My Response to the 2014 Changes

I can hardly express how intensely disappointed I am at the response to this most recent news from the Bible Bee HQ. My mother can testify that I was fully dumbfounded and nearly angry at the insubordination and unbiblical way that so many are going about their responses to the announcement.

It hurts me to have to write this, but I feel that I have no choice. I have seen very little Scripture used in response to this situation, and I have seen much Scripture contradicted by the actions of several individuals. Thus, I am attempting to formulate a biblical response to the many unbiblical responses I have seen.

I, like some others here, have known that this announcement was coming for several days. I have therefore had time to determine what exactly I think about it. So that we are clear, let me rehearse what exactly the changes are:

The Bible Bee will no longer feature an oral aspect to the competition on contest day, but contestants who would like to qualify for the national competition will instead need to set up a time to recite 10 passages (announced and assigned by the Bible Bee HQ in August) to two adults who are not immediate family members; these may include extended family or friends Additionally, the contestant need not recite these verses perfectly as the score will not be recorded. He needs only to complete the recitation and, on contest day, answer a yes/no question concerning whether or not he has done so.

This decision has been made because of the vast amount of feedback from hosts reporting about many contestants who drop out altogether or fail to do their best on contest day because they are anxious about having to recite the passages to strangers. They may know all of their verses perfectly, but they are apprehensive about the idea of reciting under time restraints and to people they likely do not know. This decision is therefore expected to greatly increase the amount of contestants who sign up, as well as the amount who follow all the way through in the competition.

An additional major change in the format of the competition comes in the way that contest day will now be handled. There will still be an option to host a local Bible Bee celebration, and many will choose to participate in the competition that way as they always have. Now, however, there are two additional options: proctor locations and online testing. Proctor locations have been strategically placed by Bible Bee HQ all over the United States to ensure that everyone who could sign up to compete will have a location within 100 miles from them. Although the proctor locations will not host a large-scale celebration like the host locations will, they will still allow contestants to complete their written tests and become eligible for competing nationally.

The third option, taking the written test online, will enable families in remote areas of the country to comfortably compete from their homes without having to drive long distances to reach a host or proctor location. Additionally, although they will not be eligible for the national competition, children from all over the world now have the opportunity to participate in the competition at the local level. Now, there has been concern expressed about the option of taking the written test online. I think these concerns are well-founded, and I myself have had similar concerns. I will address this later.

These are the changes, as communicated by Bible Bee HQ. My perception is that there are two major concerns: 1. Taking away the oral part of the competition will discourage memorization and proclamation of God’s Word. and 2. Online testing could be very problematic, as it makes cheating on the test much easier.

I need to start off by saying that my frustration with the response to the changes does not stem from the idea that the concerns are unreasonable. I think they are definitely valid points. My frustration, however, is with the way that the responses were handled.

By and large, I am not seeing humble responses. I am not seeing much of an attempt to understand things from the perspective of the people who made the decisions. I am certain that these changes were not enacted without much thought and prayer. The intention in making these decisions was not to cater to the world and make the competition easier so that more people will join and more money will be made. The intention was to encourage more children to dig into the Scriptures over the summer and to really study to know God’s Word. With less emphasis on the memorization, not only will contestants not have to deal with very much anxiety on contest day, but throughout the summer they will be compelled to be all the more diligent to “study to show themselves approved.” The written portion has always been meant to test how well the students know God’s Word; these changes will only strengthen that goal.

From the very start, even among the responses in the Bible Bee HQ’s webcast for hosts, there has been a prevalent concern about the format of the online testing. Many questions can be raised about the reliability of this method, as well as about the heightened possibility for cheating. I do not discount that these are real questions and concerns. However, I am choosing to trust that much thought and prayer went into making this decision and that safeguards will be put in place to discourage and prevent any possible nefarious activities. Furthermore, I trust that God will not allow anyone to proceed to nationals who He does not want to. Every one of those 360 contestants who will be announced on August 27th was allowed by God to succeed. And if you think about it, if they lie about completing the oral requirements and cheat on their tests, then they probably aren’t going to do very well at the national competition, are they?

When it comes down to it, I’m not mad at anyone. I’m just very disappointed. James tells us that we need to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” I did not see this being lived out today in the reactions to the announcement. Many people did not take the time to think through the reasoning behind the decisions the Bible Bee has made in order to expose more and more people to the power of God’s Word. Many went with their initial emotions and acted on them without praying for God’s guidance in the situation.

Even though the Shelby Kennedy Foundation and the Bible Bee are not technically our “authorities,” I think the principles of these verses still apply: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” God is not wringing His hands right now, wondering how He is going to work in young peoples’ lives if the Bible Bee is going to go this direction. He is in control. And I believe that the people who made these decisions did what they felt God was leading them to do. I will not stand in opposition to that, because I believe the choices they have made will encourage hundreds, if not thousands, more people to participate.

I have a feeling that there’s going to be a war in the comments below this post, but I hope there won’t be. I have done my best to be unbiased and objective in the way I have presented this. As a result, I hope there will be some apologies made and some statements retracted. I don’t expect to fully change anyone’s position, but I do hope that I made you think. At least evaluate whether or not your personal response was glorifying to God and encouraging to the brothers and sisters in Christ at the Bible Bee who have made these decisions.

But don’t just listen to me. I could be entirely wrong about this. Think and pray about what your response should be, and then act on it in the way that you see fit. But, please, take time to consider the effects of your response, and do not do anything rashly.

Thank you for taking the time to read what I had to say.

In Christ,
Christian A.

applauds

*applauds*

Uh….

Thanks, Christian, I needed that. I just have one question: You have to have an oral round done by Locals in order to compete for Nationals?

Correct. You must answer a question on the written test at Locals that will ask you something similar to, "Have you recited the ten assigned passages to two non-immediate family members or friends?"

Okay, I'll have to find someone then. Thank you! :)

nods

So if you take the written online, you can't qualify for nationals then?

Fantastic post, Christian! I think you have the right perspective on this. While we personally may not agree with the changes, we should not lash out at those who have spent so much time working to help as many as possible learn and cherish God's word. :)

If you are not a citizen of the U.S., that is correct. But if you are, you are just as eligible as those who take the written test at a host or proctor location.

Thank you, Jimmy.

I agree, Christian. And since I started the other thread, I just want to say I wasn't trying to criticize the Bible Bee staff at all, I just knew we would all want to talk about it.

Hopefully we can continue to discuss the changes without getting too upset.

oh ok. thank you

Thanks for the great post, Christian! I must admit, I feel torn about the changes. I do appreciate the fact that SKF is trying to get more families involved, and this seems to me a good way to go about it. I will miss the oral round, but as far as qualifying Nationals goes, it did not really matter much because nearly everyone in the higher ranks scored close to perfect anyhow. Last year my rank was #51 at Locals; it would have been #52 had the ranking been solely on the written test. I also think that it is probably easier to do rote memorization of a few dozen verses than to truly understand in depth what the apostles are saying in their epistles - hence, the oral round is easier than the written.
Also, I know I am not the only one that has had volunteer judges especially at Locals that were doing their best, but didn't really know what they were doing… This makes the Oral Round rather unfair. In 2012 when they changed the time limit to 12 min, a couple of the judge teams were not even aware of the change and tried to cut the contestants off at the ten-minute mark.

If SKF can manage to make the online testing secure enough, which I don't doubt in the least, I think this move of online testing was a good one to make. I agree with Christian that cheating could only take you so far, and every one of the 360 qualifying contestants will be helped by God to make it as far. Besides, it's hard for me to visualize a child and a parent working together to cheat in order to qualify the contestant for Nationals… O_o

I'm not trying to convince anybody but myself here. I'm trying to use my mind instead of my emotions to analyze these changes. This isn't the first time there have been changes in the competition that I didn't like at first, but they turned out to be for the better! Might this not be the same way?

Thank you for that, Matthew. Very well said. Honestly, yours is the most refreshing response to the situation that I've read today.

Thanks so much for writing this Christian! I sincerely hope that nothing I said sounded like I was criticizing HQ for their decision, and if it did, please forgive me, that was not how it was intended. I too have known about this for a week, and I can understand why they decided to change locals. I don't really like it, but I understand why they did it and I am sure they didn't go into this without lots of prayer and consideration and I'm excited to see what happens.

EDIT: I do want to add though, that I don't think there is anything wrong with emailing HQ about your concerns as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

Thanks so much for writing this Christian! I sincerely hope that nothing I said sounded like I was criticizing HQ for their decision, and if it did, please forgive me, that was not how it was intended. I too have known about this for a week, and I can understand why they decided to change locals. I don't really like it, but I understand why they did it and I am sure they didn't go into this without lots of prayer and consideration and I'm excited to see what happens.

Hi Hannah!!!!!1 YOU'RE ON THE FORUMS!

LOL… I don't have time to read that today so I was just looking at the other comments and when I scrolled back up to get off I happened to read the ending: "Thank you for taking the time to read what I had to say." :P It was funny, because I didn't take the time, but you thanked me anyway! :P

Thank you for saying all that, Christian!

I'm very sorry if I was rude or arrogant in anything I said about it. I was a little disappointed at first (okay, more than a little), but it's not like there's anything we can do about it. Especially by getting mad. :P Maybe the changes will be for the better after all! And Nationals will stay the same, which was what I was worried about. :P

Christian, I think one of the reasons for the reactions is because SKF didn't tell why they changed it. (I didn't read the contestant materials, so I'm not sure)

The reason they made these changes is not simply because they want more people to register. They don't have the money to keep it going, because there are not enough people registering. They also want it to be as affordable for people. They reduced the host price to get more people to sign up, and they very graciously reimbursed those who had already paid the full amount anyways.

I don't think that SKF is trying to stop Scripture from being proclaimed; if anything, it will be proclaimed to more people! We need to help them as much as possible, and not cause them more pain than has already been caused.

I wholeheartedly agree. =)