September 2020 — pg. 3
Secrets, Idols
and Insurance
By Jeff Finley
Jeff Finley is this magazine’s
executive editor. He is a member of
John Wesley Free Methodist Church
where his wife, Jen, serves as the
lead pastor.
Life insurance seemingly endangered my grandparents’ eligibility
to join the Free Methodist Church.
When my mom’s parents moved to a small town in southeastern
Illinois, their Methodist preacher brother-in-law expressed concern
about the theology espoused at the two (not Free) Methodist
churches in town that were part of his denomination. He suggested
they check out the local FM congregation instead. They quickly fell in
love with Free Methodism, but a challenge came when they learned
that members could not belong to secret societies.
My grandfather confessed that he was a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America. However, he didn’t participate in any
Woodmen rituals or even attend meetings. He only joined for the
insurance.
The Modern Woodmen were discussed in a 2016 Dallas Morning
News article titled “Secret societies sold life insurance wrapped in
fraternal rituals.” Journalist Lisa Hix reported that the Modern
Woodmen and the rival Woodmen of the World now seem like typical
insurance agencies, but they initially capitalized on the popularity
of groups like the Freemasons. Hix noted that “fraternal-order
membership reached its golden age in the United States between
1890 and 1930, with up to one-third of American men belonging to
at least one secret society.”
Think about how radical the Free Methodist Church’s stance on
secret societies was at that time. The denomination essentially told
one-third of potential members: Belong to the church or a secret
society, but you can’t be part of both.
Kevin Watson, associate professor of Wesleyan and Methodist
Studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, states
in his book “Old or New School Methodism?” that Free Methodist
founder B.T. Roberts (this magazine’s former editor) “consistently
opposed secret societies, and was even involved in formal attempts to
oppose them, joining the anti-lodge National Christian Association.
He spoke at their national meeting in 1874 and was subsequently
elected to a one-year term as president.” Roberts insisted, “the god of
the lodge is not the God of the Bible.”
Keep reading in this issue to learn more about the National
Christian Association in the Connecting Points article by Mindi
Grieser Cromwell, whom I’ve known since college days when she
upset some of my friends by writing in the campus newspaper about
the secret society-like behavior of a “men’s service club” to which
I belonged. The (now defunct) club wasn’t quite Yale University’s
infamous Skull and Bones society, but initiations and other secret
activities didn’t seem to fit with our college’s Free Methodist ethos.
I doubt many of this magazine’s readers are currently in a
Christian college knockoff of a “Greek life” fraternity or sorority, but
some of us may have lost touch with the reasons for our opposition to
secret societies. We may not be joining the Illuminati, but we may get
caught up in conspiracy theories or spread gossip about other people
via text messages and private social media groups.
This issue of LIGHT + LIFE focuses on living “above board”
with a Board of Bishops-authorized position paper in which
Bishop Emeritus Matthew A. Thomas discusses how modern Free
Methodists can continue our legacy of shunning secrecy. Early Free
Methodists might be shocked by the use of the phrase “above board,”
which Vital Signs author Alex Davis reveals has roots in the world
of gambling, but I think they would appreciate their biblically based
principles being applied to the present age. In our Leading Edge
section, Bishop Keith Cowart calls for the church to “live in the light”
personally, relationally and corporately, and he offers guidance for
spiritual discernment and decision-making. This month’s URFM
section focuses on Howard Olver who has lived above board while
serving for decades in different urban areas of the United States and
Canada. In our Viewpoint section, Brett Heintzman shares about the
dangerous effects of divisive discourse.
So what happened with my grandparents? They offered to drop
their Modern Woodmen insurance and stick with the church, but
their pastor decided they weren’t in violation of the restrictions on
secret societies because they weren’t involved in secrecy or “religious
rites,” which B.T. Roberts called “idolatry” while speaking out against
the ceremonies of the Masons and the Odd Fellows.
Are we willing to give up secrecy or idolatry (putting other things
or people before God) to belong to the body of Christ? After all,
“there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that
will not be made known” (Luke 12:2).+
August
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