The National Bible Bowl tournament is an amazing event, and I’m blessed to be here at its 43rd incarnation in Kansas City as three of my children are participating as the Austin, Minn. team. Ruthie (15) is the Franchise player, Joe (12) is a solid contributor and Captain, and we have been teasing Rebekah (16) that she’s the “Eye Candy.” She hasn’t done much in Bible Bowl throughout the year because of her basketball and volleyball involvement, but recently has been memorizing lists (e.g. all the men’s names in 2 Samuel 6) that help in answering the bonus questions.
I will have some photos and video later, along with more updates and commentary. I’ll do my best to bring out some observations that have general applicability, but I think most readers will find this interesting for a couple of reasons.
First, it is seriously amazing to see what these kids can do, as you will see. (I haven’t been able to videotape the round robin games, but when they get into double elimination, I might.) You will be astonished at the Quoting Bee, which in some ways makes the National Spelling Bee look elementary.
Second, it provides a window on evangelical Christian kids that’s a lot closer to reality than Jesus Camp. If you want to see a reasonable representation instead of an extreme example, this will give you a more accurate portrayal of serious Christian kids.
Third, you’ll see what kids can accomplish through hard work and study. In too many churches the adults have chickened out, and haven’t set the standards high enough. A century ago, kids were expected to memorize an entire catechism, such as the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Now, all too often to be confirmed they might memorize a handful of verses. Many of these kids at the National Bible Bowl, which is sponsored by the Churches of Christ, can recite all of 1 Samuel and the first six chapters of 2 Samuel from memory.
I’ll be doing some more posts to my blog over the next few days, and also will be Twittering.
Here are the standings of the Round Robin after the first 8 rounds. Three more this morning.
Getting ready to start Round 9 right now.
Technorati: Bible Bowl, Church of Christ, Jesus Camp, National Spelling Bee
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