Orthodox Baptist Fellowship

[rlvaughn]

In writing a post on another topic, my mind was reminded of a group of Baptists of which I have not thought in quite awhile -- the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship.

This is a group I long knew a little about, but never knew a lot about. Here is a little about its organization. I'm not sure, but don't think it still exists. Both of these references are from Barr-Smith Debate, Yazoo City, MS: The King's Press, 1982. Vernon L. Barr and J. Cullis Smith debated on the propriety of the Missionary Baptist Association (Barr) and the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship (Smith) circa 1952 in Henderson, Texas. Fortunately, this debate and book preserve some of the history of the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship.

From a Church Bulletin of R. Nelson Colyar, March 31, 1946:
“The Orthodox Baptist Fellowship had its first meeting in May of 1935, 11 years ago. It met in the Central Baptist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas, where Rev. M. L. Moser, my good friend and a mighty evangelist, was then, and is now pastor.” (Barr-Smith Debate. p. 108)

From “Facts, Nothing But Facts About the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship” by W. Lee Rector, tract, 1942:
The Orthodox Missionary Baptist Fellowship “is a voluntary assemblage of saints, and not an aggregation of church messengers. It is a gathering together of individual Christians, not an official representation of churches. It is a gathering together of brethren from local churches at the invitation of some local entertaining church.” (Barr-Smith Debate. p. 64)

W. Lee Rector was pastor of First Baptist, Ardmore, Oklahoma, and associated with the Oklahoma Baptist University. After the state convention ignored problems that he perceived of liberalism in the University and convention, Rector withdrew and formed the First Orthodox Baptist Church of Ardmore (probably circa 1932) and at some point the Orthodox Baptist Institute/Seminary (I've seen it called both; in Congregation and Campus: Baptists in Higher Education, William H. Brackney gives the date as 1944; p. 445).

Anyone know about the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship and/or have more information on it?

 

[rlvaughn]

I found the Orthodox Baptist Confession of Faith online HERE. It is also included in M. L. Moser Jr.'s Baptist Handbook For Church Members. I have not compared them carefully throughout, but did notice some minor differences. At present I have know way of knowing which one, if either, is original.

Moser revised the Confession recently (in the 21st century, I suppose) as the Baptist Confession of Faith for the 21st Century. There he says The Orthodox Baptist Confession of Faith was drawn up circa 1935 by William Lee Rector (First Orthodox BC, Ardmore, Oklahoma), Richard Nelson Colyar (Mountain View BC, Denver, Colorado), and Louis Samuel Ballard (First BC, Ennis, Texas).*

* His gravestone gives the spelling "Louis".

 

[rlvaughn]

Here are some other names (besides Rector, Ballard, & Colyar) that I have found connected to the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship (at least for a period of time):

A. Reilly Copeland (he also partnered with J. Frank Norris)
Chester E. Grounds, Jr. (went to Orthodox Baptist Institute in Ardmore; I think he eventually taught at Southwestern Seminary; his father-in-law, L. H. Brown, pastored First Orthodox BC in Ardmore)
Clymer C. Evans
Don N. Kitch (I think I've linked to the right person; he pastored Antioch BC in Pueblo, Colorado)
J. Cullis Smith
Joe Hocking
L. H. Brown
M. L. Moser, Sr.
Raleigh Campbell

Maybe someone on the BB will recognize some of these names.

 

[Jerome]

From the Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists:

"ORTHODOX MOVEMENT, OKLAHOMA.
Fundamentalist in nature, this schism, with the possible exception of the Stealey controversy, represents the only outward break of its kind with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Leader in the movement was W . Lee Rector, former instructor at Oklahoma Baptist University and outspoken critic of Baptist life and institutions on the grounds of alleged modernism in their ranks."

"His prolific and sharp utterances resulted in difficulties in the membership of the First Missionary Baptist Church, Ardmore, where he was pastor; and he resigned Sept. 27, 1931. The same day he and more than 300 other members of the church withdrew to organize the First Orthodox Baptist Church, Ardmore, Okla., and Rector became pastor."

The church's articles of faith were "fundamental and premillennial...The church continued its affiliation with Enon Association and the Baptist general convention until 1935. The progression of pastor and church toward a completely independent status is seen in a resolution adopted Feb. 15, 1933, stating its right and intention to designate contributions instead of contributing through the Cooperative Program. In June of that year a letter was sent to Enon Association, defending the church's right to refrain from support of the associational missionary and still be in fellowship. On July 17, 1933, a resolution was adopted discontinuing the use of Southern Baptist Sunday school literature because of alleged modernism and a refusal by the Sunday School Board to recognize as standard a Sunday school that used only the Bible for literature."

"In 1944 this church organized the Orthodox Bible Institute for the instruction of ministers and religious workers in the English Bible. By 1954 it claimed 52 graduates, with 25 enrolled at that time....the church supports radio work and gives about $10,000 per year to support the Orthodox Bible Institute. Since Rector's death in 1945, his successors have continued the church and its program essentially as he left it. A monthly publication, The Orthodox Baptist, was founded in 1931."

 

[Jerome]

From Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions:

"The Orthodox Baptists originated among the most conservative fundamentalist element of the Southern Baptist Convention...The movement was founded by W. Lee Rector (1883–1945), a former professor at Baylor University, who in 1931 became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Ardmore, Oklahoma.....he resigned from the Southern Baptist Convention and organized the first Orthodox Baptist Church in Ardmore, and he was soon joined by several other likeminded ministers and congregations."

"In 1944 he opened the Orthodox Bible Institute to train ministers. The church has remained staunchly fundamentalist, and members refrain from association with apostasy, liberalism, neo-evangelicalism, and compromise on doctrinal matters. Rector died in 1945. In the 1960s, the Orthodox Bible Institute closed and a new Orthodox Baptist College, located in Dallas, Texas, (now the Independent Baptist College), succeeded it. The Texas school was founded by James L. Higgs, then pastor of Trinity Baptist Temple."

 

[rlvaughn]

W. Lee Rector proposes amendments to the OBU charter.

View attachment upload_2018-5-21_16-9-36.png

View attachment upload_2018-5-21_16-10-10.png

The Perry Journal, Tuesday, November 4, 1930, p. 3

 

[rlvaughn]

Miami News-Record , Friday, November 7, 1930, p. 6

 

[Jerome]

"In the 1960s, the Orthodox Bible Institute closed and a new Orthodox Baptist College, located in Dallas, Texas, (now the Independent Baptist College), succeeded it. The Texas school was founded by James L. Higgs, then pastor of Trinity Baptist Temple."

E.L. Bynum in the Plains Baptist Challenger, 2009:

"A number of years ago Jim Higgs the president of the Independent Baptist College of Dallas did an unbelievable thing. This College was sponsored by the Trinity Temple Baptist Church and was housed in their facilities. We were lead to believe that he was a solid Independent Baptist. He later resigned and after awhile became the pastor of the First Baptist Church of San Francisco, California. This Church was a member of the liberal American Baptist Convention and under his leadership also joined the Southern Baptist Convention. He remained as pastor of the San Francisco Church for 18 years, before going on to the Chicago area to pastor another Church. One pastor in the Chicago area told me that he had seen him at a Church sporting event, and that he wore long hair like a hippy."

"It would seem that this event would cause great consternation in the Dallas College, and they would be indignant of Higgs’ action, but I never heard a peep from any of the leaders who were there. I wrote a short article in the PBC exposing this compromise. One faculty member (now deceased) of IBC, was reported as saying that Bynum did not understand that Higgs was simply trying to save a Church. All I can say is that it is a strange kind of 'saving.' I do know that he had a bad influence with some of the students at IBC as they visited with him in San Francisco. Higgs is back in the San Francisco area, and his website says, ''For two and one-half years I served as a church consultant to forty-five churches in the Bay Area of California.'"


From 2003 Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary faculty bio:

"James L. Higgs, Northern California Campus, Associate Professor of Preaching
Th.D. Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary
M.Div. Dallas Theological Seminary
B.A. Bob Jones University
Prior to his election to the faculty in 1996, Dr. James Higgs served the seminary as adjunct professor, teaching in the areas of preaching and ethics. Higgs pastored the historic First Baptist Church of San Francisco, California, from 1979-98. He previously served as pastor in Illinois, California and Texas. He has taught at San Francisco Baptist Theological Seminary and Simpson College. He has traveled in Europe. Canada. Israel, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, India, the Philippines and Jordan. In addition to his teaching duties at Golden Gate, Dr. Higgs serves as a church consultant for leadership development with American Baptist churches in the San Francisco Bay Area."

Current website of James Higgs: http://sermonkindling.org/about.htm

 

[rlvaughn]

From the Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists:

Thanks!

...represents the only outward break of its kind with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

I'm not sure this statement is right, according to what he means by "of its kind." If memory serves, there were two other breaks from the Oklahoma Convention in the early 1900s, and these two eventually united to become the Baptist General Assembly of Oklahoma, which is currently affiliated with the American Baptist Association.

 

[Jerome]

From the Ada, Okla. Evening News, "Rector Declares for Fundamentalism"

The Rev, Lee Rector of Ardmore, Okla., was on record today against ‘’modernism, naturalism, evolution and communism" which he charged were present in the church. His statement was made yesterday at a state-wide fellowship school of Orthodox Baptists here, of which he is chairman. The Orthodox fellowship movement was described by him as “a group of brethren calling to brethren to return to the historic faith and practice of old-fashioned Baptists.”

 

[Jerome]

From the Stephenville, Texas, Empire-Tribune:

 

[Jerome]

"ORTHODOX MOVEMENT, OKLAHOMA.
Fundamentalist in nature, this schism, with the possible exception of the Stealey controversy, represents the only outward break of its kind with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma."

From the Denton, Texas, Record-Chronicle, Feb. 2, 1933:

"The two-day fellowship meeting at the Fundamentalist Baptist tabernacle opened with good attendance Thursday morning, according to Rev. Rolfe Barnard, the pastor, who expects several hundred out of town visitors here during the two days. The special feature of the opening day is to be the missionary service in the evening with Dr. C.P. Stealey of Oklahoma City the speaker, followed by Dr. J. Frank Norris of Fort Worth, who is to speak on 'The Kings of the East.' Norris also spoke Thursday morning just before the noon hour, and is scheduled to speak three times Friday, at 11:34 a.m., in the afternoon, and In the evening. Other speakers of special interest will be Dr. John Bandy of Maud, Ok., and Dr. Lee Rector of Ardmore, Ok."

From The Paris, Texas, News, Feb. 15, 1935:

"The Rev. Marion Been, pastor of the Ramseur Baptist Tabernacle attended a Pre-Millennial Baptist Fellowship in Oklahoma City Monday and Tuesday of this week. The leading speakers at this conference were Dr. J. Frank Norris, Dr. Lee Rector of Ardmore, Rolf Barnard of Wetumka, and John Rice of Dallas. An estimated crowd of 4000 attended this Fellowship."

 

[rlvaughn]

If memory serves, there were two other breaks from the Oklahoma Convention in the early 1900s, and these two eventually united to become the Baptist General Assembly of Oklahoma, which is currently affiliated with the American Baptist Association.

Memory only served partially. One of the two -- the Oklahoma State Association (org. 1903) -- did not actually break from the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma because it was one of several bodies that pre-existed it. The BGCO was organized in 1906. The other, though -- the Baptist Convention of Oklahoma (org. 1920) was composed of churches dissatisfied with the BGCO. The State Association and Baptist Convention united circa 1925 to form the Baptist General Assembly of Oklahoma (History of the Baptist General Assembly of Oklahoma and Other Beginnings, from 1903 to 1982, T. L. Duren, editor, Baptist General Assembly Historical Committee, pp. 6-10). [On the other hand, Philip Ray Bryan's 1973 dissertation, An Ecclesiology of the Associational Baptists, 1900-1950, suggests the State Association of Oklahoma Baptist Churches might have been organized in 1911 rather than 1903. He references the 1912 minutes as the second session. Perhaps the associations referenced by Duren and Bryan are two different associations? He also references an unpublished Th.D. dissertation by Roger D. Hebard, "The A. Nunnery Movement in Oklahoma" (SWBTS, Fort Worth, 1944).]

I suspect there may have been a good bit of initial overlap in some of the movements. In ESB Stanfield speaks of the Stealey controversy as a separate controversy from the Orthodox movement. Nevertheless, at least after Stealey's death, his Hudson Avenue Baptist Church was considered part of the Orthodox movement (Barr-Smith Debate, pp. 91-92).

 

[rlvaughn]

From the Stephenville, Texas, Empire-Tribune:

This meeting shows an interesting mix (as well as the next one you posted) from those days. I suppose some of these "dissenters" were trying to figure out who they were, and whether they could work together. As far as I ever knew, J. W. Kesner and I. K. Cross were clear American Baptist Association partisans. When I knew Vernon L. Barr (he was old and gray-headed and not like the 1947 picture), he was a solid supporter of the ABA and the MBA of Texas (in fact, that was what he was debating J. Cullis Smith about; I think J. Cullis followed R. J. Anderson at First Orthodox & OBI). But Barr was also ordained by W. Lee Rector at First Orthodox in Ardmore, and was close friends with Ernest Rippetoe (who also served as President of the Texas State Gospel Singing Convention about this time, I think).

In doing searching on this topic, I discovered a former pastor of my natal church (before my time) had gone to school at Orthodox Baptist Institute.

Really nice ad! Thanks.

 

[rlvaughn]

This is the 1920 "Nunnery Convention"
Chickasha Daily Express, Monday, October 4, 1920, p. 1
View attachment 2186

 

[Jerome]

1935 GARBC annual meeting program (Grand Rapids, Mich.) shows Rector and Stealey speaking:



Also a write up in the same issue of the Baptist Bulletin about a big May meeting in Memphis:

 

[Jerome]

The Daily Ardmoreite, Feb. 3, 1935:

 

[rlvaughn]

Another interesting person to throw into this mix is L. R. Shelton. He may have never been part of the Orthodox Fellowship, but he was close friends with A. Reilly Copeland, who preached his funeral. HERE is an interesting comment he made, throwing several types of Baptists under the bus!

From 1935 to the fall of 1938 I visited one Baptist group after another and, as a result, discovered some pertinent facts: I found that CONVENTION BAPTISTS were drifting to a worship of a program; that ORTHODOX BAPTISTS were given over to the worship of the doctrines of the Bible; that the FUNDAMENTALIST BAPTISTS were being led to the worship of the Bible itself; that the MISSIONARY or LANDMARK BAPTISTS were putting the emphasis on the church; and that the PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS had drifted to Hypercalvinism, and most of them had become fatalistic in their attitude. Therefore, I did not find what my heart was longing for.

Links to burials of some other ministers:
Clymer C. Evans
Ernest Rippetoe
H. Frank Fort
L. H. Brown
O. E. Alsup (Alsup may have been primarily a BMA preacher, but he was pastor of the Orthodox Missionary Baptist Church on 1219 S Hampton Road in Dallas, according to the Dallas City Directory, 1941)

 

[rlvaughn]

Jerome, from some things I've seen and especially the things you've posted, I get the impression that Rector's idea of the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship was for it to be inclusive for those who could meet on these terms of historic Baptist doctrine, fundamentalism and premillennialism -- probably without concern of whether or not they were in any other fellowship or association.

Vernon Barr references the 1947 Fellowship meeting at Stephenville in his debate with Cullis Smith. He said that he helped Ernest Rippetoe "make out the program the first night of the meeting" and "there was nothing wrong with the Fellowship at Stephenville. They didn't put any hobbles on anybody..." In this latter point he seems to be referring as to what body one might have been a member of (as in OBF, ABA). It seems, though, by the time of the debate, that Barr thought the loosely organized fellowship was gathering in some that he thought were loose Baptists (he gives some examples of pulpit affiliation, open communion, and alien immersion). He also said that L. S. Ballard (and Ballard was Smith's moderator at this debate) had told him that the Orthodox Baptist Fellowship had served its purpose and that it was time for it to be called off, since it no longer had an objective. (From Barr's standpoint that objective was to unite "orthodox Baptists" from different groups. He said, quoting Ballard "...Orthodox Baptists from all groups were invited to come and take part in the meetings...Free speech was accorded to all, and men of all groups who attended the meetings were placed on the programs with no strings whatsoever upon them." Barr's point was now (in 1952) they were excluding Orthodox Baptists who weren't absolutely unaffiliated.)

 

[rlvaughn]

I found that I had a copy in my library of the 1958 (3rd edition) of the Orthodox Baptist Confession of Faith. It is substantially the same as what M. L. Moser Jr. printed in his Handbook, except for minor formatting/spelling/capitalization differences.



The booklet is stamped "Grace Bible Baptist Church, 201 S. Baxter, Tyler, Texas." I've never been to that church (and though a building is still there it no longer houses Grace BBC), so I must have gotten it from an individual or another church.