Afghan Christian Convert freed and safely in Italy

The Afghani man who converted to Christianity, and who was tried in court for having left Islam (a crime which requires death under Islamic law), has been freed by the Afghan authorities and had arrived in Italy where he has been offered assylum. There has been some fear that the man was still in danger, as Afghanistan's parliment passed a law forbidding the man from leaving the country to seek assylum. But it appears that he escaped the country before the law was passed, or before it could be enforced.

Keep praying for this man, however. It is likely that some Islamic cleric will be calling upon Italian Muslims to kill him.

Story Side B

If any of you are interested in hearing and seeing a little of what is Story Side B click on over to The Logan Show and check them out http://www.loganshow.com/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=79. For those of you who don't know Logan Sekulow is the son of Jay Sekulow the Christian attorney. Check out this episode featuring Story Side B and other bands on his weekly show, and while your there say Hi to Chilly for me! Also you can find out about Story Side B from their website at http://www.musichristian.com/sidestoryb/frontpage.html.

Trust me, Stephanas, you won't fit

One of the favorite passtimes of the current Quiz Team - after the meets are done, of course - is the claw machines that can be played at the various restaurants we visit. While Matt and Chuck are good at getting toys out of the machines, one 3 year old is very good at getting INTO the machine. Rescuers eventually got him out, but the young boy was quite happy surrounded by stuffed animals while they worked.

I don't want to know how many people tried to get him out with the claw first.

Memories... Like the corner of my mind...

Ah, the fun and exciting places that you visit with Quiz Team.

Afghan Christian may be freed

Apparently, the Afghan convert to Christianity may be freed. You may recall the article that we posted last week when Afghani Muslim Clerics were calling for the death penalty for his having converted from Islam to Christianity.

A court on Sunday dismissed the case against an Afghan man facing possible execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, officials said, paving the way for his release.
The move eased pressure from the West but raised the dilemma of protecting Abdul Rahman after his release as Islamic clerics have called for him to be killed.
One official said freedom might come as soon as Monday for Rahman, who became a Christian in the 1990s while working for an aid group in neighboring Pakistan.

This may be great news. But keep praying nonetheless, as many Muslims are still calling for his death.

Interesting photo from Flickr

This picture from Flickr was inspired by Romans 7:14-25.

The New Shirts in the Flesh

I now have the shirts in-hand. Here are some live pictures from our house of one of the new shirts.

The New Quiz Team T-Shirts are HERE!

The T-shirts have arrived! Remember that shirts WILL NOT be handed out, unless you have paid for them. For those who have paid or who bring their money, you can get your shirts at the Quiz Meet tomorrow. Otherwise, please bring your $15 to practice on Wednesday. (No, Virginia, the coaches will NOT have the shirts with them on Sunday.)

Remember to be careful with your shirt. All quizzers (who have a shirt) will be expected to wear them on the Friday of High Gear. Don't wear them on the way up on Thursday, and it is probably best to try and keep your shirt unstained. I can't order any more until next year.

Who Wants to be a Romans Scholar?

Check out this game for a "Who Wants to be a Millionarie?" style flash game on the book of Romans. It is reasonably challenging, but gives you the typical 2 lifelines if you should get stumped. Flash is required, but most modern browsers contain a Flash plug-in. If not, you can download it from here.

Details for Saturday Quiz Meet

This Saturday is a quiz meet in Essex Fells, NJ. We'll be leaving church at 7 AM (so please arrive at least 10 minutes earlier, so you can use the bathroom before we leave). Please bring $4 for pizza. We'll plan to be back at around 4 PM.

See you there!

Afghanistan considers prosecuting man for becoming a Christian

It has not been talked about much in the press, but there is a law in Islam requiring that anyone who converts to another faith be put to death. This law has been put into action in some Muslim countries, and is not enforced in many others. Now, Afghanistan is considering whether or not to enforce it within their own borders. As a nation recently freed from the Taliban, they are still defining their post-terrorist laws and legal practices. Please be praying that they see the life and decide not to enforce this law, and perhaps to remove it from the secular government's laws altogether.

Churches going High Tech

It turns out that www.QuizPad.com is not the only church-based website out there (of course, calvarystudentministries.com and calvaryefc.com should have clued us in). The Barna Group is reporting that almost 70% of protestant churches are now online.

The Barna Group survey shows that, since 2000, many congregations across regional, denominational and sociological categories have embraced the Internet, videography and other high-tech methods of carrying out their ministries.
For example, the study showed that 57 percent of all Protestant churches now have a website -- up from only 34 percent in 2000. The greatest increases in that category came among mainline Protestant churches, 70 percent of which now have a presence on the World Wide Web.
The study also found that churches located in the Western states, churches with large congregations, and churches with mostly white parishioners are most likely to have websites.
The survey also determined that a large majority -- 62 percent -- of all Protestant churches use large-screen projection technology. In 2000, only 39 percent of them used large screens.

REMINDER: T-shirt payments due BEFORE t-shits will be given out!

There is a chance that the new Quiz Team t-shirts could be here in time for this weekend's quiz meet in Essex Fells, NJ. However, you will not be recieving your t-shirt until it has been paid for. (Those who memorized James 4 for Matt are taken care of.) You may wish to bring your money this Wednesday, in case you get the chance to wear the team colors down to Essex Fells.

Remember, it is $15 per shirt. Matt and Michelina are collecting the money.

Vocabulary in Romans 1-5

In reviewing Romans 1 - 5, I was reminded there is a LOT of advanced vocabulary. Perhaps these user-friendly definitions to these terms will help with your rereading of the text.

• accountable: responsibility or capable of being held responsible for something; capable of being explained; being held to account, scrutinized, and being required to give an account or explanation
• atonement: simply at-one-ment, i.e., the state of being at one or being reconciled, so that atonement is reconciliation. Thus it is used to denote the effect which flows from the death of Christ.
• blasphemed: speaking evil of God
• contempt: a manner that is generally disrespectful
  deceit: lying, cheating; doing something dishonest
• degrading: corrupting: harmful to the mind or morals
• depraved/depravity corruption: moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles
• divine: being or having the nature of God
• embodiment: giving concrete form to an abstract concept
• forbearance: patience: good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
• futile: serving no useful purpose, frivolous, fruitless
• insolent: impudent: marked by casual disrespect
• justified: absolved: let off the hook
• perseverance: doggedness: persistent determination; not giving up
• provision: the activity of supplying or providing something
• reconcile: change for the better a relationship between two or more persons
• slander: words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another
• transgression: the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle
• trespass: violate a law of God or a moral law
• wickedness: evil: morally objectionable behavior

Always Ready the Fine Print

PRAYER ALERT: Ruth Bradley, National Bible Quizzing Coordinator

Some of you have met Ruth Bradley, the National Coordinator for Bible Quizzing for the EFCA, and the rest of you have met her through her questions that we use for our quiz practices and meets. She needs our prayers in a time of extreme need.

Early Monday, while they were in Haiti for a short mission trip, the same home on Northland Drive NE was reduced to cinders in a fire apparently ignited by lightning.
Friends from church said they were not going to tell them about the fire until they returned from Haiti today.
"That's going to be hard for them," said Burt Smith, an elder at the couple's church, Grace Evangelical Free Church near Rockford. "We'll just let them come home and not worry about it until they get here."
Members of the church say they are preparing their own mission -- to make sure the Bradleys have a place to call home.
"I'm sure there'll be people who take them in. That won't be a problem," said Marion Alexander, secretary of the church that draws about 125 worshippers on Sunday mornings.
"This is a real close-knit church family."

Please be praying! If you are not sure what to pray for, at the least we can: (1) thank God that no one was home when the fire happened, so no one was hurt, (2) ask that the insurance adjusters are diligent and generous, (3) ask that the local church provides for their needs in the meantime, (4) ask that they receive comfort from God, the "peace that passes understanding", and (5) ask that the Quizzing community can be a support in this time of need.

My Experience with James & God's Healing Hand

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 5:13-16

A number of quizzers were asking about this section on Wednesday, and about how God heals in response to prayer. I thought you might find my experience interesting and informative.

About 2 years ago now, I started noticing a pain in my right ankle. It was strange because I had not done it any damage that I was aware of, but it was quite nagging. I ignored it for a few weeks, figuring I had just pulled a muscle, but it would not go away. Finally, I went to the doctor. It was diagnosed as tendonitis (swelling and inflammation in the connecting tissue between joints), and they prescribed a medication to reduce the swelling. I took the full course, two weeks, and no improvement. Saw the doctor again. They prescribed a different medication. Another two weeks, and it got worse. The pain got pretty severe, and started radiating up my leg at night when I was in bed. Finally, I started walking with a cane, and the doctor sent me off to a specialist. They checked everything out, but had no idea. They even did a test where they poked my spine with accupuncture needles, to see what kind of electrical activity was going on. Nothing useful.

Finally, my family called the Elders of the church. (They call them the "Overseeing Board" at our church.) Two elders and a pastor came over to our house, and prayed over me. You will note that James puts in close proximity the idea of "the prayer offered in faith", the healing, and "confess your sins." Before they prayed with me, we talked over any issues in my life that might require confession. We made sure everything had been confessed. Then, they annointed my head with oil (not as weird as it sounds, the pastor dipped his hand in oil and then touched my head) and prayed. They each prayed in turn over me for healing. Then they offered to be there for anything I needed, including any accountability for any matters of sin.

The next day, my doctor scheduled me for an MRI. (MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging - it is a way of getting a 3D image of what is going on inside of your body.) I went in and got slid into the tube, and prayed for about a half hour while they made noises and ran the scanner. Afterwards, I went home and limped back to my room to sleep. The films came back and the doctor suddenly knew the problem! One of the disks of tissue between the vertebrae in my spine had torn and was leaking away from where it was supposed to be. It was pressing directly on the "wiring" for my spine where the signals from the right ankle normally go, so my brain thought my right ankle was hurting. They immediately scheduled me for surgery. I was in the hospital about a week later, and when I woke up from the anesthesia I was already feeling better. It took several weeks of healing after that, but the underlying problem was solved and I was on the way to recovery.

You can see here how God acted for me without working immediately and miraculously. My health problem arose and the doctors could not figure it out for months. Then the Elders came to pray over me and annoint me with oil. They made sure all sin was confessed, and dealt with. Then God opened the way for the doctors, and they were able to heal me with surgery. Not every act of God must be as bold and full of special effects as when He parted the Red Sea. But that does not mean He is not acting. Instead, it may mean God is guiding events with a gentle hand, to bring about the results He promises in scripture.

Review Schedule Until High Gear

If you missed Jim's announcement last night, we are now entering the phase of the season where new material for studying/practicing is over. We are now solidly in review mode. Here is the study schedule for up to High Gear...

• March 22: Romans 1-5
• March 29: Romans 6-10
• April 5: Romans 11-16
• April 12: James 1-5
• April 19: All of Romans and James
• April 20: Leave for High Gear!

Please print out this schedule and keep it on your fridge. Or keep an eye on the calendar in the upper left of this page.

REMINDER: Today is the FINAL deadline for High Gear Forms!

Parents and Teens! Remember that TODAY is the LAST CHANCE to sign up for High Gear. Please bring your forms to Quiz Team, or give them to Pat Shouvlin earlier in the day. This is also the last chance for Written entries, which must be submitted at the same time as your forms!

If you have forgotten the fun of High Gear, click here to see a video montage from last year.

Putting the "Bible" back into the Biblical Worldview

TruU.org has up a good article on some of the myths surrounding the Bible that have cropped up in popular culture in the last decade or so.

Ever heard the term "biblical worldview"? If you haven't, it can be defined like this: having a perspective of the entire world that is informed by the Bible.
This sounds like it's a fairly easy thing to obtain. You just read God's Word and accept it as accurately representing reality. Unfortunately, it's much harder than it looks, but not for reasons that you might initially think.
What I want to do in this article is provide a few observations that might help you more effectively approach the Bible and glean what it is communicating.

We need to keep in mind the truths of the Bible and the truths ABOUT the Bible. (TrueU.org is a Focus on the Family site.)

Study Tips from the Specialists

This article is a good read for those looking to improve their study habits, whether for Bible Quizzing or for school.

If you're like most students, you put off studying until the very last minute. The night before the exam, you'll stay up all night cramming, getting little or no sleep. In the morning, you'll drag yourself out of bed, psych yourself up with lots of coffee and some cigarettes, and go into the exam feeling exhausted, drained and jittery all at the same time. You'll find it hard to focus or think, and you'll be cursing yourself for not starting to study sooner.

And not surprisingly, unless you're blessed with natural brilliance, or you happen to know the subject matter extremely well, you'll probably do terribly on the test.

We begin our review of past chapters next week. If you are hoping to pick up some chapters that you missed the first time around, these tips can be especially useful.

GRACE EXTENDED: High Gear registration extended Wednesday

From Coach Jim...

Quiz Team,

We did pretty well today by getting the High Gear registration forms in. Pat told me that he is going to mail them in on Thursday morning so we have until Wednesday to get the rest in. Tammy Cook will be stopping by at the beginning of practice to collect the few that didn’t get turned in this morning. Also please bring a check made out to Calvary EF Church for $40 each. There was some confusion because the form said $35 but they are collecting $40 to help defray transportation costs.

Those who have not got their forms in yet please bring them on Tuesday and give them to Pat or on Wednesday and give them to me.

Please pass this info along to anyone who may not have e-mail or who checks this site regularly. Also, please let Jim know if you do not plan to come to High Gear.

What is Lent?

The season of Lent is upon us, but is something that our church does not often talk much about. You might find this article useful in understanding what Lent traditionally has been in the Church, and why it is so important to many other Christians.

Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. We skip Sundays when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. Lent begins on 1 March 2006 and ends on 15 April 2006, which is the day before Easter...Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.

Lent traditionally has been associated with Christians giving up something important to them, in honor of what Christ gave up for us at Easter. If you are looking for a way to put James's challenge to live out your faith in action, this might be one way to do so.

Behold, I stand at the door...

IMPORTANT: High Gear forms due SUNDAY

High Gear Forms (The ones you recieved on Wednesday) need to be back to Jim or Pat Shouvlin by this Sunday, 3/12/2006. This means any writing entries should be handed in the same day (preferably directly to Pat). If you will not be in church on Sunday, please drop off the forms in Jim's mailbox at church. Apologies for the short notice, but we were not given a choice in the matter.

And as long as we're making announcements... We wish a VERY Happy Birthday to SuperK. And may God have mercy on pedestrians as he gets his driving permit.

James 5 Study Guide is online... and the last one for this season!

We come to our last study guide of the season for James 5. It has been a long trek through the wisdom and power of Romans, into the practicalities and deep thoughts of James. And we are not yet done, as we have several weeks of review ahead of us! But now is time to reflect on the new thoughts God has brought to us this year. Now, we can stop learning by rote, and begin really internalizing the lessons of these two amazing books!

Congrats: They Memorized James 4

Congratulations to ASTRO and A.G.G. who accepted Matt's challenge and memorized the entire chapter of James 4.


I wonder if perhaps someone wants to try and match that with chapter 5? Of course, I can't promise any prizes, but you never know.

Quiz Team: The Next Generation

Congratulations to former Quiz Teamer Robin (formerly Hunt) Rees on the birth of her son, Micah Carl Rees, on March 6. He was born at 7 lbs 3 oz and is 20 inches tall with
short dark hair. Allegedly, he has an EXCELLENT set of lungs, so when he makes Quiz Team in 2018 the quiz master should have NO problems hearing his answers.

Congratulations to Robin and her husband David, and to Joel and Ellie Hunt who are still here in Connecticut with the rest of us.

It all depends on how you look at it

James 4 Study Guide is up!

It is a bit late (blame late winter/early spring busyness) but the James 4 Study Guide is up and ready for your read. Float on over and take a look.

Happy Birthdays!

A quick wish for a happy birthday to Pinky and Astro, whose birthdays were yesterday and today respectively. Hope this your birthday is GREAT, and it is only a prelude to an even better year.

REMINDER: High Gear is coming!

Quizzers need to keep in mind that High Gear is coming, and registrations are due soon. We will have registration forms at practice on Wednesday, or you can get them from Pat Shouvlin or Pastor Randy Matthews. Now is the time to decide whether you are going, and what events you will be entering.

Remember that High Gear is about seeing the various ways that you can glorify God with your talents. Can you write? Produce a story or poem! Can you draw or paint? Work up an illustration. Can you sing? Form an ensemble or be part of a worship band! Can you program or take pictures? Multimedia presentations are welcome.

But again, the time to choose is now.

The Israelites did not have snow in the desert, so...

Chinese Home Church Raided

Enjoying Bible Quizzing practice in the "Round Room", surrounded by windows that let the whole world see us studying scripture, we may forget that not everyone has the same freedom. China is cracking down on "unauthorized" home churches, and it brings back nightmares from the Cold War.

CHINESE police held 36 people in a raid on a bible school run by an underground Protestant church yesterday amid a nationwide crackdown on Christians worshipping outside Communist Party control.
About 50 officers armed with electric cattle prods and backed by more than 10 police vehicles surrounded the school in the eastern province of Anhui, according to the China Aid Association, based in the Texas.
Those inside — including students, teachers, and leaders of the underground church — were taken away in police vans, the group said.

It is hard for Americans to imagine, but these Christians lie in fear of imprisonment and death every time they gather to worship God. It is a reminder of the great gift we have in the religious freedom of the USA, and reminder that we need to watch and make sure it survives!

Precise wording is important