"Grayson, sometimes you just rattle on and on and say nothing. Are you aware you do that?" I was only sixteen at the time, and the minister who made those comments was twice my age. I was hurt, but I respected the man; and after I thought about what he said, I knew he was right.

Teen-agers spend a large part of their time collecting data from friends, family, and even enemies in order to gain insight about themselves. Solving the identity crisis is a normal part of growing up. We never totally outgrow this need to discover more about who we are. Unfortunately, the intensity of the search diminishes after those formative teen-age years, and we spend the rest of our lives making do with an incomplete picture of ourselves. Thus, we're unable to deal with some very crucial questions:

¥ How do other people see me?

¥ What thoughts go through their minds when they encounter my name?

¥ To what degree does my commitment to Christ and his church suffer from a lack of balanced selfperceptions?

¥ What ...