Strive for the High Prize

Bible Quiz – more than just a game

          

            The Bible Quizzing season begins in September, but many quizzers start studying just weeks after Nationals in April.  Months upon months are put into the preparation for the season.  Sacrifices to study are many, including; hanging out with friends, movies, TV, internet, to name a few.  We are talking about high school students—not college students, not for grades, not for money, not even for recognition necessarily. 

            Some of them might not even be able to tell you why they put in all the effort; but the rest of them know.  They have memorized verses telling them giving them the answer. 

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – 2^nd Timothy 2:15

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” – Colossians 3:1

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” – 2^nd Peter 1:2

They know these reasons because they have studied them and have seen their reward firsthand.  They have been in situations where the verses they have put into their minds have brought them comfort.  They have been immediately stricken with God’s word when they have stumbled.  They have been challenged by the words they memorize, and many of them have been changed for the better through them.  The competition may be added motivation, but these (for most) are the reasons they study as hard as they do. 

However, their character and obedience of the text they study is not tested until the first tournament.  The Kentuckiana Kick Off Tournament is typically the first tournament of the year.  It is located in Indiana at Indian Creek Baptist Camp and hosted by Pleasant View Baptist Church of Kentucky.  The teams typically arrive Thursday, and enjoy the camp’s activities: volleyball courts, miniature golf course, basketball courts, frisbee golf course, and human foosball.  Friendships are born on Thursday, and much fun is had. 

Friday night, however, the tournament begins.  While the friendships remain, there is a tension in the air, sharp and pointed.  The quizzing on Friday is Round Robin, but is also the first time the quizzers have faced each other on this text.  They size each other up, almost daring to hope that their studying has prepared them enough for this moment.  Few will feel that it has when the tournament has ended.

At the start of quiz #1, everyone (usually) is a bundle of nerves.  Their lights flicker on and off, and many can barely keep their legs from shaking.  Finally, the Quiz Master calls for prayer, this reminds the quizzers to breathe and relax.  Some might feel that Quizzing is the only completely fair competition, because all the teams are praying to God asking for their effort to be rewarded in His name.  The playing fields are then made even. 

The first question brings everyone to attention; and silence is the only word to describe the audience.  Not a peep— not a sound— is made.  A collective holding of breath, as if a single exhalation will disturb the focus of the quizzers on the seats.  The Quiz Master sets the box, and begins to read his question.  The quizzers’ anxiety appears to lessen with the familiarity of it all. 

For the rest of Friday night the competition gets rougher and rougher, until at last they are permitted to rest until Saturday morning.  Saturday morning those who are morning people are clearly distinguished from the night owls.  You see either the grumpier side of your new friends, or the happier side.  Most are still tired from the night of quizzing before, but regardless, all are prepared for the long day of quizzing before them. 

After eating a delectable breakfast (made by the hands of the women of Pleasant View Baptist Church), the groups, as a whole, walk over to the tabernacle for an early morning message.  It is a pavilion with a simple roof and support pillars, making you able to observe the beauty of the early morning while you listen to the message.  From the dew, to the sunshine, to the trees, to the singing, you can clearly feel God’s presence among the congregation.  This service is a time to reflect on the true reason to study before the competition begins.  

When the time for quizzing arrives, everyone is ready.  The months of preparation have been completed and now it is time to see who will be declared the winner.  After the two warm-up quizzes, the elimination rounds begin.  They are the gauntlet of quizzing, the pressure cooker, and the battleground.  Slowly the teams fall out, disappointed yet determined to come back fighting at the next tournament. 

Then the finals start.  The quizzers are weary, and downtrodden, and half just want to be finished.  Their minds have been stretched the fullest capacity, and their mental strength is waning.  This is what separates the winners from the losers—their ability to hold on for one more quiz.  The audience has grown steadily larger, the cheers for each correctly answered question grow steadily louder and the stakes grow steadily higher.  No one is willing to go down without a fight, but all know that someone is going to lose. 

Many fervent prayers are prayed, many pleading for victory, many begging for the opportunity to represent God as the victor.  The coaches try to remain in control of their nervousness, if only for the sakes of their teams.  They take down the scores and try to keep their shaking from showing too much in their writing.  The quizzers breathe— anything to calm themselves.  The Quiz Master sets the box, adding a quick joke to lessen the tension, and then he begins the quiz. 

It comes down to the final question, and the score is tied.  A hasty quizzer fires out of his chair, getting nothing.  The Quiz Master looks up, and calls on the premature jumper.  10… 9… the quizzer rushes through his head thinking of anything and everything he knows is not the answer.  8… 7… Please God, just show me the chapter.  6… 5… I cannot believe I jumped.  4… 3… Wait a second; is this the answer?  2… The quizzer blurts out an answer and sits down, just before the buzzer goes off.

The Quiz Master lifts his eyes up.  One can only imagine what is going through his head.  He waits for a moment, torturing the quizzers by his silence.  Then he utters a single word, “Incorrect”.  The crowd gasps; a tidal wave of disappointment floods over the room.   The ruling is final, and the quizzer who jumped slumps in ruin.  Words pour through his mind; he is wondering why he put all the months of hard work in only to lose.   What was the point?  Why do I try? 

The opposing team waits for the question, and answers it with complete ease and elation.  Their joy torments the other team, who are now on the verge of weeping.  Any hope they had at victory has been crushed.  They feel the loss more deeply than those who were eliminated earlier in the day, because they have come so close, only to fall short on the final question. 

The one who feels the lowest on the losing team is the one who jumped and answered incorrectly.  He let his team down, he jumped too fast, it would have been better if he was not on the seats.  His teammates battle the bitterness welling inside of themselves against him.  They are angry; why did he jump?  Why couldn’t he have waited a second more?  He ruined our shot at winning.  It was all his fault.  But even as they think these thoughts, they know they are wrong.  Their errors prior in the day come back and haunt them.  Every dumb mistake they have made throughout their quizzing careers reminds them that they, too, hold some of the blame. 

But the thing that brings them to their knees in forgiveness, is the reason why their study has been so important.  All of the verses put into their minds, in this moment, are being tested.  God is testing their character and stretching it— these are the times when their understanding and obedience of these verses is truly shown. 

“But if any have caused grief… sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many.  So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.  Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.  For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you whether ye be obedient in all things.” – 2^nd Corinthians 2:5-9

 Now is the time when the people watching them will know whether or not they have the Word of God written on their hearts as well as memorized in their minds.  Now is the time when their character will be shown.  This is more important that receiving a temporary reward.  This is a lesson that, once learned, will never be forgotten.  This is the lesson that Bible Quizzing teaches. 

           It is more than just a game. 

 

The Mystery of Kids

Suspension is the worst possible form of punishment you can give a kid in school.  Think about it; the kids who are behaving in such a way to require that strict of punishment to be enforced on them, are probably the same kids who do not want to be there in the first place.  Suspension is giving that kid exactly what he wanted—no more school.  Would you give a misbehaving dog a cookie?  Would you give the thief money as punishment?  Aren't the kids who are severely misbehaving the ones who need school the most? 

Kids will do dumb stuff, wrong stuff, and evil stuff.  I am not denying that, but we've reached a point where we as Americans don’t correct this behavior properly.  How will they know what they are doing is wrong, if they are never given negative feedback?  If they are receiving a reward for their deplorable behavior, won’t they be more likely to do that same thing again?  Won’t they have incentive? 

We have all heard stories of kids faking being sick to skip school, or playing hooky.  But we've failed to realize that misbehaving is also a way to “get out of” school.  People do not like to believe that kids are smarter than we give them credit.  They are mini, functioning adults.  If we are considering teenagers, they have enough life experience to understand and fulfill most adult responsibilities.  Both physically and sometimes mentally, they are adults.  Why then is it so hard to believe that they are smart enough to “outsmart” our little system?

Now, I have already shown that they have incentive, and ability, but what about conviction?  Many kids in these times when you ask them why they work hard at school, obey the rules, and do their homework, will say “Because of my parents”.  Not all, but many will.  Likewise, many kids who are getting suspended, and detention and acting up in class, will say “Because of my parents”.   I wonder why are the majority of these kids not saying, “Because I care about my future?”  Why, for many of them, do they believe that their parents are the reason they are either failing, or excelling?  Have they never learned that how hard they work will determine what opportunities will come their way?  If so, why have they never learned?  People like to point the finger, but in the end it comes down to three things:
      

1. Instead of teaching their children responsibility they send their kids to be educated elsewhere (a perfectly logical and acceptable solution).

    2. The people running the places where these kids are being taught (i.e. public schools, private schools, tutors…) are not teaching them responsibility either.  Claiming that this is the job of parents.

   3.  The children once allowed to not take responsibility for their actions, will never want to. 

The combination of these three things gives you the kids of today.



--Ludzz

2014 AACS National Competition

 
     This past week I had the opportunity to compete at the National AACS (American Association of Christian Schools) Fine Arts Competition at Bob Jones University, SC.   So much talent pooled together is truly a sight to behold.  These young people are the best and brightest of THOUSANDS of other kids.  To get to Nationals first you have to compete at the state level.  There are many, many different categories, including: choir, art, academic testing, creative writing, Bible memory, Bible quizzing, humorous interpretation, oral interpretation of Scripture, oral interpretation of poetry, dramatic interpretation, classical piano, brass instruments, group bells--basically anything and everything that falls under the "fine arts" umbrella.  Each of these (and many more) are first presented at the state competition (i.e. for NY, NYACS).
Then, not only do the teens have to beat out their other competitors to attend Nationals, they have to make a #1 rating score.  The judges have a certain amount of points they are allowed to distribute to each competitor.  Let's say they are limited to 100 points per kid.  They then deduct away from those 100 points, until they reach their final score.  There is a ranking scale, 100-90 is a #1 rating, 90-80 #2, 80-70 #3, etc.   But in order to qualify for Nationals, you are required to make a #1 rating.

   So for all those who were in attendance this week, they are the ones who had both, beaten their opponents, and qualified for Nationals.  I qualified in three categories: oral interpretation of Scripture, creative writing: poetry, and Bible quizzing.  Our Bible Quiz team arrived on Tuesday morning ready to compete.  Bible Quizzing was the only category that began on Tuesday morning, and went throughout the day.  Our first quiz was against Virginia and Michigan.  To give you a mental picture of how Bible Quizzing works, I'll describe the following as best I can.

             Bible Quizzing quizzes are judged by the quiz master (in this particular case, Dr. Craig Scott of Woodside Baptist Church, Colorado).  He sits at a table with the score keeper, and in some cases a secondary judge.  In front of him is the "quiz box".  Basically an electrical box, that is connected to fifteen sensor pads.  These sensor pads are then placed on fifteen chairs in front of the quiz master's table.  Each team (NY, VA, MI) gets five chairs with sensor pads on them.  If the team has more than five members, the additional members are substitutes; if the team has less than five members, the additional sensor pads are shut off.  
              When the quizzing begins all of the "starters" for each team, sit down on the chairs and on the sensor pads (from now on just pads).  The quiz box has on it a little light that is directly connected to a single pad (each pad has its own light).  One all of the lights have turned off (the quizzers have sat down on their lights), then the quiz master prepares the box.  He then reads the question, i.e. "According to John 3:16, Who so loved the world?"  At any time during the reading of this question the quizzers are allowed to jump (or turn their light on).  However, as soon as their light goes on the quiz master stops reading.  They may only hear, "According to John 3:16, Who so--".  As soon as their light goes on the quiz master recognizes the quizzer who jumped, and the quizzer has ten seconds to add pertinent information.  If the quizzer doesn't add anything within the time restraint the quizzer sits down and gets what is called an error (an incorrectly answered question).  When the question is re-asked, the quizzer who got the error and his entire team are not allowed to jump.  
               But, if the quizzer says, "Who so loved", they've added pertinent information and get twenty additional seconds to answer.  Most often, the quizzer will know the verse and say "God so loved", but sometimes the quizzer still doesn't know the answer.  If the re-asked (toss-up) question also results in an error, a different question is asked to the third team as a free.  Regular questions and toss-up questions are worth twenty points, while free questions are only worth ten points.  If a team has four errors they go -10 in points, if you error on a free it is not counted as an error.  But all errors after question 16 are -10 regardless of how many errors your team has (still not including errors on frees).
               The questions are written (for the National Competition) by Dr. Jack Knapp, on a selected text: this year being 1 & 2nd Corinthians.  He is typically known for writing brutal questions, and is the head quiz master for the entire Nationals Competition.  Each quiz has a 'high win', 'middle win', and a 'low win'.  At Nationals, if you have two low wins you are eliminated from the competition.  If you survive until their are only four teams left, you do not quiz again until Thursday at finals.  

    Our team survived to Thursday night finals with only one low win (loss).  We competed against Wisconsin and Florida in the first quiz, because Colorado had earned the bye (meaning they get to sit out of the quiz).  The quiz was neck and neck, with a final score of 130 (Wisconsin), 150 (New York), 110 (Florida).  Unfortunately this was Florida's second loss, and they were eliminated from the competition (placing 4th).  The next quiz Colorado was in.  What often happens when coming off of a bye (skipped quiz), is that while the other teams have had a chance to warm up, the team that was on the bye did not.  This might've been a deciding factor in the final outcome of the next quiz: 120 (Wisconsin), 90 (Colorado), 110 (New York).   However, this was only Colorado's first loss, and since you are not eliminated until you've received two losses they remained in the competition.  The following quiz was also an intense battle, but alas, someone has to go home.  The final score was, 70 (Wisconsin), 140 (Colorado), 190 (New York).  This was Wisconsin's second low and for this reason final quiz.

     Now, when the Bible Quiz Tournaments get down to only two teams, the rules change slightly.  There are still allowed only five quizzer from each team on the seats at a time.  But, in the event that one team jumps and errors, the other team gets to here the same question asked as a twenty point free.   In regular three team quizzing if a quizzer has answer six questions correctly (quiz out) they are not allowed to answer any more and if there is a substitute quizzer the substitution is then made.  Contrariwise, if any quizzer has answered six questions incorrectly (error out) the quizzer is not allowed to answer any more questions and if there is a substitute quizzer a substitution is then made.  Free questions do not count toward the individual quizzers total in three way quizzing (three teams), but in two way quizzing (with two teams) these free twenty point questions do count toward the individual quizzer's total.  For this reason many of the teams decide to pass free questions to their weaker quizzers.

        In the two way quiz, the final score was 200 (Colorado), 170 (New York).  Woodside Baptist Church placed first in the nation.  With New York placing a close second.

Congratulations to all the teams in attendance; remember, Bible Quizzing is just a tool to get God's word into our minds and hearts.  Be all that you can be, and live for the glory of God.

   --Ludzz

 

Press On

    There comes a point in every person's life, when they have to make a choice.  The choice between giving in, or pushing through.  Quitting, or enduring.  In our hearts each person knows that enduring is the best option--the most desirable option.  But often the allure of giving up is too great to resist.  Often, we are too weak in our minds to push through the toughest of situations.  Greatness is born from resistance, from trial and error.  We do not revere those who sit on the sidelines, but those who act and succeed.  No one remembers the ones who give up, because it is easy to give up.  We do not respect those who choose the easy road, but those who inspire us to carry on through extreme hardship.
    We will always be in an up-hill battle.  Be it in our jobs, our marriages, our competitions, our physical appearances, our minds, no one reaches the pinnacle of success and remains unopposed.  No one has so little adversity that they squash all of their remaining opponents.  Everyone eyes the peak, and attempts to reach it.  Those who arrive at the top of the mountain are the only ones who deserve to be there, because they're the only ones who have put in the effort to conquer the slopes.  So it is in life.  If you want to be the best, go after it.  But know that no one becomes the best without incredible challenges.
     Humans are made with an ability to withstand tremendous odds.  Our historic accomplishments show as much.  Climbing Mount Everest.  Researching the deep trenches of the oceans.  Finding the poles of the world.  Our only limitation (besides the laws of science and God) is in our minds.  If we believe we cannot do something, then we cannot.  But believe you me, we can do anything we set our minds to.  


--Ludzz

Soldiers

    I have always felt the desire to write our soldiers overseas.  They show so much dedication and work ethic and bravery, yet they rarely receive any feedback from the people they protect.  It is a sad day when we, as a nation, fail to support those who bear arms in our stead.  Be it the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard, or Air Force, every single soldier deserves to be reminded why they are serving.  Why they put their lives on the line for a people with so little gratitude.  How can we ask them to fight for us, when we do so little in response?  How can we quarrel over petty things, when soldiers are dying daily?  When will we see that we are self-absorbed, childish and petty?  If we open our eyes the truth is plain to see; there are people who risk their lives, so that we may be free.  When did we forget this simple truth?  Why do we choose to ignore that our freedom comes at a high price?  Ask anyone who has ever served in any branch of the U.S. military, and they will tell you that the price is high indeed.  Many of them have seen their fellow brothers-in-arms fall.  May we never forget their sacrifices.  Write, or better yet send them packages, to show your support of them.   A good place to start would be, anysoldier.com.


--Ludzz

Bravery

   In this era, we are not generally called upon to be brave.  We'd rather live life in the comfort of safety, and never venture into the unknown.  We like to never be scared, never to be dependent on anything.  But eventually there will come a time in each of our lives, when we can no longer rest in safety.  There will be a situation where we will be completely vulnerable-- and we will be unprepared.  It's the little brave moments in life that prepare us for these times of complete vulnerability.  If we never cultivate our courage in small portions, how can we expect to show incredible bravery in the face of great trial?  If we are never in situations where we need to draw upon our inner strength, we will never know how strong we are, and can be.  We will never have the opportunity to build our confidence in ourselves, and in others.  For this reason, it is the day to day bravery that is the most important.  Taking small calculated risks, so that later in life, when the big challenges and dangers come (and they will come), we will be better prepared.  Bravery and courage are developed.  Develop yours today.  Be brave today.


--Ludzz

Goals

    Goals.  They are one of the most important things in life.  Whether you achieve those goals or not, it is their existence that keeps a fire for life in you.  There are other ways to obtain this zest for life, be it God, family, love-- but if you have none of these joys in life, attainable goals will give you a sense of purpose.  Without a purpose for living, we are just expendable persons floating through life.  A ship cannot set sail with no destination, a plane cannot take flight without knowing where to land-- so people cannot truly live until they have a set goal to attain.
   There is no comparison to give to help you understand the deep satisfaction of, after much trial, finally achieving a goal.  It is the seeking of this satisfaction that draws our drive to completion.  Whether you're the child with the goal of someday making it to college, or the elderly lady with the goal of walking up a flight of stairs, goals are important... no matter how small.


--Ludzz