On October 15, 2012, following a funeral service in Alvin, Texas, the body of Ernest Allen Finley, 90, was laid to rest in the Southpark Cemetery in Pearland, Texas. The funeral was conducted by his son, Alan Finley, sons-in-law Ron Owings, Jimmy Stevens, and Mark Mayberry, and grandsons Shaun Owings, Luke, Joshua, and Jady Stevens, Nathan and Ryan Mayberry, and Matthew and Jordan Finley.

Ernest was a preacher of the gospel of Christ for 73 years. In fact, he died 75 years and one day after he preached his first sermon in 1937, at the age of 15. The lesson was on baptism and he spoke all he knew about baptism in about 10 minutes. He was a dedicated student of the Scriptures and very thorough in his preaching and teaching. His heart and life were driven by such teachings as Paul’s admonition to “. . . abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment. . . .” The influence and memories of this strong, faithful warrior in the Lord’s army have helped shape many of our lives today, and will continue to be part of the fiber that will help us through trials of faith in the future.

Ernest was an unassuming person, not loud, boastful or one to monopolize a conversation. Yet, when truth was on the line, he was ready to defend it and uphold it even if he was the only one taking a stand, and even if truth meant that he needed to change. We are reminded of Paul’s exhortation, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

In the late 1940s and 1950s, when issues arose over local churches being involved with human institutions and innovations, Ernest’s diligent studies led him to the conclusion that these things violated the fundamental organization and work of the local church. His position was not popular at a time when brethren were hungering to involve the church in these unscriptural practices that, today, have moved so many churches of Christ far away from God’s intended purpose. However, popularity was not the father of Ernest’s faith. Instead, as Paul said, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”

Ernest’s consistent stand for truth precipitated division in the church on occasion when he opposed brethren who wanted to change God’s design for the church or preferred preaching that was more tolerant of worldliness. At the same time, his thorough instruction helped strengthen many who rejected such apostasies.

Ernest was the first preacher for the newly formed College Park church in Deer Park, Texas around 1967. This new work did not begin without problems. He, along with other faithful men of the congregation, battled digressive brethren who attempted to take over this work. These faithful brethren stood their ground and the digressives departed, leaving the church stronger and ready to continue growing like it should.

Jimmy Stevens states, “I have known Ernest for 45 years, and have been his son-in-law since I married his daughter, Anne, 40 years ago. He baptized and performed the weddings for all four of his children. He came along at a critical time in my life, when I was a teenager just waking up to the world of spiritual challenges and responsibilities. I still have etched in my mind some of the strong lessons he preached on things that teens needed to hear regarding strong faith and moral purity. He struck such fear in my heart that it helped deter me from even thinking about doing the things he talked about.

“His love for the gospel led him to encourage others to preach it. When I was a sophomore or junior in high school Ernest asked me if I had ever thought about preaching. I simply said, ‘No!’ and that was that. Five years later I began preaching, and 21 years after that, he and I worked together with the church in Centerville, Texas, from 1994 to 2006.

“Ernest loved fishing and hunting. Many can remember fishing trips with him. He was a master at figuring out what kind of lure would work, especially when fishing was slow. I enjoyed hunting with Ernest and sharing the joy of our successes. I have hunted deer for over 50 years and could tell deer stories all day long, but this is one of my favorite hunting stories:

“Ernest and Frances had moved to Texas from Oklahoma in the 1990s. In Oklahoma, hunters did not have to buy a deer tag if they were 65 or older. Ernest assumed the same game regulation applied in Texas. When deer season began, he killed a small buck and we brought it back to the house to process it. Ernest threw the deer head in the garbage. When he learned that in Texas all hunters were required to tag their deer, he immediately went to town, even though it was late in the evening, and bought a Texas hunting license, filled it out, cut the notches out, dug the deer head out of the garbage can, put his tag on the antlers, and threw the head back into the garbage. How many Christians who hunt would have had the integrity to do that? He was able to go to sleep that night with a clear conscience. Oh how we desperately need more Christians today with that kind of character.”

Ernest was born in Gates, Texas near Dallas. He spent over 70 years seeking to lead people to Christ, and educating brethren to greater faithfulness in the Lord. Ernest worked with churches of Christ in Nacogdoches and Ennis, Texas; Morrilton, Arkansas; Wichita, Kansas; Carlsbad, New Mexico; Wichita Falls, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; West Columbia, Deer Park (College Park), Houston (Oak Forest), Longview (Greggton), Texas City, Houston (Kleinwood), and Alvin, Texas; Saratoga, Arkansas; Poteau, Oklahoma and Centerville, Texas. Since 2006, he and Frances have been residents of Alvin, Texas.

Ernest is survived by his beloved wife of 68 years, Mary Frances Jackson Finley; daughters, Kathy Owings and husband, Ron; Anne Stevens and husband, Jimmy; Sherelyn Mayberry and husband, Mark; son, Alan Finley and wife, Julie; grandchildren, Seth and Shaun Owings, Luke, Joshua and Jady Stevens, Nathan and Ryan Mayberry, Lindsey, Matthew, Jordan and Andie Finley, and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, A.B. and Lois Finley, and sister, Floreine Priest Gore.