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Well, no surprise, the Lincoln tournament is upon us. Many of us put in quite a bit of effort into getting judges and tournament prep, but I want to offer a simple priority check. Tournaments are great fun and time with friends, but you are also there to compete and will do well or not so placement-wise. If you let your only priority be how you do placement-wise you will go home disappointed.
I want to discuss the Biblical priority that provides more depth and ultimately growth in the long term than simply trying to win. Honor in action and word: The way we win is far more important than the actual win. Philippians 2:3 Makes this clear when it says “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” I take this to mean literally do nothing out of rivalry. Meaning when we are debating, we are purely there for sport and are not to put pride or other emotion on the line. Little things like tone, dramatized confused looks while the competitor is talking, or a pause to make a Cross-x question seem obvious or stupid. I’ve personally done all of those and that crosses a distinct line. The line is when you are seeking to beat the person, not their arguments or case. This is not respectful to them. And does not honor the Creator 1 Peter 3:15 “…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” Even if they attack something so personal as your faith, God makes it clear to treat them with respect. So when you are arguing about something under the pretense of fun or sport, respect ought to be a non-starter. Titus 2:7 puts it simply. “Above all, set yourself apart as a model of a life nobly lived. With dignity, demonstrate integrity in all that you teach.” Let your life be an example of these qualities. Knights have a reputation for debating with respect, in a way that is better both according to the Bible and in the long run. Well, let’s face this tournament head-on and compete to honor God, above all. ~ Joshua R., Varsity Knights member
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What is true worship? We all have our own way of worshiping God; we all have the one thing
we do to feel God’s presence. Personally, I feel closest to God when I am singing worship songs or listening to music. But, songs, sermons, and prayer aren’t the only forms of worship. What is the Bible’s definition of worship? Romans 12:1-2 states clearly what true worship looks like. Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Giving ourselves as a living sacrifice means to live differently than others. Our bodies are temples for God. We shouldn’t dress or act in a way that brings attention to ourselves. The second verse of Romans 12 said “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If we want to be holy for the Lord, we need to be careful to protect our minds. Our minds are powerful things that can be a strength in our spiritual walk or a danger. We need to filter what we take in and constantly be thinking of the Lord. That means to be careful of what we read, watch, and even what we say to others. Are we thinking the best of our teammates and calling out the gold in them or are we gossiping? We need to renew our minds every day, every moment, bringing the Lord into everything. Finally, the last part of the verse says, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Sometimes when we follow God, life gets a little messy and suddenly, we don’t know what God’s will is anymore. But, in Romans, Paul clearly states that God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect. We don’t need to be afraid or confused. We can confidentially trust and follow God because we know that God is in control. In conclusion, the Bible says that worship can be included in all we do. The way we live our lives are examples to others. Protecting our mind is an important part of pure worship. We should invite God into everything we do. Songs, sermons, and prayer are great ways of worshiping God, but I pray we all remember the true form of worship. Which is worshiping God in all we do because worship is a lifestyle. Livi A. -- Varsity Knights' Member Thomas Jefferson once said, “If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value.” Where does our value come from? As Christians the first answer that comes to mind is God. God made each and every one of us with a specific purpose in mind. We are unique, with similar qualities, yet none are used the same way. So, what is the cause for comparison? This can come in many different forms. Perhaps someone is better at public speaking, singing, instruments. Perhaps they seem to succeed in every way shape and form while you don’t. Often times we find ourselves comparing ourselves to someone who we want to think we’re better than, but we can’t because their successes and personality outshine the box we try to place them into. Does someone else’s success take from your own?This is something that really fascinates me. God listens to everyone, every voice who calls on Him. So, what happens in a softball game when both teams are praying for God to help them win? Who does He pick? What if God allows me to lose, because He knows my opponent needed the win more than I did? What if what we see as our failings allow us to relate to others in a way we could not before? The Newport Academy in an article called Social Media Comparison and Teen Mental Health, states that “It’s human nature to compare ourselves to others. And that’s especially true of teenagers. According to the theory of social comparison, comparing and contrasting yourself with your peers is part of identity formation. This process helps adolescents figure out where they stand in terms of beliefs, preferences, and attitudes. Social comparison can also inspire and motivate teens. However, social comparison has a big downside: It can be detrimental to self-esteem, self-image, and well-being. In addition, constant evaluation of oneself versus others can create a judgmental, competitive outlook. Hence, one study found that people who make frequent social comparisons are more likely to experience envy, guilt, regret, and defensiveness.” Who do you think of when you think of the perfect person? For me, I always look to someone who is older, smarter, wiser, prettier, funnier, or just better than me in every way. When I put that person in that place in my mind I have a hard time being around them because I am constantly telling myself they are better than I am. But God tells me in Psalms 139:14 that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He said that creation of humans was good. By degrading myself I am essentially stating that God made a mistake in making me the way I am. God has a bigger plan than we do. We often say that everything happens for a reason we just don’t see it yet. In the same way someone’s success does not mean we are less than we were before. This is the part that we can apply to debate and speech. While wondering the halls of the designated tournament church one could often see competitors, from the same club, or different standing outside of their rooms with their arms around each other in prayer. Praying before rounds was standard procedure for both affirmative and negative teams as well as for speakers in the same room. When they prayed they didn’t pray for one to win over the other. They prayed for God’s will to be done. This brings us back to the question, if both teams pray for God to help them win, who does God pick? Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that question, but I believe that everything that happens is a part of God’s ultimate plan. So even if you didn’t win the round you wanted to, or receive the placement you worked hard to earn, even though things didn’t work out the way you wanted them too, whoever did win, whoever did receive the placement, or got what you didn’t, God has a plan for them too and that win was a part of it. Let us return to our opening quote. “If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value.” You don’t need to prove you are better than everyone, or that you have self-worth. Inherently you are worthy and unlike anyone else. There is no one in the world who looks the same, acts the same, talks the same, or is the same as you and that makes you unique. It makes you priceless. Do not forget your value because someone seemingly has it better than you. On the flip side, the person you compare yourself to is also fearfully and wonderfully made. Thinking well of them and being happy for them will give a joy that comparison will not. Having goodwill for them will ease your mental state. Further getting to know them and becoming their friend will ultimately take away any jealousy. Don’t degrade yourself because another person gets more attention than you. God made each of us special and he has a plan for our lives which is far different than our own plans. Even though we can’t see it, yet we have to believe that He made each of us fearfully and wonderfully. And that each of us should not get lost in comparison, but rather lifting others up without degrading ourselves. As Psalm 139: 14 states. “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” ~ by Hannah Z., Varsity Knights member Welcome to the 2021/22 Season!Welcome to the 2021-22 season!! It is going to be a GREAT year!
This year the Omaha Knights are excited to offer LD debate, as well as eleven speech categories from limited preparation, platform and interpretation categories. Our club will begin meeting Sept. 13th! If you are interested in more information about the Omaha Knights, please email omahaknightsspeechdebate@gmail.com My favorite book as a child was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. If you aren’t
familiar with the story, a child, Mary, through a series of hardships, comes to live with a relative, having lost everything familiar to her. At first, she is determined that she will be miserable, and that creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mary is miserable until she decides to explore and make the most of her bad situation. It’s then that she stumbles across “the secret garden;” a locked, neglected garden. When her mindset was one of complaining, she was only able to see the bad things about her circumstance. But when she shifted her attitude, she was able to see good. Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote: “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot in the past year. How can I find the good in hard circumstances? How can I put the trials we’ve all gone through into an eternal perspective? God calls us to keep an eternal perspective in mind; to think about what will have a lasting impact, not our temporary circumstances and desires. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” When he was writing 2nd Corinthians, Paul was struggling internally. Wrestling with hardships and doubt, he described himself as hard-pressed on every side, crushed but not destroyed. Maybe you recognize those feelings. I know I’ve felt that way at different points in the past 13 months with the pandemic, racial tension, and constantly changing circumstances. But in that verse, Paul encouraged the Corinthians and encourages us by saying that the trials we’re going through, our circumstances, the things that surround us are temporary, and don’t hold eternal consequence. Instead, the important thing is our mindset — looking to the things that are unseen; our attitude, our perspective, the way we glorify God. By looking to the unseen, eternal things, we find the garden, the beauty in the everyday and in trials. So what does this look like to live out? What does it mean to find the gardens that surround us? I don’t think it means putting on a happy face and pretending everything is okay. When Mary first found “The Secret Garden.” it was in disarray. It was messy and chaotic. She had to work hard. It took a lot of time, discipline, and effort. She had to keep persevering when she was discouraged. But she was able to look deep and see beauty anyway. She pressed on, confident of things unseen. If we look into the messy, chaotic circumstances that surround us, we can find beauty and good things. It might take some cultivating, it might not be easy, it will take time, discipline, and hard work, but I promise it will be worth it. We can have faith, assurance of things not yet seen. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Our response to hardship and disappointment should be one of rejoicing and giving thanks. This is a discipline formed through practice. Continually turning and giving thanks when we don’t feel like it. Refusing to allow ingratitude, complaining, and self-pity to take a foothold in our minds. Praying constantly, glorifying God, and cultivating a mindset of joy and gratitude. Not just when we feel like it, but at all times. If we put our focus on Christ, the natural outpouring is a change in attitude, an ability to see the good in unexpected circumstances. I know many of you are disappointed to not see friends in-person at nationals, but if we look, I think we’ll find good things about this change. My challenge to you is to look for the good in the online format and keep turning yourself in thoughts and words to the things that have eternal impacts — gratitude and glorifying God, so that we can be transformed to reflect more of Christ’s beauty. ~Julianna S., Varsity Knights' member I joined this league 3 years ago when I was 15, I never achieved much, I did persuasive for 2 years did some interps and impromptu. Then my family went to Costa Rica last summer, which is what I based a lot of my persuasive on, so I didn’t get to compete last year. I had a nice two year period to measure the growth I’ve experienced. This year is my senior year and all I wanted was to break in persuasive and go to regionals. Then at the qualifier last month I got 1st in persuasive and I broke in debate. That made me rethink my goals and what I was doing in the league. I remember one time in the beginning of the season, Heather Newmann came to our club on zoom and talked about Outcome goals and Performance goals. Most of us had the outcome goal of breaking in speech and debate but performance goals are necessary to life. The lord accepts our best performance and Christ makes up the difference. Our performance goal in general is to be ambassadors for Christ and to communicate truth with integrity and grace. The NCFCA mission statement. In my church we have the members of the congregations give talks on gospel principles and two months ago I was asked to give a talk to all the local congregations that were going to meet at a central church. While writing the talk I was amazed that I could actually do it well. I use my speech writing and performing skills and I felt really good doing it. I felt that I had actually gained something after those three years doing speech and debate that I could actually use outside of tournaments. I’m going on a mission trip in May for my church and I am grateful that I was able to participate in this league for as long as I was and gain some experience expressing my thoughts and ideas effectively. I didn’t consider myself a good speaker until right before the tournament and the tournament results just fortified that realization. The ultimate goal for me is to be able to share the gospel with others and bring them to Christ. Importance of a community.
One thing that I have learned, is how important community is. Not just having a community, while this past year that was pretty much all I cared about. But, truly having a good community. Some of the people I am around I don’t have a choice about, like my family and my sisters’ friends. But other people I get to choose. I realized how important it is to surround myself with friends and a community that is going to lead me to Christ. There are three communities that you need to surround yourself with. First you need to surround yourself with a group of friends who are going to grow you. A group of friends to have fun and laugh with is healthy. We see a great example of this with David and Jonathan. David was going through a hard time; Jonathan encouraged David and became a very close friend of his. Put people into your life that are going to encourage you and be there for you in the hard times just like Jonathan was for David. We must be careful that we make sure our close friends are leading us to Christ. A few things you should ask yourself about your friend group is, if I’m doing something wrong are they going to call me out? Are they someone I look at and want my life to be like. Because if I spend a lot of time with them, they will influence me, and I want that to be in a positive way. The next community is a friend that you can influence. We are called by Jesus to be a friend to those in need. That includes unbelievers and people who are hurting. Jesus shows us this example by being a friend to people others hated. How can we bring people to Christ unless we are making friends with them and being a light to their life. And finally, a mentor. Find someone in your Church that you see living out Christ’s love and ask them to mentor you. Sometimes I found that I got tired of my parents telling me how I needed to grow and what I was doing wrong. While that is my parents’ job I found it very beneficial to have someone outside my family that I could meet with and help me to grow in my faith and relationship with God. I found her saying things that my family said, but this time, I actually listened. So, I encourage you, find your three communities be a light to those around you! What is the difference between happiness and joy?
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AuthorOmaha Knights Speech and Debate Archives
January 2022
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