Reflecting on the Field and National Quizzes I have attended the past dozen or so years, I can confidently say that the most successful teams always have a skilled According To question person.
For those who may be unfamiliar, every quiz match asks four According To questions. The preamble of these questions supply the quizzer with the chapter and verse for the subsequent question. The intent of this type of question is to direct the quizzer toward a certain passage of Scripture which may be similar to other passages being studied. While the answer does not have to be word-for-word from the verse, the answer must be contained to just that verse and be precise enough to distinguish it from other verses. An example would be: According to John chapter 5, verse 1, where did Jesus go? Answer: Up to Jerusalem. Jesus went to many places in the Book of John, but in John 5:1, he specifically went up to Jerusalem.
Since answering an According To question as a multiple is permissible, it is common for these quizzers to get the jump (pun intended) on everyone else by interrupting the reading of the question as – or before – the Quizmaster is announcing the verse number. The quizzer rattles off several possible questions and their respective answers within 30 seconds in the hopes that one of them was the intended question.
Seemingly, According To quizzers appear to have not only memorized the entire study scripture, but can recall a specific verse instantaneously. In awe of this apparent superpower, I asked three former According To quizzers who have competed multiple times at the national level to share their stories and study methods: Cole Hodge and Leah Augustine from the MidSouth District, and Lydia Hutchison from the Florida District.
For those who may be unfamiliar, every quiz match asks four According To questions. The preamble of these questions supply the quizzer with the chapter and verse for the subsequent question. The intent of this type of question is to direct the quizzer toward a certain passage of Scripture which may be similar to other passages being studied. While the answer does not have to be word-for-word from the verse, the answer must be contained to just that verse and be precise enough to distinguish it from other verses. An example would be: According to John chapter 5, verse 1, where did Jesus go? Answer: Up to Jerusalem. Jesus went to many places in the Book of John, but in John 5:1, he specifically went up to Jerusalem.
Since answering an According To question as a multiple is permissible, it is common for these quizzers to get the jump (pun intended) on everyone else by interrupting the reading of the question as – or before – the Quizmaster is announcing the verse number. The quizzer rattles off several possible questions and their respective answers within 30 seconds in the hopes that one of them was the intended question.
Seemingly, According To quizzers appear to have not only memorized the entire study scripture, but can recall a specific verse instantaneously. In awe of this apparent superpower, I asked three former According To quizzers who have competed multiple times at the national level to share their stories and study methods: Cole Hodge and Leah Augustine from the MidSouth District, and Lydia Hutchison from the Florida District.
Achievement and Influence
Cole (far left), Leah (2nd from left), and Lydia (2nd from right) and the rest of the 2012 TNU Field Team. Having quizzed 8 years on the Tennessee District (now part of the MidSouth District), Cole finished each season as the top quizzer on the District, won four District championships, two Regional championships, and multiple invitational championships. In 2012, he was the top quizzer at a national tournament. That said, none of those accomplishments meant more to Cole than the impact he had on others. “When you have other quizzers that look up to you and you’re their example and role model, you can’t beat that. It isn’t how you do in competition, but it’s the way you act and put into practice what you’re memorizing.”
Similarly, Lydia excelled while quizzing on the Central Florida District (now the Florida District). She was the top quizzer at the St. Louis Top Ten Invitational 3 years in a row. At Nationals, she was the top quizzer two years in a row and finished 2nd and 10th in other years. “If you are a quizzer who wants to be great,” says Lydia, “you need to go to tournaments. Go to as many as you can. Tournaments help you to see where you are at and where you need to improve. Plus, they are a ton of fun!”
Leah agrees. Her teams traveled to invitational quizzes at Chicago Fest, St. Louis Top Ten, Indy Westside, and Sterling. “We also traveled to Q events where I would quiz pretty much all day with both my local and regional team.” She quizzed on her District team at the Field Tournament in all six of her quiz seasons. “I learned so much about my competition style,” says Leah. “If I am quizzing for glory, what is the point if God is not at the center of it?”
Similarly, Lydia excelled while quizzing on the Central Florida District (now the Florida District). She was the top quizzer at the St. Louis Top Ten Invitational 3 years in a row. At Nationals, she was the top quizzer two years in a row and finished 2nd and 10th in other years. “If you are a quizzer who wants to be great,” says Lydia, “you need to go to tournaments. Go to as many as you can. Tournaments help you to see where you are at and where you need to improve. Plus, they are a ton of fun!”
Leah agrees. Her teams traveled to invitational quizzes at Chicago Fest, St. Louis Top Ten, Indy Westside, and Sterling. “We also traveled to Q events where I would quiz pretty much all day with both my local and regional team.” She quizzed on her District team at the Field Tournament in all six of her quiz seasons. “I learned so much about my competition style,” says Leah. “If I am quizzing for glory, what is the point if God is not at the center of it?”
When you have other quizzers that look up to you and you’re their example and role model, you can’t beat that. It isn’t how you do in competition, but it’s the way you act and put into practice what you’re memorizing. - Cole Hodge
WHEN TO START STUDYING FOR ACCORDING TO QUESTIONS
I personally recommend taking the summer off to recharge your batteries before you jump back into quizzing. For the majority of quizzers, that means you will take a 3-month break. However, if you compete at Q or some other post-season national tournament, you will be quizzing at least until the end of June.
“My dad always said that you made the regional team the summer before,” mentions Cole. “I usually took off two weeks after Nationals and then really studied hard before school started.” In Cole’s case, he would start studying the new material mid-July.
Leah also starts mid-July: “I start studying a couple of weeks before the rest of the team would start,” which is typically the beginning of August.
Conversely, Lydia proves to be the contrarian of this trio. “I always told myself I would wait a week or two before I would begin memorizing. However, I normally began right after Nationals.”
“My dad always said that you made the regional team the summer before,” mentions Cole. “I usually took off two weeks after Nationals and then really studied hard before school started.” In Cole’s case, he would start studying the new material mid-July.
Leah also starts mid-July: “I start studying a couple of weeks before the rest of the team would start,” which is typically the beginning of August.
Conversely, Lydia proves to be the contrarian of this trio. “I always told myself I would wait a week or two before I would begin memorizing. However, I normally began right after Nationals.”
HOW TO STUDY FOR ACCORDING TO QUESTIONS
Proving that there is not a “one size fits all” way to study, each of these three quizzers uses a different “tool” as they study for According To questions: a schedule, index cards, and Scripture audio.
Cole shares that he “made a schedule in July and stuck to it. I always left wiggle room in case I was sick, but I typically had it to where I memorized anywhere from 5-12 verses a day, 4-5 days a week and had 2 days to review.”
For Lydia, index cards for the individual verses proved an indispensable tool in her studies. Using a product similar to Jingleseeds’ Quote Cards, Lydia would “either go through some of the pile each day or have someone ask me them.”
Prior to memorizing a chapter, Leah would listen to the Scripture CD or Bible Gateway audio many times.
Here is a side-by-side summary of each of their study methods. Perhaps one of these – or parts of each – will inspire your study of According To questions this season:
Cole shares that he “made a schedule in July and stuck to it. I always left wiggle room in case I was sick, but I typically had it to where I memorized anywhere from 5-12 verses a day, 4-5 days a week and had 2 days to review.”
For Lydia, index cards for the individual verses proved an indispensable tool in her studies. Using a product similar to Jingleseeds’ Quote Cards, Lydia would “either go through some of the pile each day or have someone ask me them.”
Prior to memorizing a chapter, Leah would listen to the Scripture CD or Bible Gateway audio many times.
Here is a side-by-side summary of each of their study methods. Perhaps one of these – or parts of each – will inspire your study of According To questions this season:
| Cole’s Method: Tool: Make a study schedule and stick to it. Study: Memorize 5-12 verses a day, 4-5 days a week:
Time required: 5-15 hours a week (1-2 hours a day) | Leah's Method: Tool: Listen to the audio version several times before memorizing. Study: Read/Memorize 10 verses at a time:
| Lydia’s Method: Tool: Purchase or make individual verse cards. Study:
Time required: 10-15 hours a week (1-2 hours a day) |
Review, however, is equally important. “If you don’t go back and review each week and month, and always be looking back at older chapters, you won’t be successful,” cautions Cole. Leah adds, “For review, I would go over the questions and speed-quote the Scripture. If I stumbled I would go back to the beginning and quote along while listening to the audio version.”
The Gospel of John has 879 verses. If you learn 10 verses a day, 4 days per week, that would be 40 verses a week. If you start July 15, you could have John memorized by December 15. So, you could easily build in "review" time each week once you have memorized the material covered at your next quiz meet.
The Gospel of John has 879 verses. If you learn 10 verses a day, 4 days per week, that would be 40 verses a week. If you start July 15, you could have John memorized by December 15. So, you could easily build in "review" time each week once you have memorized the material covered at your next quiz meet.
HOW TO ANSWER AN ACCORDING TO QUESTION
While knowing the verse text for the question is important, it is meaningless if you are unable to provide the appropriate question and answer. In this regard, these three quizzers agree: Ask your questions in the order the verse was written so that when you go back to answer them you are almost just quoting each section of the verse to answer each question. For example, if the verse said “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals,” you would ask your questions like this: When did Jesus go up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals? Who went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals? Where did Jesus go up for one of the Jewish festivals? For what did Jesus go up to Jerusalem?
THE RESULT
| Regardless of your motivation, Leah sums up one of the main benefits of Quizzing in general and Scripture memorization in particular: “The verses I have memorized through Bible Quizzing have kept me calm in stressful and sometimes dark situations. In time of need, I would say verses like Matthew 11:28 where I would just fall into the arms of God and just be present with Him.” Amen. | The verses I have memorized through Bible Quizzing have kept me calm in stressful and sometimes dark situations. |
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Since graduating from high school, Cole Hodge graduated Summa Cum Laude with degrees in political science and journalism and is currently an intelligence analyst for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. “Quizzing shaped not only my walk with Christ, but it has helped me academically and professionally as well,” shares Cole. “It provided me with a way to develop confidence and study skills necessary to succeed in school.” Quizzing has also “helped me with certain leadership and public speaking techniques. I always mention Bible Quizzing on my resume and it almost always comes up in interviews. The ability to memorize almost all of the New Testament, be dedicated to a program for 8 years, and display leadership skills under extreme pressure situations demonstrates to employers what truly separates you as an applicant and how valuable you can truly be.”
Bible Quizzing was influential in Leah Augustine accepting her call to ministry. “Through the study of Matthew, I heard God calling out to me to follow Him and to be made a fisher of men. I have been actively involved in local church ministries by helping immigrants from Africa learn English at Nashville Grace Church while studying Intercultural Ministry, serving as my dorm’s chaplain, and working on the Urban Farm at Trevecca Nazarene University."
Currently a District-licensed pastor working toward ordination, Lydia credits Teen Bible Quizzing for providing a positive influence on her life. “It really opened up the door to who God is and how to be a fully devoted follower of His. Thus, it helped me to grow spiritually. It also helped me to grow as a person. I became more outgoing and developed some very important study techniques that have helped me in other areas of my life. Quizzing helped me to make some great friends, with whom I still hang out and talk.”
POST-CREDIT SCENE
By far, Cole’s favorite quizzing moment happened during a regional tournament (also known as TNT@TNU). “My team was winning by a ridiculous amount, maybe 300-10 but I was not having a very good round. I had only two correct and two errors, and I was not doing as well as I thought I should. As a result, I was struggling to keep my own composure. On question 18 or 19, the other team jumped and made an error, but were so close to getting the question right. I put my own struggles aside, and I challenged for this individual because they were actually correct, and it meant more to make sure he knew he got it right than to win by an extra 10 points. The challenge was accepted and from that day on it was like I was a hero to that District because they had never seen another team challenge or stick up for them. I was completely honored because I was just doing what I was taught to do – by being the individual quizzing taught me to be.”
Cole, I think that “other team” was mine. So, if I did not tell you then, thank you!
Cole, I think that “other team” was mine. So, if I did not tell you then, thank you!
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