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I was raised, saved, baptized and called to preach in a small town Southern Baptist Church. As a 19-year-old fiery, soul-winning preacher boy, freshly called by the blessed Lord, I was immediately challenged to do what was right. Two old deacons took the young married couples of our church and began to disciple them. These deacons were King James only, pre-millennial, local church, and soul-winners. They also smoked which was not uncommon in our small town convention churches.

When God called me to preach, I went to Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute. My dad had gone there and he warned me that there was some renegade Independent Baptist at Fruitland and I was to beware of them. I supported the convention whole-heartedly and even blasted the Independents. Looking back, I can see the compromise that has always been in the Independent preachers who liked both sides of the fence.

  I was introduced to church politics as a young preacher boy when I went as a messenger to the State Convention. I watched for three days a fight to accept any mode of baptism for membership into a Baptist Church. I listened as older preacher after older preacher stood and fought for their convictions concerning doctrines of God’s Word. Even though these men were right and their arguments were strong, they eventually lost the battle to the liberals who played politics and had more influence in the convention.

  Later I entered Luther Rice Seminary, which was an Independent school mixed with Southern Baptist and Independent teachers. The Convention was at that time trying to take over the school. Its president, Dr. Robert Witty would not accept SBC Accreditation because of his convictions concerning the King James Bible. He fought the takeover. When he retired, the convention won. Nineteen of us left with one Professor. I believed that convictions were to supercede ties to the convention.

  While at Luther Rice, I began pastoring my first SBC church. I also served on the Board of the Florida State Baptist Evangelism Committee. While here I learned that a lot of the SBC Evangelists in our state were former Pastors who had committed adultery and entered the field of Evangelism until things cooled off. Then they returned to the Pastorate. Does this sound familiar? This was fine with the convention.

As a SBC pastor, I found out that I answered to the Associational Missionary. In my first church I was taught that key matters and doctrines had to go through him. As a young preacher I was growing in the Lord. I was teaching my church about liberalism and modernism. I also taught separation and Godly living. These issues got me called into the associational missionary’s office. He was being bombarded with calls from men and women who wanted no pastoral leadership, no separation, and no change in their everyday life of sin. They saw the convention as a way to fight off convictions. At my next church, the associational missionary of the Gaston Baptist Association here in NC told me that there was “no local church autonomy.” He said, “We were all under the SBC guidelines.” He added that “I had a lot of Independent Baptist tendency that I would need to change or I would have a difficult time getting a pastorate.” (Independent tendencies being: King James only, separation, pastoral authority, and local church autonomy.)

  When we wouldn’t compromise our convictions, without my knowledge they organized a business meeting with the help of the associational missionary. During a church service, the woman secretary stood up when I was just about to preach. She called the church into business while I protested. She read a letter stating that Sunday they would vote on me. When I went to see the associational missionary I was informed of the North Carolina SBC bylaws. The bylaws said, “if at any time three members of a church would come to the Association with a complaint, they could come into the church without the Pastor’s knowledge and take over.” He proceeded to tell me that he not only controlled me and my church: but my future also. He counseled me to go into my church on Sunday morning and apologize for preaching against deacons smoking, women who played the piano or held leadership wearing pants, mixed swimming by church members or any other divisive issue that I had ever brought up. He told me that this was a new day and that kind of preaching was not acceptable. Needless to say, I didn’t apologize so I was ousted from my pastorate and from the Gaston Baptist Association. I lost life-long friends and any future positions that I would have ever held but convictions had to out weigh the convention. I walked alone for several years.

Being an Independent, Fundamental, King James, separated, Pre-millennial Baptist has cost me some things. It is a simple choice; stay with the Convention or stay with my Convictions. I do not hate the SBC, but I stand against their compromise and hate their liberalism. I do not preach in SBC churches, or knowingly preach with SBC preachers. Make no mistake about it, what I left 30 years ago in the SBC is now rampant in our movement. Men today will be forced to make the same decisions men were making 30 years ago. Things really haven’t changed. It is still convention verses convictions. Men with backbone will still do right and men without backbone will not.  

Pastor Thomas L. Holbrooks
Pilgrim Baptist Church - Gastonia, NC
E-mail - Tomresa@Juno.com