Last year Kevin and I reluctantly attended a speech and debate class at the urging of other home schoolers. When we attended the first class we entered a room of chatty, enthusiastic speech students. We felt like aliens from another planet. As weeks passed by we reached a level of comfort that we could bear. After about a month of weekly speech coaching, despite his limbs going numb, Kevin courageously gave a persuasive speech. Speech topics could be about almost anything from silly to serious. Kevin’s topic was “Why Christian Rock Music is Okay.” At this point we still didn’t quite understand the passion that the other students seemed to have for speech. After the classes were completed, you could go on to compete in statewide competitions if you wanted to. Although Kevin chose not to compete, he ended the season with a sense of accomplishment and survived something he thought he would never be able to do.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t done yet. Speech veterans and their moms heavily encouraged him to come back this year for something even more challenging called a limited prep speech. Speech classes started up in November. In the upcoming weeks Kevin would learn to prepare to give a speech where you are given a topic (not revealed in advance) and three minutes to respond to the topic. I watched a young man Kevin’s age who demonstrated a speech he prepared that was so eloquent and well delivered it blew me away. Kevin absolutely refused to do this type of speech in competition, but reluctantly agreed to learn more about it. Still puzzled by the enthusiasm of the veteran students, especially the limited prep speakers, we continued with the classes.
Up to this point I kept saying to myself, “I don’t get it. Why is speech-making so important to them?” They had to do a lot of research to be able to put a speech together in such a short amount of time. “Research!” I thought to myself. Kevin hates research. I have to admit; I’m not a fan of it either. During class, when I realized how much research it was going to take, I jokingly thought to myself, “Maybe we could slip out the back door unnoticed. Naught! We have to stay.” My motherly instinct told me we needed to finish what we started.
The coaches really wanted all the kids to do a limited prep speech at the tournaments, but every time the subject came up Kevin would argue, “It’s just not something I’ll ever be interested in.” Even so, a forum on limited prep was planned for this week for everyone, including the kids who weren’t going on to compete. His coach sent this list of speech topics including but not limited to:
Does the Bible contain errors, contradictions and inconsistencies?
Isn’t living a good life good enough?
Why does God allow evil?
Did the miracles in the Bible really happen?
Then a list of resources:
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t done yet. Speech veterans and their moms heavily encouraged him to come back this year for something even more challenging called a limited prep speech. Speech classes started up in November. In the upcoming weeks Kevin would learn to prepare to give a speech where you are given a topic (not revealed in advance) and three minutes to respond to the topic. I watched a young man Kevin’s age who demonstrated a speech he prepared that was so eloquent and well delivered it blew me away. Kevin absolutely refused to do this type of speech in competition, but reluctantly agreed to learn more about it. Still puzzled by the enthusiasm of the veteran students, especially the limited prep speakers, we continued with the classes.
Up to this point I kept saying to myself, “I don’t get it. Why is speech-making so important to them?” They had to do a lot of research to be able to put a speech together in such a short amount of time. “Research!” I thought to myself. Kevin hates research. I have to admit; I’m not a fan of it either. During class, when I realized how much research it was going to take, I jokingly thought to myself, “Maybe we could slip out the back door unnoticed. Naught! We have to stay.” My motherly instinct told me we needed to finish what we started.
The coaches really wanted all the kids to do a limited prep speech at the tournaments, but every time the subject came up Kevin would argue, “It’s just not something I’ll ever be interested in.” Even so, a forum on limited prep was planned for this week for everyone, including the kids who weren’t going on to compete. His coach sent this list of speech topics including but not limited to:
Does the Bible contain errors, contradictions and inconsistencies?
Isn’t living a good life good enough?
Why does God allow evil?
Did the miracles in the Bible really happen?
Then a list of resources:
The Bible
Reasonable Faith
Answers to the Spiritual Questions Teenagers Ask
If I Were God, I’d End all the Pain
When Skeptics Ask
When Critics Ask
God: The Evidence
Why I Believe
The list goes on. After reading the possible topics and resources, I finally got it (the enthusiasm that is). “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). These topics are all about defending your faith. We misread their enthusiasm for a love of research. They’re excited because they are ready to give an answer about why they believe, not because they love research! They will know how to respond to the most important questions ever, the moment they are asked.
Answers to the Spiritual Questions Teenagers Ask
If I Were God, I’d End all the Pain
When Skeptics Ask
When Critics Ask
God: The Evidence
Why I Believe
The list goes on. After reading the possible topics and resources, I finally got it (the enthusiasm that is). “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). These topics are all about defending your faith. We misread their enthusiasm for a love of research. They’re excited because they are ready to give an answer about why they believe, not because they love research! They will know how to respond to the most important questions ever, the moment they are asked.
When I explained the other’s enthusiasm to Kevin, his expression changed from skepticism to cautious optimism. He started going over the topics. He picked “Why does God allow evil” and “Is living a good life good enough.” For the first time I saw a hint of enthusiasm in him as he researched the answers.
1 comment:
God is preparing him for big things. This is cool!
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