Eric Mack On-Line

This weekend, I was asked to be on a panel of judges at the Awana Bible Quiz and Games. It's not as it sounds; I'm not a Bible scholar. Though, after this weekend, I'm inspired to work harder at it.

Over the weekend, my daughters, Amy and Wendy, competed in the Awana Bible Quiz and Games in Riverside, California. We arrived at seven o'clock in the morning; the Bible Quiz was held in the morning and the Awana Games took place after lunch.



While the games were exciting - our church team won first place - it was the Bible Quiz that impressed me the most.

For close to four hours, twenty-six teams, called "quizzers" competed in various activities to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the Bible. The two primary activities were the "Bible Quiz," and the "Speed Tests."

For the "Bible Quiz," the judge asked 30 questions, such as "In what Old Testament verse does God make a statement about Himself?" followed by three possible answers. After 30 seconds, the judge would say "paddles up," at which time a designated person on each team would select and hold up a wooden paddle to indicate the team's response - A, B, or C. The teams earned points for each correct score.

For the "Speed Tests," each team was given a  button to press. Each button was connected to a master computer that determined which teams pressed the button first and second. The team members stacked their hands -- one on top of another -- so that any child who knew the answer could trigger the button to alert the judge. The most difficult part of this event for the teams was triggering the button fast enough to be the first or second team to press the button and signal the judge -- only one team and one alternate would be called upon. A correct answer earned points; an incorrect answer earned a penalty. With twenty-six teams, the pressure was intense; it was important not only to know the correct answer but to be able to respond quickly.



I served on a panel of judges for the speed tests. My role was to verify that the students, who quoted scripture as part of their answer, quoted word perfect from one of three translations. I verified the King James version (KJV) verses while two other judges verified the New International version (NIV) and the New King James Version (NKJV). I found this challenging, as we had to listen to the child recite the verse and provide the reference. While the child was quoting the verse, we had to determine the translation and whether or not they had quoted the passage word perfect. Fortunately, we were given printouts with the verses in advance, so we did not have to look anything up. There was no time. After the verse was recited, we conferred with the head judge to agree upon the translation and the accuracy of the recitation.

I am amazed at how well these young students did and I am proud of them for working so hard to memorize and apply scripture.

As one pastor put it, "a group of pastors would find it challenging to compete with the lowest-scoring team at the Awana Bible Quiz."

How well do you know your Bible?

I've got some work to do.