It's a small world after all

It's a small world. We all know that. The evangelical christian world, however, is even smaller.

Item: today when I slid into my pew at church, I noticed a vaguely familiar face in the row just ahead of me. My mind went back over the years - it couldn't be that guy I went to Bible camp in Pennsylvania with when I was 12, could it?

I introduced myself after the service and, oh yes, it was.

In the working world, they say, "The people you meet on your way up are the same people you meet on your way down."

There has to be some kind of church analogue for that expression. Something that captures the essence of "Be sure to be nice to that guy at your Bible camp in Pennsylvania when you're 12, because you may find yourself sitting behind him in church in Berlin when you're 25. " If anyone has suggestions, please email me.