Why Most Fundamental Baptist Churches Will Be Emerging Within 20 Years
Enlarged May 6, 2025 (first published December 15, 2011)
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).
We are witnessing a great blending and merging among every type of church, from fundamentalism to Catholicism, which will culminate in the totally apostate harlot “church” that will be aligned with the antichrist (Revelation 17-18).
Even fundamental Baptists are merging. Fundamental Baptist churches today, in general, are radically different in character from what they were when I was saved in 1973. They are no from Southern Baptists who have not practiced biblical separation since the 1800s.
What is happening among fundamental Baptist churches at large is exactly what happened within evangelicalism in the 1950s. It is the rejection of “separatism.” When I was saved 52 years ago, the major thing that distinguished fundamental Baptists from Southern Baptists was biblical separation, but that distinction is disappearing.
From its inception, the hallmark of New Evangelicalism was the rejection of separation. Harold Ockenga, who claimed to have coined the term “neo-evangelicalism” in 1948, defined it as “A REJECTION OF SEPARATISM” (foreword to Harold Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible).
The New Evangelicalism aimed at a more positive and pragmatic philosophy as opposed to the “negativism and isolation” of fundamentalism.
In a speech he gave in 1947 at the founding of Fuller Theological Seminary, Ockenga said:
“We repudiate the ‘Come-outist’ movement which brands all denominations as apostate. We expect to be positive in our emphasis, except where error so exists that it is necessary for us to point it out in order to declare the truth” (Garth Rosell, The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism, 2008, p. 176).
Ockenga represented the changing mood of the sons of the old fundamentalists. They were tired of exposing error and separating from compromised denominations and churches. They were tired of fighting. That new generation of evangelicals determined to abandon a militant Bible stance. They wanted a more positive face on their Christianity.
New Evangelical philosophy swept the globe. Those who call themselves evangelicals today are New Evangelicals; the terms have become synonymous. Old-line evangelicals either have aligned with out-and-out fundamentalism or have adopted New Evangelicalism.
Ernest Pickering observed: “Part of the current confusion regarding New Evangelicalism stems from the fact that there is now little difference between evangelicalism and New Evangelicalism. The principles of the original New Evangelicalism have become so universally accepted by those who refer to themselves as evangelicals that any distinctions which might have been made years ago are all but lost. It is no doubt true to state that ‘Ockenga’s designation of the new movement as New or Neo-Evangelical was abbreviated to Evangelical. ... Thus today we speak of this branch of conservative Christianity simply as the Evangelical movement’” (The Tragedy of Compromise, p. 96).
What happened to evangelical churches in the 1950s is happening to fundamental Baptist churches today. The doctrine of biblical separatism is being rejected at breathtaking speed.
In the following free eBook we document the collapse.
Why Most Independent Baptist Churches Will Be Emerging within 20 Years
https://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/why_most_ibcs_emerging.php
We also give 12 reasons for the collapse.
1. Lukewarmness, unholiness, worldliness
2. Biblical shallowness
3. The maligning of warning and reproof
4. Lack of Prayer
5. Unquestioning loyalty to man
6. Following the crowd
7. Pragmatism and Big-mindedness
8. Ignorance about important issues
9. Soft Separatism
10. Lack of Serious Discipleship
11. Carelessness about Music
12. Quick Prayerism
Pastor, is your church doing everything necessary to hold the line against the onslaught of end-time apostasy?
I, for one, believe in separation. I am convinced that the “renunciation of separatism” is the renunciation of biblical Christianity. Separation is biblical. It is even an “essential” and a “fundamental” doctrine. Separation is not the gospel, but it is a divinely-ordained wall of spiritual protection against apostasy and the world. To reject “separatism” is to tear down this wall so that God’s people are no longer kept from the “good words and fair speeches” whereby heretics deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:17-18) and no longer protected from the siren call of the world.
I was not raised a separatist. I don’t hold to separation as some form of tradition from my fathers. I was raised Southern Baptist and learned absolutely nothing about separation then. I became a separatist by conviction after I was born again as a young man and began studying the Bible for myself.
As a new Christian I wasn’t attracted to separatism because of my background or personal inclination. I am a converted hippy. After I was discharged from the Army as a Vietnam vet, I grew my hair long, sold drugs, hitch hiked across America, went to jail, and otherwise lived the rock & roll lifestyle to the hilt. Any natural inclination I had as a new Christian was to keep my long hair and rock music and to remain friends with the Pentecostal movement. God’s Word didn’t allow that, and it was learning to separate from the world and from false teaching that kept me on the right track in the Lord’s will. Separation is necessary for true discipleship.
Knowing the importance of separation, I am deeply concerned about the next generation, if Jesus “tarries.” I am concerned about my kids and grandkids and great grandkids. There are fewer and fewer churches that give more than lip service to separation. Will such churches still exist in 20 years so that God’s people can find the spiritual protection they will need even more urgently then than we do now?
When I find a preacher who is playing games about biblical separation and is showing signs of rejecting it, I refuse to have anything to do with him as far as ministry goes. I am not going to join his church. I’m not going to preach in his church. I am not going to preach with him on the same platform in meetings. And I am not going to preach in churches that would have him!
Yea, that is narrow and strict, but I believe it is necessary to cut off the effect of compromise. Compromise is a communicable disease!
The old backslidden prophet in 1 Kings 13 taught the young prophet to disobey God by taking His commandments lightly. God told the young prophet to preach against the idolatrous altar at Bethel, then to leave and not even to eat there. The prophet obeyed for awhile. He ran a good race for a distance. He proclaimed God’s message against the altar boldly, refusing the king’s offer of a reward, and headed away from Bethel. But instead of continuing to get away from there as fast as his donkey could carry him, he decided to take a rest under an oak tree. There, an old compromised prophet who had become comfortable in Bethel, met him and encouraged him that he didn’t need to take God’s commandments so strictly, that he could go to his house and enjoy a meal before leaving the idolatrous city. That sounded reasonable, didn’t it? Surely God would understand. The “little bit” of compromise didn’t work out for him, though. As a result of his association with an old backslidden prophet, the foolish young prophet was killed. By the way, we see in this account that backslidden preachers lie!
There are a lot of compromised preachers in independent Baptist churches who are saying it is OK to lighten up on separation. They say that music is an issue of taste, that teaching the biblical principles of modest dress is legalism, that it is fine to take the youth group to Dollywood and initiate them into Hollywood and give them unsupervised iPhones. Their theme song is “lighten up, don’t be so strict, so narrow. Let’s be Biblicists but let’s not go overboard with it. Let’s not be fanatics. Surely, it can’t hurt to read the ‘conservative’ evangelicals and use their materials and follow their blogs. If we don’t lighten up, we’ll lose the kids.”
I don’t want anything to do with that crowd! I believe that if you “lighten up” on biblical separation you will definitely lose the kids. You will lose them to the world and to the contemporary emerging philosophy. I am convinced this thinking is wrong, that it is compromise, and I don’t want to be affected by it.
Even if I could associate with such men without being personally affected, which is probably not possible, what about those who are observing my example? I don’t want to risk having our church members influenced by association with compromising preachers and churches.
Biblical separation cannot be maintained without a real campaign. A separatist stance will only be maintained on purpose and at a cost, but it is worth it.
Separation is not the gospel, but it is a divinely-ordained wall of spiritual protection against apostasy and the world. To reject “separatism” is to tear down this wall so that God’s people are no longer kept from the “good words and fair speeches” whereby heretics deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:17-18) and no longer distanced from the siren call of the world (2 Timothy 2:22).
Why Most Independent Baptist Churches Will Be Emerging within 20 Years
https://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/why_most_ibcs_emerging.php
We are witnessing a great blending and merging among every type of church, from fundamentalism to Catholicism, which will culminate in the totally apostate harlot “church” that will be aligned with the antichrist (Revelation 17-18).
Even fundamental Baptists are merging. Fundamental Baptist churches today, in general, are radically different in character from what they were when I was saved in 1973. They are no from Southern Baptists who have not practiced biblical separation since the 1800s.
What is happening among fundamental Baptist churches at large is exactly what happened within evangelicalism in the 1950s. It is the rejection of “separatism.” When I was saved 52 years ago, the major thing that distinguished fundamental Baptists from Southern Baptists was biblical separation, but that distinction is disappearing.
From its inception, the hallmark of New Evangelicalism was the rejection of separation. Harold Ockenga, who claimed to have coined the term “neo-evangelicalism” in 1948, defined it as “A REJECTION OF SEPARATISM” (foreword to Harold Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible).
The New Evangelicalism aimed at a more positive and pragmatic philosophy as opposed to the “negativism and isolation” of fundamentalism.
In a speech he gave in 1947 at the founding of Fuller Theological Seminary, Ockenga said:
“We repudiate the ‘Come-outist’ movement which brands all denominations as apostate. We expect to be positive in our emphasis, except where error so exists that it is necessary for us to point it out in order to declare the truth” (Garth Rosell, The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism, 2008, p. 176).
Ockenga represented the changing mood of the sons of the old fundamentalists. They were tired of exposing error and separating from compromised denominations and churches. They were tired of fighting. That new generation of evangelicals determined to abandon a militant Bible stance. They wanted a more positive face on their Christianity.
New Evangelical philosophy swept the globe. Those who call themselves evangelicals today are New Evangelicals; the terms have become synonymous. Old-line evangelicals either have aligned with out-and-out fundamentalism or have adopted New Evangelicalism.
Ernest Pickering observed: “Part of the current confusion regarding New Evangelicalism stems from the fact that there is now little difference between evangelicalism and New Evangelicalism. The principles of the original New Evangelicalism have become so universally accepted by those who refer to themselves as evangelicals that any distinctions which might have been made years ago are all but lost. It is no doubt true to state that ‘Ockenga’s designation of the new movement as New or Neo-Evangelical was abbreviated to Evangelical. ... Thus today we speak of this branch of conservative Christianity simply as the Evangelical movement’” (The Tragedy of Compromise, p. 96).
What happened to evangelical churches in the 1950s is happening to fundamental Baptist churches today. The doctrine of biblical separatism is being rejected at breathtaking speed.
In the following free eBook we document the collapse.
Why Most Independent Baptist Churches Will Be Emerging within 20 Years
https://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/why_most_ibcs_emerging.php
We also give 12 reasons for the collapse.
1. Lukewarmness, unholiness, worldliness
2. Biblical shallowness
3. The maligning of warning and reproof
4. Lack of Prayer
5. Unquestioning loyalty to man
6. Following the crowd
7. Pragmatism and Big-mindedness
8. Ignorance about important issues
9. Soft Separatism
10. Lack of Serious Discipleship
11. Carelessness about Music
12. Quick Prayerism
Pastor, is your church doing everything necessary to hold the line against the onslaught of end-time apostasy?
I, for one, believe in separation. I am convinced that the “renunciation of separatism” is the renunciation of biblical Christianity. Separation is biblical. It is even an “essential” and a “fundamental” doctrine. Separation is not the gospel, but it is a divinely-ordained wall of spiritual protection against apostasy and the world. To reject “separatism” is to tear down this wall so that God’s people are no longer kept from the “good words and fair speeches” whereby heretics deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:17-18) and no longer protected from the siren call of the world.
I was not raised a separatist. I don’t hold to separation as some form of tradition from my fathers. I was raised Southern Baptist and learned absolutely nothing about separation then. I became a separatist by conviction after I was born again as a young man and began studying the Bible for myself.
As a new Christian I wasn’t attracted to separatism because of my background or personal inclination. I am a converted hippy. After I was discharged from the Army as a Vietnam vet, I grew my hair long, sold drugs, hitch hiked across America, went to jail, and otherwise lived the rock & roll lifestyle to the hilt. Any natural inclination I had as a new Christian was to keep my long hair and rock music and to remain friends with the Pentecostal movement. God’s Word didn’t allow that, and it was learning to separate from the world and from false teaching that kept me on the right track in the Lord’s will. Separation is necessary for true discipleship.
Knowing the importance of separation, I am deeply concerned about the next generation, if Jesus “tarries.” I am concerned about my kids and grandkids and great grandkids. There are fewer and fewer churches that give more than lip service to separation. Will such churches still exist in 20 years so that God’s people can find the spiritual protection they will need even more urgently then than we do now?
When I find a preacher who is playing games about biblical separation and is showing signs of rejecting it, I refuse to have anything to do with him as far as ministry goes. I am not going to join his church. I’m not going to preach in his church. I am not going to preach with him on the same platform in meetings. And I am not going to preach in churches that would have him!
Yea, that is narrow and strict, but I believe it is necessary to cut off the effect of compromise. Compromise is a communicable disease!
The old backslidden prophet in 1 Kings 13 taught the young prophet to disobey God by taking His commandments lightly. God told the young prophet to preach against the idolatrous altar at Bethel, then to leave and not even to eat there. The prophet obeyed for awhile. He ran a good race for a distance. He proclaimed God’s message against the altar boldly, refusing the king’s offer of a reward, and headed away from Bethel. But instead of continuing to get away from there as fast as his donkey could carry him, he decided to take a rest under an oak tree. There, an old compromised prophet who had become comfortable in Bethel, met him and encouraged him that he didn’t need to take God’s commandments so strictly, that he could go to his house and enjoy a meal before leaving the idolatrous city. That sounded reasonable, didn’t it? Surely God would understand. The “little bit” of compromise didn’t work out for him, though. As a result of his association with an old backslidden prophet, the foolish young prophet was killed. By the way, we see in this account that backslidden preachers lie!
There are a lot of compromised preachers in independent Baptist churches who are saying it is OK to lighten up on separation. They say that music is an issue of taste, that teaching the biblical principles of modest dress is legalism, that it is fine to take the youth group to Dollywood and initiate them into Hollywood and give them unsupervised iPhones. Their theme song is “lighten up, don’t be so strict, so narrow. Let’s be Biblicists but let’s not go overboard with it. Let’s not be fanatics. Surely, it can’t hurt to read the ‘conservative’ evangelicals and use their materials and follow their blogs. If we don’t lighten up, we’ll lose the kids.”
I don’t want anything to do with that crowd! I believe that if you “lighten up” on biblical separation you will definitely lose the kids. You will lose them to the world and to the contemporary emerging philosophy. I am convinced this thinking is wrong, that it is compromise, and I don’t want to be affected by it.
Even if I could associate with such men without being personally affected, which is probably not possible, what about those who are observing my example? I don’t want to risk having our church members influenced by association with compromising preachers and churches.
Biblical separation cannot be maintained without a real campaign. A separatist stance will only be maintained on purpose and at a cost, but it is worth it.
Separation is not the gospel, but it is a divinely-ordained wall of spiritual protection against apostasy and the world. To reject “separatism” is to tear down this wall so that God’s people are no longer kept from the “good words and fair speeches” whereby heretics deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:17-18) and no longer distanced from the siren call of the world (2 Timothy 2:22).
Why Most Independent Baptist Churches Will Be Emerging within 20 Years
https://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/why_most_ibcs_emerging.php
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