Churches of Christ bring together some of the most thoughtful and interesting people.

One great satisfaction in working with The Christian Chronicle for more than 30 years has been meeting amazing Christians from all walks of life.

In the 1980s, when the Chronicle first came to Oklahoma Christian University, President Terry Johnson, Chancellor James Baird and Editor Howard Norton began selecting church leaders from all around the nation to serve on the National Council, a support group to advise and finance the paper.

From Southern California, they enlisted W.L. Fletcher.

In those early days, Fletcher was a lively participant in the discussions of how the Chronicle could reach more people. His positive spirit set the tone for the meetings — and for establishing clear policies to cover the broad perspectives of Churches of Christ.

His wonderful sense of humor often helped reduce the tension in dealing with difficult issues and topics.

When I became the editor of the paper in 1996, Fletcher called to congratulate me. When I asked for his counsel, he urged me to keep holding to the ideals of Christian service taught in the New Testament — and to be open to different ways believers were expressing those ideals.