First Baptist Church of Herndon

The Introduction

Linda Soller | Oct 11, 2021

In the last few weeks, I have had the pleasure of providing the introduction of our guest ministers to our congregation. The first involved a person I have known for about thirteen years, and while we don’t hang out together, we’ve had some significant interactions that make her feel like a friend. Introducing her was easy and comfortable. I could speak from firsthand knowledge of her actions and accomplishments. The second was different. I don’t have years of experience with the person, but I did share a rather unique interaction. Last spring, he and his wife lead our Zoom Bible study from their home in Slovakia. I read through the pages of his bio and while impressed I felt his introduction should be more personal. If there is one thing I’ve learned during our pandemic, it’s that you can tell a lot about a person from their background and surroundings on Zoom. So, the introduction that came to mind used very little of the bio provided.

Many of us won’t experience being introduced to a group of people before we speak or present on a particular topic. But all of us have been introduced, at one time or another, to someone new. Maybe you met a new co-worker, or neighbor, or a visitor at your church. It’s one thing to introduce yourself, “Hi, I’m Harry and I live next door.”  It’s quite another thing when someone else provides the introduction, “Hey, this is Harry your next-door neighbor” as opposed to “Hey this is Harry your next-door neighbor who just lost his job and everybody dislikes due to his complaining nature.”  You get my drift. 

Introducing our visiting ministers gave me pause to think. How would I like to be introduced to a new neighbor, or co-worker, or visitor at my church?  What would I hope that third party would say about me? Would they say, “Hey this is Linda your friendly new neighbor,” or would it be “Hey this is Linda your neighbor, don’t worry you won’t hardly know she is there she rarely leaves her house.” The later is not really horrible, but also not really welcoming. What would the introduction sound like for you?

Be the difference in the world! :o)