As most who read this blog know, Bible quizzing has been a huge part of my ministry for three decades. As I say too often, it is the only thing I do in which I can not lose...God's Word hidden in hearts and minds does God's work.
A New York quizzer who graduated last year posted this on his blog. My prayer is that every quizzer from every ministry recognizes the truth of Micah's words:
"Nationals team selections happened a few days ago. This is the first year in six that I'm not quizzing. It's sort of weird; only after graduating from quizzing do I grasp the sheer value of Scripture memorization and want more than ever to be at Nationals.
It hit me at some point in Minneapolis last year that the end goal is not quizzing. Quizzing is a tool that motivates people to study closely that which they would otherwise ignore. It was sort of a late revelation, but I'm happy that it came at all. All of a sudden, I truly didn't care how I placed in the stats; the important thing was that I was equipped with several books of the Bible, and it was up to me to make sure I didn't forget them. It seems obvious, the kind of thing that every good quizzer knows--I mean, I knew it, but somehow it never clicked until late April. It's not the sort of thing you can beat into someone's head by telling him over and over and over again. Once a quizzer graduates, he has to decide whether to keep on memorizing because there's nothing more important to know than God's Word, or to forget all that stuff because he's too old to quiz--it was fun while it lasted.
I hope and pray that the buses home this year will be filled not with students happy that they won or bummed that they lost, but students absolutely joyful because they finally realized the blessing and power that is Word of God hidden in their hearts."
4 comments:
Jack, would you be willing to write a post about what memorizing strategies you have taught, what techniques you have found work the best…what pitfalls to avoid.
Wow! Micah is really such an insightful person. We've been talking much on this subject lately, and I agree with him fully!
I just wish that I wouldn't focus so much on the stats. Because really, I DO want to do well statistically. My goal is to make top 7 and I know that if I don't, I will be very disappointed. I really need to focus on what's really important: memorizing God's Word and applying it...
But I don't think that there is anything wrong with trying to achieve a goal that involves placing high at a National tournament. But still, I really must keep my priorities straight!!
Go Garth!
Last year, memorizing as much of Galatians, Philippians and Colossians as I could before Nationals, I found it to be a much different experience than in years past when I had memorized a chapter without regard to verse divisions. Memorizing "quiz perfect" is much more conducive to focusing on quizzing well, rather than on internalizing it well.
However, I did find that I often gained insight by being forced to pay attention to exact wording, verb tenses, phrasing, small words... So "quiz memorization" need not be a purely academic exercise!
Thanks to Micah for his thoughts, and to Jack for sharing them with us.
Jack, thanks for sharing that with us. It's amazing how things come full circle! I enjoy reading your blog site!
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