What does it mean to be IFB?

[Joe Chandler]

1 hour ago, BrotherTony said:

The church where my first Bible college was came to be Baptist after leaving the Congregational movement. That was back in the 50s. They became Averyville Baptist Church.

I heard a Congregational preacher on the Christian radio station in New England. I would have though him a Baptist until he said he was a Congregationalist. My ancestors were Congregationalists back in the early founding of America. The Universalist Unitarians took over the church. One Congregational minister said, "They got the furniture, but we kept the faith."  

[BrotherTony]

10 minutes ago, Joe Chandler said:

I heard a Congregational preacher on the Christian radio station in New England. I would have though him a Baptist until he said he was a Congregationalist. My ancestors were Congregationalists back in the early founding of America. The Universalist Unitarians took over the church. One Congregational minister said, "They got the furniture, but we kept the faith."  

Averyville was more of a Baptist Church than a Congregational church. Years after they had become a Baptist Church there were some who started questioning whether or not they had the right to be so since they didn't baptize their members into the Baptist faith. I sat in on a meeting between the pastor of Averyville and a student from the college (as an observer) and a local Baptist pastor who had this same concern. It got heated , and I, as an observer and student at the college, stayed out of the fray. Yet, after the dust settled, my wife and I were asked not to return the next semester. We were still members of the church, and I had gone to Bible college with the pastor, yet, he felt threatened and took his insecurity out on my wife and myself. He also erased any record of my wife having attended the college. It's sad that many IFB pastors feel the need to kill their own with no conscience whatever. By the way, the college now is gone, his son who became the youth pastor is doing time for the grooming and sexual assault of a boy in the youth group, and this pastor retained his position as pastor. This kind of thing is not an isolated incident.

[Joe Chandler]

1 minute ago, BrotherTony said:

Averyville was more of a Baptist Church than a Congregational church. Years after they had become a Baptist Church there were some who started questioning whether or not they had the right to be so since they didn't baptize their members into the Baptist faith. I sat in on a meeting between the pastor of Averyville and a student from the college (as an observer) and a local Baptist pastor who had this same concern. It got heated , and I, as an observer and student at the college, stayed out of the fray. Yet, after the dust settled, my wife and I were asked not to return the next semester. We were still members of the church, and I had gone to Bible college with the pastor, yet, he felt threatened and took his insecurity out on my wife and myself. He also erased any record of my wife having attended the college. It's sad that many IFB pastors feel the need to kill their own with no conscience whatever. By the way, the college now is gone, his son who became the youth pastor is doing time for the grooming and sexual assault of a boy in the youth group, and this pastor retained his position as pastor. This kind of thing is not an isolated incident.

Agreed. In my old job, it was said that only a week boss needs to remind everybody that he/she is in charge.

[Jim_Alaska]

19 hours ago, Joe Chandler said:

I heard a Congregational preacher on the Christian radio station in New England. I would have though him a Baptist until he said he was a Congregationalist. My ancestors were Congregationalists back in the early founding of America. The Universalist Unitarians took over the church. One Congregational minister said, "They got the furniture, but we kept the faith."  

There are many Congregationalist churches in New England, especially Massachusetts.

[MikeWatson1]

On 5/19/2023 at 5:47 PM, Jim_Alaska said:

There are many Congregationalist churches in New England, especially Massachusetts.

I saw a statement of faith for a congregationalist church, and it was very similar to a baptist church.. even an IFB one.  I am unsure of the difference.  I know baptist churches can claim to have no known human founder.. do congregational churches have a definite fella starting them?

Be interested to know if anyone else does know.

[SureWord]

On 5/19/2023 at 1:47 AM, Jim_Alaska said:

There are many Congregationalist churches in New England, especially Massachusetts.

I see another old, historic Congregational church in Salem, Mass burned to the ground.

[Pastor Matt]

5 hours ago, SureWord said:

I see another old, historic Congregational church in Salem, Mass burned to the ground.

https://nypost.com/2023/06/03/massachusetts-first-congregational-church-destroyed-in-fire/