Recently, my wife and I visited some of the churches we had worshiped in previously, some many years ago. We were welcomed on our return, but the pastors seemed to lose interest once they realized we were not likely to remain and become members. Nevertheless, the visits gave us an opportunity to reflect on what we had experienced.

The buildings were generally the same, but most of the people we encountered were new. People move and grow old and die. And yet, it was the people that impacted us the most. We remain friends with some years later, even though some of them have moved on to other churches. We remain part of the worldwide church of God, and other Christians are our brothers and sisters, whether we are together or not and whether we have ever met or not.

We are grateful for the sound Bible teaching we received in many of these churches. We are grateful for the devout believers who challenged us with their examples of loving and godly living.

We are grateful for the many kindnesses we received while we were part of those churches. People invited us into their homes, encouraged us, prayed for us, offered wise advice, and even gently admonished us on occasion.

We also remember some difficulties. We were disappointed when some of those churches shifted direction and modified their teaching. It was difficult when we were at odds with our brothers and sisters, but our theological understandings were important too, and we knew we could not simply discard them. We were sometimes difficult church members—because of our broad experience, we sometimes had ideas different from those of the church leadership. We tried to be supportive when we could but at other times felt it was better to move on. We have tried to let any grievances and disappointments go.

We contributed significantly to some of the churches and in others received far more than we contributed. For what we received, we are profoundly grateful.