Are you familiar with the Meyers-Briggs personality test? If not, here is a website where you can take the test to find out your personality type.
Once you've completed it, you will be given 4 letters that describe your personality. The first letter describes you as either an introvert or extrovert. The first time I took this test (about 15 years ago) I scored a minus 32 for introvert. That's really far left of zero on the chart. Not long after I took that test I ran into a lady I used to be on a bowling team with about ten years ago when I had first moved to that area. She came up to me and said hello and after talking with her for a while she told me she used to think I was a real snob because I wouldn't talk to anybody. I was horrified! I told her it was just that I was too shy to speak to anybody. So, I worked on changing that. I certainly didn't want people to think I was a snob. I made it a point to smile and talk to people; I became the planner for any events we had at work; and I joined a club where I was on the welcoming committee for new members. A few years later I took the test again and this time I scored a plus 2 on the chart for extrovert. You still couldn't get me to talk to a complete stranger in a room full of people but it was better than before.
What does this have to do with my church life?
For 17 years I belonged to the same church. One time in those 17 years I interacted with another person by having lunch with another lady from the church. Mostly because of shyness but also because the church didn't have small groups where you had a chance to meet the people who attended there.
After 17 years I moved back here. A friend from work invited me to this church. She said it was a great place to meet people and she was right. I knew the names of more people in my first year here than in all the 17 years at my previous church. Mostly because of the friendliness of the people here but also because I didn't want to be thought of as a snob again so I made an effort to connect with people. Not long after joining, the church did the 40 Days of Purpose and I was in my first small group. Wow! Was that great! When it was over, I was sad because I missed the interaction with the people in the group. I then joined Just For Joy and found more friends and finally realized what it meant to be born again.
Oh...and that shy, introverted girl....she's evening leading a bible study every now and then.
The lesson for others here is this: you better smile and talk to people or they just might think you're a snob.