Southern Baptist to Independant Baptist??

Depends on the church. Some are great and some are not worth trying.

 

They cover the whole spectrum of the rainbow. Be careful, pray for wisdom and discernment. BTW, I've pastored both SBC and independant churches.
WallyGator

 

Generally speaking:

Independent baptist churches tend to have more authority vested in the pastor, many decisions are made by just a few compared to committies and boards in SBC churches.

Missionaries are supported idividually by each church rather then receiving a salary from a mission board.

Independent baptists tend to be more conservative then SBC'ers and have little to do with other churches that are not themselves independent baptist.

Mostly likely you will find dispensational theology as the only option in an independent baptist church where as in a SBC churches there is more of a variety of theological outlooks.

Of course there are exceptions, but these might give you a place to start. I grew up independent baptist and now associate with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

 

Koontzy, go2church has pointed out those things that are the key differences. I think the biggest difference between an SBC and Independent church is that Independents are very true to their name...many don't like cooperation with anyone. Many Independents see cooperation with other like-minded Baptists as being a possible avenue that could lead to ecumenism (the dreaded word within Independent Baptist life).

Personally, I've found the Independent churches in our area to be very critical of SBC churches. For instance, I went to visit a family in our community recently whose children had been coming to our church. The parents told me they had reservations about continuing to send their children to our church. When I asked them why, he said the Independent church that they had been sending their children to sent some guys by who told them that our church was a "rock & roll church." Now, our church could be accused of many things, but being a "rock & roll" church is not one of them. I felt that it was an attempt by some of the members of that church to run down our church's reputation for their own personal profit. Their characture of our church was grounded in the fact that we are SBC and they are not.

When you go to the Independent church, don't forget your KJV Bible. You may not gain entrance without it (kidding). Seriously, most are very strict about the KJV only, even though the NKJV is translated from the same text types with only the use of some more modern English in places.

One very positive thing that can be said for the Independent churches is that you would be hard pressed to find one that is liberal. You would be much more likely to find a liberal SBC church, but that is changing. As more and more of the moderates and liberals are going the way of all flesh as our seminaries produce more Bible-believing graduates each semester, there is a wonderful wind of change within the SBC.

Hope this helps.

 

While the majority of independent Baptist pastors may preach from only the KJV, it does not mean that the majority are actually KJV-only. The KJV-only group of IB's are the most vocal, but they may not be the majority. Some IB pastors do preach from the NKJV, and a few may use the NASB. There are many independent Baptists who are not KJV-only.

 

Logos, you are correct and I didn't mean to send the impression that all Independents are KJV only. Yet, on the other hand I've only encountered one or two who are not, and there are many Independents in my somewhat rural area of East Tennessee. I do have one preacher friend (who is now SBC) that grew up in a IBC but preaches from the NASB. That validates your point I think.

 

All points made about indepedents are true. But not all points are true of all independent churches.
We have a former pastor who is a member of our church who used the NIV for quite a while. Ultimately he switched to KJV and raised all four of his boys with it. Today, all four of those boys are active in ministry within our church. And very fruitful, I might add.
So you see that just because a church may be KJV, they are not neccessarily "bad" in the sense some may paint us to be.
While we do adhere to the KJV exclusively, we do not exclude people who use other versions. And this is the sticking point for some who criticize the issue, I'm afraid.
OTOH, I do see their point. There are some KJV-only pastors out there who are tyrants. And that is a shame. Like the late Jack Hyles, or Peter Ruckman. While my pastor was trained by Doc Ruckman, he is definitely NOT infected with Ruckman fanaticism. In fact, Rick DeMichele is one of the most gentle and consistent and godly men you would want to meet.
So, in conclusion, just be cautious when shopping.
Chevy makes good cars. Not ALL Chevy's are good cars.
In His service;
Jim

 

Does that mean some poop on the others down below?

 

LOL...gb...Not sure if it's intentional of the other "birds" on top, but yes, many down below are in the way of falling objects.