of criticism keep coming up.

1. Independent Fundamental Baptists are Legalists

The term “legalism” or “legalists” has been tossed at Fundamental Baptists for years, often thrown with the same relish a WWII soldier tossed his grenade at a German machine gun nest. Embodied in that little word is a host of images, meanings, and associations. Generally, the user of the word is saying, with a single word, at least, the following:

You have made a religion of rules and regulations that are biblically unsupported, that are man-made, and you find your righteousness in those rules and your works, despite your assertions of finding righteousness in Christ. You have gone about establishing your own righteousness.

That probably sums (though certainly does not cover it all) what is being said by the user of the term “Legalists.” No doubt there are others who would define it differently, but the definition above seems to fit a broad spectrum of those who use the term in connection with  Independent Fundamental Baptists.  Indeed, some would go much further and argue that legalism as practiced by the Fundamental Baptists is akin to the Pharisees of old, and that they are as legalistic as those Jews were in Jesus’ day. Some even refer to IFB’s as the “new Pharisees.”

But, is that true? Are the Fundamental Baptists truly “legalists?”

The response of Fundamental Baptistswould be that the Bible demands standards of behavior amongst Christians and that their “rules” are merely articulations of biblical standards of living, and that those Christians who have no standards, who have no “rules,” are themselves unbiblical.

So, who is right?

It would seem there is something to be said for both sides.

First of all, there is little doubt that there is a strain of Baptist Fundamentalism that is typified by their many rules that do not seem to be based on the Bible (depending, of course, on who interprets the Bible). Not all Fundamental Baptists have this same unfounded rigidity.

Short Hair on Men a Standard of Righteousness for the IFB

The issue of long hair on men, for example, has been an iron clad rule amongst many Fundamental Baptists for years. But, what is “long” and what is “short.” How long must a man’s hair be in order for him to be “unbiblical,” or to be violating the scripture, wherein the Apostle Paul noted that it was a shame for a man to have long hair? (See, e.g., 1 Cor. 11:14).

Some Fundamental Baptist churches make pretty clear definitions as to what is too long. In some Fundamental Baptist schools, the standard is that a male student’s hair is too long if it touched the ears. In the church, there is usually a bit more tolerance, and the line is not as clearly drawn. But, in these churches, no staff member’s hair ever grows bushy on the sides or down on the neck. Not even a little bit. A church member, on the other hand, will be tolerated if his hair is a bit more stylish, is longer than it might be for a staff member, and is even overlooked if it touches the ear. But, the man whose hair is consistently worn where it covers or hangs over the ear, or is shaggy, will be looked upon as “less spiritual” than he could be. His spirituality will definitely be in question.

However, this is not the case in every Fundamental Baptist church, so it would be wrong to broad-brush every Fundamental Baptist church by saying this is a “standard” of righteousness, or of behavior, for all IFB churches. Some of these churches have no such rules, though they would probably insist that a man with shoulder length hair is violating scripture.

The problem is that all Fundamental Baptists are fast becoming wedded to the IFBx element within fundamentalism, even as the “moderate Muslim” has become tied to the extremists within Islam.

Music a Standard of Righteousness for the IFB

Music, of course, is a viral issue in Independent Fundamental Baptist churches. While there may be some IFB churches where the music is more contemporary, such churches are not the norm. It is unlikely you will ever go to an IFB church and see drums and guitars sitting on the stage. If you do, the music will probably be pretty staid and very conservative. But, the evangelical’s make the point that it is not so much the music and tastes, since those vary widely, but rather that these personal tastes have been elevated to the level of biblical standards. Indeed, some would argue that these musical standards have been raised to the level of a doctrine within many IFB circles. They argue that those in the IFB world have made personal preferences, personal tastes in music, a sign of spirituality. If one likes anything with a beat (the heavier the worse), he or she is not spiritual.

The Fundamental Baptists would argue that we Christians are not to listen to “the devil’s music” and that today’s contemporary Christian music has a beat that has been proven to be wicked (linked to sensuality). (There have been several Fundamental Preachers over the years who have earned a comfortable living preaching such messages.) They would argue that the vast majority of “contemporary” Christian music is little but rock music with Christian lyrics, and much of those lyrics empty of Christian value. It is a point well taken.

Soul Winning: The Primary Standard for Spirituality

There is little doubt that what is termed “soul winning” is the single activity that will cause any church member to stand out amongst his or her brethren in an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church. A soul winner is looked upon as spiritual. Someone who wins “a lot” of souls is deemed to be very spiritual. Conversely, one who is not a soul winner, one who does not consistently bring souls to Christ, is considered to be a weak Christian, a disobedient Christian, and not someone that is ever to be praised. The soul winners are held up to the rest of the membership as examples, and if someone is exceptional, will become the “poster boy” (or girl) for that activity.

However, many (not all) in the evangelical world say this “badge” of spirituality is meaningless. They make that argument, typically, on two levels. First, they argue that going out and confronting people about their spiritual condition, i.e., whether or not they are going to heaven or hell, is not a biblical model. And, they argue, even if there is some biblical basis for confrontational soul winning, the methods, as adopted by Fundamental Baptists, does not fit that model.

Secondly, the evangelical Christians give no credence to the assumption of spirituality based merely on the performing of a sale’s pitch for Jesus. Their position is that when someone goes out and makes a pitch to someone to trust Christ, their ability to get someone to nod their head and say some words can be totally unrelated to the spiritual condition of the “soul winner.” Their position is that any good salesman can be a good “soul winner.”

Others in the Evangelical world are not so concerned about the fact that IFB’s go out soul winning, nor are they particularly upset at the confrontational aspect of the soul winning. Their concern has to do with the methodology of too many in the IFB world. They call it the “1-2-3 Repeat After Me” method of soul winning. They argue that Fundamental Baptists who practice this form of soul winning are actually creating tares who are merely adapting and conforming to a way of life called “Christianity” that has absolutely nothing to do with a “born again” experience where a person truly gets “saved,” to wit, is born into the family of God, i.e., a spiritual birth.

Evangelicals argue that these “soul winners” are more catholic than the Catholics in that these Fundamental Baptists make a broad appeal to many for a salvation that is bereft of repentance, is founded on a liturgy without substance, and produces a convert within a man-centric religion.

2. Independent Fundamental Baptists are Man-centered

In some ways, this rates highest on the scale of “why I don’t like Independent Baptist Fundamentalism” found in the evangelical spectrum of Christianity. It is here where there is the highest level of emotion. It is here where ex-fundamentalists go to show the “evil” of all things fundamental Baptist.

This is due in part because in the typical Fundamental Baptist church, the pastor has power that is akin to that of a king over a kingdom. He may not have the power of life and death, but he often makes decisions that are life-altering. There are scores of ex-fundamentalists who recount instances of being told by their pastor not to leave for the mission field, in spite of being certain of a call by God; or of being told to marry a certain individual, which marriage was a huge mistake and a disaster. Tales abound of decisions being made by Fundamental Baptist pastors about things about which he was totally unqualified, and which caused horrific consequences for those who followed his counsel.

Many Christians in the evangelical community believe that men who assume the role of sex-counselor , marriage counselor, youth counselor, financial counselor, psychologist and even drug counselor, take on responsibilities that not only are they not qualified to fulfill, but are hurting the cause of Christ because of the harm that often follows in the wake of their “counsel.” (And this piece will not address the issue frequently raised in criticism of Fundamental Baptist Pastors who presume to counsel women.)

Evangelical Christianity has taken the position that these pastors who rule without rebuke and without realistic accountability are not merely unbiblical, but have caused the people to place a man before God. It is a form of  idolatry. Such power makes it nearly impossible for any church member to successfully challenge a Fundamental Baptist pastor. It is often the case that if one rises up within such churches to challenge the pastor, even to dare and question him, or to attempt to question him on a matter, is driven from the church. Sometimes, the driving is rough, replete with threats and other acts of intimidation. Others are moved on by simply telling them to move their membership, or they are shunned. Stories are leaked, and pretty soon, friendships dry up and fellowship disappears.

In a Fundamental Baptist church, it is common that the pastor has the final say-so, and rules over the deacons. The deacons are not the ones who make the decisions vital to the function of the church. They will typically follow the lead of the pastor. Often, the pastor will bring things to the deacon for a vote. If he is opposed to the matter, it is unlikely to pass; and conversely, if he is for something, it will probably get passed.

Not every IFB church is this way. There are Independent Fundamental Baptist churches where the pastor, although he may advocate for or against something, makes it known that he is willing to go where the deacons decide to go with the issue. But, that same church may one day have a different pastor who will rule his church as “he sees fit,” and will brook no interference, not even from the deacons. Thus, inherent in many, if not most, Independent Fundamental Baptist churches is the structure that allows for such men to come in and rule.

But, Fundamental Baptist pastors argue that they are the Shepherds of the flock, that they have been entrusted by God with the souls of those church members, and further, that they cannot and will not leave such responsibility in the hands of others, not even a deacon board. Their position is that “the majority” is not a biblical mandate and never has been for the church. They are accountable to God only.

CONCLUSION

There is ample evidence that the model accepted and used by many Independent Fundamental Baptist churches needs changing. Different perspectives have to be adopted about the role of a pastor. He cannot be seen as the “all in all,” the fount of all knowledge, the source of counsel for all issues of life. The pastor cannot rule with impunity, and cannot be seen as a man against whom no church member can dare raise a criticism. A pastor ought to be protected from the unkind tongue lashings of irate members, but he should never be immune from a legitimate criticism, nor should he be above being unjustly rebuked or verbally abused. A church member who levels a charge against a pastor needs to have his or words fairly heard without regard to position or power of either party. Those who bring unfair and unfounded criticisms need to be dealt with as one deals with a weak Christian: with charity, with patience, and with longsuffering.

The mere fact that a man raises a query about a pastor should never be the basis for driving such a person from the membership with the stigma “unruly brethren” affixed to his back. But, the truth is, that is often the case. Sometimes, it is necessary to remove a person from the membership, where that person causes repetitive, unmerited, unwarranted, unfounded and scurrilous accusations to be made, and refuses to relent. But, in most instances, an individual will be treated as though he or she had done all of those things, and thus be worthy of being kicked out of church, after making a single charge against a Fundamental Baptist pastor. They have shown disloyalty to the pastor, and disloyalty to the pastor is worse than being disloyal to God. One might sin against God and be forgiven by the church and God, but sin against the Fundamental Baptist Pastor and there is no forgiveness by the church.

Such things only strengthen the view by many in Christianity that Independent Fundamental Baptists are bastions of legalistic behavior and breeding grounds for emergent Baptist Popes.

I would hope that view will one day change. There are a lot of good men I love and admire within the ranks of Independent Fundamental Baptists.

But, such views will only grow and enlarge unless there is a hue and cry among Fundamental Baptists themselves, and realization that there must be some changes made. Pastors must realize that there comes behind him a man who may abuse his power. And for all good men and women in the IFB world, there comes a time when one must stand, point the finger and say: “This is not a true representation of Christ nor of Christianity.

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