Social Media University, Global (SMUG)

Bible Bowl 2007 was a great experience for our family, as I took the week off and traveled with my wife, four of our six kids and my parents to stay at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City for the four-day event.

The Austin team took 10th place in the double-elimination team Bible Bowl competition. My daughter Ruth led the team, her brother Joe was the captain, and their sister Rebekah also participated. Here they are just before their first game on Thursday, against the eventual national Bible Bowl champions from Worthington, Ohio.

Unfortunately, Bible Bowl rules don’t allow videotaping of the team competitions, so I can’t show how intense and skilled these young men and women are. Worthington played exceptionally well, coming back from a Thursday morning loss to win two games in the finals Thursday afternoon against Kissimmee, Florida.

Here are Rebekah, Joe and Ruth on the Bible Bowl awards platform:

…and here’s the video of them receiving their medals. The reaction Joe got when everyone found out he’s only a sixth grader was pretty funny.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl3ZNLMctJs]

In a previous post, I showed the Quote Bee highlights, which gives you an idea of how well the participants committed the text to memory. Which leads into the next video and picture, from the Thursday afternoon Bible Bowl awards ceremony.

Each Bible Bowl tournament starts with a written test. During the monthly round robin events it’s a 150-point test they call the “Brain Test” on the chapters that have been covered to date. In the college tournaments in June, the tests get longer and more difficult, and at Nationals it’s a 400-point monster, and its formally called the National Bible Bowl Achievement Test. Here’s the video of the awards ceremony where the top 20 were recognized. (I pick up with the top 5):

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZjiGdFGZBs]

And here’s a picture of Brandi Gass from New Life in Ohio, and my daughter, Ruth Aase, who tied for first with a score of 350. Brandi took first on the tie-breaker. Congratulations, Brandi!

That’s another thing I wanted to highlight about the competition: it was intense, and everyone did their best to win, but everyone was honestly happy for those who won. After a game when they shook hands, it wasn’t easy to tell who won by their demeanor. All the kids are friends and wish each other the best. That’s a life lesson I need to apply as I’m watching Rebekah and Joe in volleyball, football and basketball.

I want to conclude my posts on this week’s Bible Bowl experience with a special thanks to Tracey and Geri Chamberlain and their son Jason for their coaching. Tracey and Geri have been doing this for more than 30 years, and previously had some larger teams, or multiple teams from Austin. This year the team has been just Ruth and Joe, until Rebekah joined them for Nationals.

Rebekah and Joe have their sports, too, but for Ruthie this is her extracurricular competitive outlet, and she takes it very seriously. We’re so thankful to God for the Chamberlains and their willingness to work with Ruthie nearly every day to help her become her best. They are a delightful family, and clearly they take delight in Bible Bowl and in having a competitive team, but still it is a wonderful blessing to have them pour so much time and attention into Ruth.

Psychologists say parental involvement is a key predictor of a child’s success in life. Our kids have had that, especially being homeschooled by my wife, Lisa. Another important success factor is attention from other significant adults, and the Chamberlains have certainly given that to our kids, too, as Rachel, Rebekah, Ruth and Joe all have gained from participating in Bible Bowl under their leadership.

Here’s a picture of Tracey with his Austin Bible Bowl team, just before their game against Yuma, Arizona.

Thanks to Tracey, Geri and Jason for standing behind Ruthie and the rest of our kids!

Technorati: Bible Bowl, Awards, Nationals

Here are some video highlights from the National Bible Bowl Quote Bee. At the beginning the moderator gives an overview of the rules; then you’ll see several of the contestants, culminating in a seven-round victory by Shannon Locke of Fort Collins, Colorado.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq0ti-2lNgs]

Technorati: Bible Bowl, Quote Bee

The National Bible Bowl Quote Bee, which I mentioned in the previous post, is really amazing. It’s only been done for three years, so it’s not as popular as some of the other events. Also, it’s incredibly difficult.

In the National Bible Bowl double-elimination tournament, for example, many of the top contestants have memorized the entire scripture text, which this time is the book of 1 Samuel and the first six chapters of 2 Samuel. That, as I said previously, shows what kids can do when expectations are high and they put their minds to memorization.

But it’s one thing to memorize a large chunk of material, get on a roll, and recite it. It’s quite another to pull a verse out of the middle, solely with the verse reference, and recite it perfectly.

My daughter Ruth, the Franchise Player for our Austin, Minn. team (her brother Joe and sister Rebekah are the other members), saw the Quote Bee as a fun challenge to help her prepare to do even better in the regular competition. She came in first in the Quote Bee at the Ozark Christian College Bible Bowl tournament in June, and we felt she might do pretty well here in Kansas City, too. Her Grandpa, my Dad, was amazed as he quizzed her Monday night in preparation:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K52fFfPrvns]

The next post will have a video of Tuesday’s competition. Ruthie was disappointed that she went out in the first round, but we’re proud of her that she knows these scripture passages so well that she could participate. And today’s double-elimination team contest went much better: she led Austin to a 3-0 record, so they’re one of only 16 teams remaining, and among the eight that haven’t lost yet.

Whatever the outcome tomorrow, this trip to Kansas City has been a real joy, having our four youngest kids and my parents together with us, and watching Ruthie and Joe (with a little help from Rebekah) doing so well. These are all good kids that Ruthie’s gotten to know really well, and so while they all want to do their best, the main point is what they’re learning – and everyone is happy for whoever wins.

Technorati: Bible Bowl, Quote Bee

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