For Better or Worse? - "Independent Baptist Merger"

The first hurdle will be picking a name; with all the various Baptist groups and "nongroups," the supply of less-than-12-letter names must be running short.

OK. I'll shut up.

 

It is worth noting that the groups mentioned the BBFI, the WBF and the SBF are all descended from folks who separated from the Southern Baptist convention. The differences being primarily in their initial leadership. As these groups are now into their third if not fourth generation, it is not surprising or a "bad" thing for these folks to smooth over "their" differences.

It would be surprising to see the GARBC or FBFI to get organicly involved with these folks. This as the GARBC and FBFI are descended from the Northern Baptist Convention. Please notice I wrote "organicly". At least in the FBFI, there is a certain amount of cross pollination in the area of missionary support. In other words, you will find FBFI churches supporting BIMI missionaries.

 

Squire has this one nailed. These groups all split/splintered from the Southern Baptists and would be better served joining back together.

Egos are fragile. Whenever we talk "merger", we are talking about only ONE president, ONE board. Right now they have 3+ so everyone can have a job or a position.

If they merge into one, we'll probably have a surplus of bogus "doctors" who will need to find publicity and glory in something else. Mission agencies will multiply; so will tiny so-called colleges.

This started as personality conflicts and I don't see that changing any time soon.

 

The organizations mentioned are set up as fellowships. All this "merger" means is that a given area won't have competeing BBFI, WBF, SBF regional meetings. Nor will there be three annual meetings of men who, more or less, are on the same page on most matters.

 

Hardsheller, men like Dr. Bob and I do not have a lick of SBC DNA in us. So, we would not be coming "home" if we affiliated with the SBC. We are from the northern side of the Triennial Convention breakup.

 

Hardsheller, I really don't want to go into that dust-up. The issues then at hand were real ones and not to be taken lightly even in retrospect. One consequence of the breakup was we northern Baptists did not form a full fledged convention until early in the next century.

 

Hardsheller: leaving aside such matters as were settled at Appomattox Courthouse. We, Northerners went on to organize ourselves into bodies that were task orientated in their focus. E.g multiple "the Northern Baptist...." (Foriegn and Home Missionary Society, Bible Society, ect.) We did not want a unitary type of organization ala the SBC and were quite content with a more federative type of situation. I offer for you perusal Francis Wayland's book Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churchs c. 1856. Brother Wayland was a leading figure in the Northern Baptist movement in his day. Mind you all of these matters occured years before men like J. Frank Norris were even in knee britches much less long pants.