Introductions can make a huge first impression, either for good or bad.

A man ran into the associate pastor of his church at a restaurant in Savannah.

He introduced his associate pastor to some friends, and afterwards his wife told him, “Do you realize what you just said? You introduced him as our ‘socio-pastor.’”

While some introductions may hurt, other introductions that seem to hurt may actually help. Years ago, a fellow was running for student body president at Mississippi College, and at the candidate forum he had six different people introduce him before he gave his campaign speech.

Since it was a Christian college, he enlisted a fellow who was preparing to be a foreign missionary to make the final introduction. The speaker said that the candidate running for president had loved the college since he was a child, growing up near the college.

In fact, he said, when the candidate was a little boy, his mother was hanging clothes on the line to dry, and she turned around to look for her child, but he was gone.

She soon found him on his tricycle, riding straight to the college, “without a stitch of clothes on.” The candidate said, “I think it was that introduction that got me elected.”

The apostle Paul gave letters of introduction when he sent men with a financial gift to the church at Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:3), but Paul said because he had such a close relationship with the church at Corinth that he himself did not need a letter of introduction. “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry...” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, NIV).

The truth is, when you have a real relationship, you don’t need an introduction.

So if you met Jesus today in person, would somebody have to introduce you, or would He already know you?

(Copyright 2012 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday in the Herald. Visit my blog at www.bobrogers.me.)