NE Arkansas, SE Missouri

I live 25 miles from Poplar Bluff, and I am a member of the denomination described in the link. Historically speaking, the differences between GB's in se missouri and ne arkansas from the original GB's founded by Stinson in Southern IN are quite striking. For instance, Missouri and Arkansas GB's do footwashing, while practically no IN GB's will. As the movement spread out of IN, the churches that were founded reflected the theology of the 2nd Great Awakening much more than Stinson. Thus the worship styles of the two are noticably different even today.

 

As far as practices, a little thing like a service bulletin has been an area of small conflict. Some churches (in Southern IN primarily) use them, while churches in MO, KY, AR, etc. will actually preach against their usage. The clergy from the churches in Southern Indiana are typically more educated, but this may be due to many factors such as the presence of the only GB university and seminary in southern IN, and the stronger influence of eastern US culture and sensibilites over against a rustic, individualistic frontiersperson attitude in the other areas. I think that your comment about the movements into new areas as a condition of inculturation into a new area has a lot of validity.

For the most part the differences as they are presently seen may be a result of the education level of the clergy in the various spots. Most of those ministers who are educated have been influenced by the more moderate days of Southern Seminary, because most of the theology professors at the denominational school did Ph.D.'s there. The more moderate bend of the education has great influence upon the way people minister in the local church.

On the other hand, it seems that as the denomination moved from southern IN that it was carried to these other areas by a certain kind of person (the more pioneering frontiersperson type). This must have impacted the sensibilities of the churches that were started out away from the movement's point of origin.