Jeff Finley

Jeff Finley

Light + Life Executive Editor

Jeff Finley is this magazine’s executive editor. He joined the Light+Life team in 2011 after a dozen years of reporting and editing for Sun-Times Media. He is a member of John Wesley Free Methodist Church where his wife, Jen, serves as the lead pastor.

by Jeff Finley

Have you been surprised to read of a well-known Christian leader who has been accused of inappropriate behavior? Even with so much else happening in the news last year, it wasn’t uncommon to read of a prominent pastor or a Christian university president who stepped aside or was removed from a ministry position after allegations of sexual sin or other impropriety. Sometimes churches or Christian organizations face allegations of allowing an internal culture that looks the other way at multiple people engaging in conduct that does not reflect the fruit of the Spirit.

Some allegations later prove to be false or unsubstantiated, but we shouldn’t be surprised when some high-profile people fail to live up to the faith they proclaim. In the book of Luke, Jesus warns that “there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open” (8:17). A few chapters later, He again advises His disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known” (12:1–2). 

I recently read a New York Times article about a popular pastor who lost his job a month earlier and then confessed on his social media that he had been unfaithful in his marriage. By the time the article came out, a widely reported extramarital affair was old news, but new allegations about his church’s culture caught my attention: “The church seemed to go out of its way to cultivate a hierarchy of coolness. A reserved seating section for V.I.P.s appeared at the front of the church, and then expanded to take up multiple rows. A former church volunteer told the newspaper, “A lot of us felt torn because it doesn’t feel like something Jesus would do.” The article added, “Congregants also described a distinct caste system at the church that corresponded to appearance, wealth and fame.”

This isn’t the first time that churches have been accused of favoring wealthy or well-known people and giving them the best seats in the house while ignoring people who are poor, old or powerless. One virtuous pastor previously angered fellow New York clergy by exposing a church culture that reserved positions and V.I.P. seating for wealthy and influential people. This pastor and prolific author, B.T. Roberts, noted, “To the banquet Jesus has provided, all are invited to come and eat without money and without price.”

Roberts lived in the 1800s, and the world has changed a lot since then. If you look beyond the superficial and technological differences, you’ll find our world still faces many of the same problems — from human trafficking to racism to hypocrisy — that Roberts and his allies tried to address when they launched a new movement known as the Free Methodist Church. Several church denominations have Free in their names, and multiple congregations in your community may have the label Methodist. There’s nothing magical in the words Free Methodist, which don’t need to be included on a church sign or the top of a website for a church to reflect this movement’s values.

What are these values? Do they still matter? Does the Free Methodist Church have anything unique or significant to offer our world in 2021?

Enter The Free Methodist Way, which articulates five core values of the church — Life-Giving Holiness, Love-Driven Justice, Christ-Compelled Multiplication, Cross-Cultural Collaboration and God-Given Revelation. The Light + Life team is blessed to release this new statement with additional perspective from Bishop Keith Cowart, who has spent countless hours with Bishops Linda Adams and Matt Whitehead articulating The Free Methodist Way. This clarity helps distinguish Free Methodism from other denominations and “nondenominational” movements. Words like holiness and justice can have radically different meanings for people depending on their backgrounds and experiences, and it’s important to understand exactly what church leaders mean when they use them. 

Even though the values of The Free Methodist Way are rooted in Scripture, I don’t think you’ll find all five values emphasized by many best-selling Christian authors or on Christian radio and TV programs. The Free Methodist Church has a distinctive voice that needs to be heard, and the New York Times isn’t likely to provide us a regular platform to share it. Since the 1860s, B.T. Roberts and other Free Methodists have been publishing articles to share the FM voice, and I pray that this new lightandlife.fm website takes this voice to an increasingly larger audience around the world.

After reading The Free Methodist Way, I think, “Yes, this is where I fit!” I hope you feel the same way even if you’ve never heard of the Free Methodist Church until stumbling upon this website. Come and read these articles “without money and without price” because — no matter what’s in your bank account or how many Instagram followers you have — you are a very important person.+

Jeff Finley

Jeff Finley

Light + Life Executive Editor

Jeff Finley is this magazine’s executive editor. He joined the Light+Life team in 2011 after a dozen years of reporting and editing for Sun-Times Media. He is a member of John Wesley Free Methodist Church where his wife, Jen, serves as the lead pastor.