The season is over…
Some are already studying the material slated for next year…
But before we leave John….
What is your favorite verse in the gospel of John?
Why?
Answer in comments…On June 1 I will randomly select one commenter and will give them an English Standard Version Student Bible..which doesn’t even get released until July 29! In order for your comment to “count” for the contest; must have the verse as well as an explanation why it’s your favorite.
Keep telling your friends about this site!
Thanks.
There are a lot of reasons teenagers Bible quiz…some love it, some are forced to by their parents, some want to meet people, some…well, there are a bunch of reasons.
There would be no Bible quizzing were it not for full-time staff and volunteers who invest blood, sweat and tears into the program. (by the way, when’s the last time you thanked your coach, quiz director, etc?)
Competition will pass, trophies will rust, statistics and placement are all-too-often vanity or condemnation feeders…but the Word…
Love what A. W. Tozer wrote:
“The sacred page is not meant to be the end, but only the means toward the end, which is knowing God himself.”
REMINDER The Bible Quiz Fellowship committee meeting started yesterday and ends today. Big news? The translation to be used starting 2013 is the English Standard Version.
I have been using the ESV for years, and find it to be a trustworthy rendition of God’s Word…I also love the New American Standard (translation used in my Bible school)…but it is so literal it sometimes reads awkwardly…
The ESV Study Bible is the best I’ve ever seen (and can double as a weight for those desiring to build their upper body strength). They also just published a “student” Bible that I have yet to review.
If you read this on Saturday, please pray for the committee as they finish up with discussions on the nitty-gritty stuff of quizzing.
My personal take? It ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Last year I had the privilege of traveling to Washington State to help at their Regional tournament. Some of the teens came up with this…if you are not a quizzer it may not be as meaningful, but I love it:
Reading previous comments, I note with sadness, but not surprise, that the issue of cheating is brought up by many.
First, we are forbidden to judge “thoughts and intents of the heart.” In other words, if we think someone is cheating, we are treading on more-than-thin-ice…we have entered into sin.
Second, if we are certain someone is cheating, our obligation as followers of Christ is to go to them, privately, and discuss the matter.
Or…and this is my recommendation…we can trust God to work it out. I do not believe God gives a flying rip who “wins” Bible quizzing (though I doubt He favors those who do, in fact, cheat/show favoritism as quizmasters etc). But I do believe He intently cares about how we compete.
And He definitely cares more about our character than our comfort.
So what does First Jack Two Thirteen state? If there are cheaters or quizmasters intentionally favoring individuals or teams, pray that God takes them out. How? That’s up to Him…but ideally through conviction/repentance/confession. Failing that, through any means the Lord sees fit to keep quizzing honorable, Christ-honoring, and growing.
Bang.
Thanks for making the time to read.
I do intend, hope, and pray this blog results in more people (be they teens or adults) involved in Bible Quizzing. Speaking of “involved,” have you answered the previous questions? Have you read the answers? If not, please, please do. Your opinion and insight matters! The photo is me speaking to the crowd just before quizmastering the first Championship quiz…last week!
Say What?
In August of 2010 I wrote the following for my “regular” blog (CHECK IT OUT HERE. As I review the responses so far (I am typing this at 5am on Mommy’s Day…we are vacationing on Bald Head Island, NC), I was amazed that my almost-a-year-ago writing parallels much of what commentators have written since this blog went “live” less than a week ago.
So I “reprint” it here…ask you to read…and tell me, by leaving a comment, what you think.
I had a phone call from a guy who has been involved in youth ministry and Bible Quiz Fellowship-style quizzing for almost as long as I have (for me, since 1977; to include almost two decades of directing three leagues in New York). He was concerned about an individual trying to “fix” quizzing and virtually undermine years of work…
In that discussion we approached many subjects from our vantage points of guys who had been hands-on-involved for such a long time.
As I mediated after our conversation…several things surfaced:
· It is possible (probable?) that quizzing as we know it is dying…primarily because of two factors. (1) the overall “busy-ness” of teens…a reflection of a culture that has, for the most part, said to our school system, “Take our kids, occupy them for at least twelve hours a day, so we can work our two jobs and provide for our family what we need/want; (2) the apathy and, well, laziness of Christian adults.
On this second point…it is so hard to find adults to invest the time, energy, and treasure into volunteering to help with Bible quizzing. It is such a tremendous ministry, but like most genuine ministry…it takes lots of time to do effectively.
So I pray the Lord would raise up adults who see Him as wondrous, serving Him as a combination of duty and pleasure, and students as worthy of investment.
Philosophies of Ministry
We also discussed different philosophies of the various ministries involved
in Bible quizzing. Though we both love the National tournament, we both concur that, in our minds, Nationals should not be the focus of a local ministry. When I directed in New York I repeatedly told our staff, volunteers, and quizzers that we would not be focused on Nationals; but rather on the local leagues. Therefore, unlike many, we quizzed locally into March, and then put together our Nationals teams.
There are some ministries that basically put their teams together at the start of the year, dividing material, etc. Others cease local quizzing shortly after New Years in order to focus on Nationals.
This is not “wrong,” but not my friend’s and my perspective. It is more important, in our minds, to keep students in the Word for a longer period of time, rather than spending all the time focusing on the relatively small percentage of quizzers who want to compete at the National tournament.
We laughed as we recognized that, at Nationals, some leaders seem to always take their students to an amusement-type place…miniature golf, go karts, etc. My philosophy was to take the students to something unique to the host city…whether a zoo, museum, one-of-a-kind dining experience, or whatever. Anything that was “different” from what they could do at home.
An Ugly Reality
We did not laugh as we reflected on accusations heard over the years about certain directors and coaches “cheating.” We knew of coaches who signaled students by hand motions in clear violation of the rules.
We both had heard of directors who “stacked” the local competition in favor of their own children or perceived “favorites,” arranging it so “their” teams would compete against lesser teams in an unbalanced way compared to other teams. I was accused of this once in New York so, as much as I dislike “committees,” I formed a small group of volunteers to assist me in putting together schedules and so forth to ensure I wasn’t playing favorites with my own children.
The Bigger Picture
Since we are both, ah, advanced in years; we also wondered what the future of our types of ministry would be. I hate the term “parachurch,” but that is what we are labeled.
A great thing seen over the years is that (finally) churches and schools started treating youth ministry as a “real” ministry; not a stepping-stone to a genuine ministry. Many concur that youth ministry could be a life-time calling.
A sad thing observed is, like the rest of the Body in the United States, the gospel is sometimes rarely seen, heard, or modeled among youth ministries. It is all about numbers, decisions, activities, programs, personalities…but little growth and little awareness of the demands of discipleship.
Gloom and Doom?
Second Timothy 3.1-5 apply. But the light always shines the brightest against a dark background. Gratefully there are people working across America to impact young lives with the gospel. “Parachurch” ministries are plodding along seeking to assist local churches in reaching out to, encouraging, edifying, and building disciples rather than Christian groupies.
Yet the reality is that we need volunteers to come alongside and assist in a wide variety of ministry venues. We need funds (in all the ministries with which I work the staff have the privilege of trusting God as they raise their own support as home missionaries). Of course we need prayer.
And we need full-time staff…adults young and not-so-young who are called to pour their lives into youth.
Maybe that’s you?
I (Jack Hager) have been involved in quizzing for over three decades, and have attended all but two or three National Tournaments. Like many participants, I experience “post-nationals-syndrome” every year for several days after the final “Amen” Saturday night.
And this year, the next day I flew to North Carolina to catch up with my family and travel to Bald Head Island, NC for vacation. Even in the midst of the bliss of this marvelous place and my I-sure-don’t-deserve-them family; the “illness” continues…
And it seems impossible to recognize that only last week the championship competition took place.
As great as the quizzing was, the highlight (for me) was Becca Weeks sharing in the morning devotions. If you were there, watch it again and be reminded; if you weren’t there…enjoy.
One of my friends in Boston, Ma used Becca’s message Sunday night in his youth group.
Oh, and, yeah, Becca is a Midland girl!
NOTE: The first 27 minutes is Bryan Royle facilitating worship, and the sound is not all that good (but it was great to be there in His presence), then comes Becca’s 10 minutes of great insight
First, if you were at Nationals Kansas City please go back to question one and respond.
Second, regardless of your current role in Bible quizzing, Bible Quiz Fellowship style, what one thing would you change…be it a rule, a way of asking questions, quotes…no holes barred…how would you improve Bible quizzing.
Please think through what you are going to suggest, and use as many words as necessary. Obviously this is not an “official” site…but the things shared will be summarized and arranged and provided to all quiz directors.
Comment away!
You are a coach…a quizzer…a staff member…a table official…a parent of a quizzer…a fan…
I am brave enough (or stupid enough?) to ask you to reply, via comment, to these two questions:
1) What was your FAVORITE part of the tournament in Kansas City?
2) What was your LEAST favorite part of the tournament?
I do ask you to make your responses in such a way that you’d be happy to have Jesus read them…because He will.
“Time in, question; According to First Jack 1.1, What is this about?”
Answer…I pray this serves as a central place to discuss all-things-quizzing. Since I’ve been involved for over three decades, and directed a Bible quiz program (New York with Family Life) for almost two decades; perhaps I’ve earned the right to facilitate such discussion.
How do you memorize? How do you recruit quizzers? How do you raise funds? How do you schedule competition? Where do you find coaches? What about quizmasters, scorekeepers, and timekeepers? How do you deal with problems on the local level? What is Nationals all about, and why should I go?
These are just a sampling of topics we’ll attack…and I’m looking for teens and adults to get involved to help improve quizzing, get others involved, and create venues for God to impact lives.
Check in regularly (better yet, subscribe!). Comment, suggest topics, rant (in a civil manner) and even praise others…we are brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ, but not identical twins.
Let’s help each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, exhort each other, and ask Spirit of God to use this tool to improve quizzing…not to build a program, but to use the venue of quizzing to help us 2 Peter 3.18 our lives, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
