Who is Chew?

For starters, he's the guy in the back left of this picture. (And that's me in the front right. Seventh grade. Bad hair day. Great day in the annals of Kristin time.)
He was also my Bible quiz coach, a man who noticed me and appreciated me, and just one heck of a man. We celebrated his work in the church today at a retirement party. While I was there, reminiscing with friends and looking back at the history of this great program, I came to appreciate Bill Chew in an even greater way. Because he made Bible quiz what it was when I was there.

I hated youth group in middle school. I was at best, completely ignored. One night we broke into small groups to do some stupid worksheet, and I was in Bill Chew's group with another quizzer. I wasn't in Bible quiz yet, but when I answered one of the questions, he invited me to join the team. I'd wanted to ever since I'd seen the 1988 team do a sample match in church before they went to nationals. I jumped on board, and had no idea what I was getting into.

What I got into was amazing. For once, I was good at something. What I did on the team mattered. I mattered. And that was what I loved the most. I happened onto a banner year with a good team of two who needed a third, so I got to be third. For two more years after that, I stuck around, memorizing the Bible and competing with other teens in the state and region. I loved it. I have those trophies up in the attic in a box, and whenever they resurface, I spend a moment reflecting on those great times with my friends. And how Bill Chew didn't care about winning and losing and who had the most points, but about kids studying the Bible and falling in love with it. How his big goal was to teach us to learn it for ourselves. How he knew that God's word would not return void.

What sticks out to me in my memory was how people--especially kids, mattered to him. Even the ones who weren't on his team. You wouldn't meet a friendlier guy. I always felt welcome on the team and encouraged, yet still challenged to keep working harder. Today one of the moms spoke about how he was a role model, a solid, grounded man of God who cared and sympathized. I think when I was quizzing I took it for granted. Because he was a great coach. We all agreed on that today.

He will be marked in the pages of my life as a significant part of my spiritual growth. The things he taught stay with me. And so does the Word of God.

This was my team the last year I was there. A great group of gals, so fun to hang out with. I miss it so often, and I can't wait until my kids can join the ranks of Bible geeks!