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.

Congratulations! By now most of you have completed the Bible Quiz season that covered the Gospel of Luke. As a faithful reader of this blog, I’m sure you prepared for the season by reading 1 chapter of Luke as part of your daily time in the Word during the summer. When the season started you set up a dedicated study area where you blocked off time to study in 25-minute chunks with 5-minute breaks every night immediately before you went to bed and got plenty of sleep. You followed a plan that varied what you studied every day to prevent mid-season burnout. You used the NPH Bible Quiz App to take advantage of the idle moments that happen randomly throughout your day. You asked others to hold you accountable and you rewarded yourself for achieving your study goals.  You dedicated yourself to learning 2 Memory Verses a week because you know it is the practically guaranteed* way to be a top 10 Bible Quizzer. But most importantly, as you read Luke God revealed Himself to you through the Scripture. With God’s leading, you are finding direction for your life and learning how to best serve the Lord who gave His life for you.
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And now here you are. Relieved that you made it through the longest book of the 8-year Youth Bible Quiz cycle. You are looking forward to the relative ease of studying 1 & 2 Corinthians next season.
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So to help you prepare after you return from your summer break, here is a brief statistical analysis of the upcoming quiz material:

I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t like to improve one aspect of their life or another. Some people want to be a better friend. Or be a better writer. Or be more compassionate to those in need. Even the best athletes spend time practicing and learning ways to get better. That same desire to improve can be found in practically every Teen Bible Quizzer.

Now that the quiz season is over for most of you, it is common to think, “If I start studying next year’s material now, I’ll do better next season!” But my advice to you is: Don’t do it! Take a break and recharge your batteries! Enjoy your summer. Avoid the inevitable burn-out from a non-stop grind.  Quizzing is supposed to be fun, not a burden!

But at the same time, you shouldn’t put on hold your daily time in the Word. Growing closer to the Lord is the one thing that everyone should be working to improve! So there must be a way to avoid burn-out and yet expose yourself to the new quiz material as part of your continuing conversation with God during the summer.  

​Following are my 3 suggestions. Choose to do as many as you would like!

I have a Black Belt and I’m not afraid to use it! But it is not in Karate (in which I’m only a Green Belt). No, I have a Six Sigma Black Belt. “What is that” you say? It’s a Black Belt in statistics. Geeky, I know. But with it I can do some pretty neat tricks:

• Want to know the probability that 2 people in a crowd of 40 share a birthday? I can tell you (it’s 90%, by the way).
• How many forest rangers are needed on any given shift to have no more than a 1% chance of a fire going undetected while one of them is responding to an issue? Only you - with a little help from math - can prevent forest fires (you need 3 if an average issue takes a ranger away for 2 hours).
• The FDA allows up to 60 insect fragments and 1 rodent hair per 100 grams of chocolate. How confident are you that the 3.3 oz candy bar you just ate is pest-free? (I won’t spoil your lunch by telling you here. But if you really want to know, email me).
• Want to dominate your Fantasy Football league? I’m your guy (although I've learned that you probably won’t be invited back after winning it a few years in a row).

Now, what if I told you that if you study one certain way - in typical districts - you would be practically guaranteed* a Top 10 finish? (*By practically I mean a 94% probability of success). Does this interest you? Here’s how to do it: