Craig Scott may be the first person elected to the Hall of Fame, whom most people that quiz today would say they feel they know at least a little bit. This is because his generous personality and infectious enthusiasm have rarely been equaled in our world of Bible Quiz. A wise man once said, “The key to a good Bible Quiz team is a good coach. Students will come as time goes by if the correct coach is there. A few excited students who start a quiz team will fade quickly, but a coach can carry on a program for years.”
To me, Craig Scott exemplifies this theory. He has had a few years where the quality of his team was a little less than at other times, but he has kept the enthusiasm, and when the talent is there, he assured that they will have a chance to win it all. He is the second Hall of Fame inductee whom I see as the patriarch of coaches from his state. He is intimately associated with Colorado, though rumor has it that his first association with Bible Quizzing might have come in California. At any rate, he came over to be the new youth pastor at South Sheridan when a dynasty in Colorado already existed.
A team led by Mike DeVries had just won back to back quizzing titles in 1983-84. It was commonly said at that time, and to some degree even is said today, that a team cannot win AACS in their first year of coming. However, in South Sheridan’s first year at AACS in 1986, they won. And to further solidify the matter, they won again in 1987. Now, what does that mean? This means that in the five years from 1983-1987, Colorado won four times. But the state of Colorado had been represented by two different ministries. Let’s continue by saying that it meant that the competition in Colorado was so fierce that a team who had never before seen AACS could win in their first year. Finally, it dictates that some dap must be given to the Bible Quizzing pedigree in that state.
Craig Scott began what was to become the third mini-dynasty (hey, when students only had three years of eligibility, any ministry that wins two years in a row has established itself as a dynasty) ever. It was the second different ministry to fill that bill from Colorado. It was said that Colorado had monthly competitions at that time and Craig Scott’s South Sheridan team won all twelve months against the recent national champions. This was the clearest example of a phenomenon we see in Sports all the time. One team is on top for a few years and as they begin to fade, another soon-to-be dynasty takes over in a “passing of the torch” year. While this happens in some states, like my home state of Florida, this is the only time it happened where the championship torch being passed was a national championship.
Since Craig Scott’s South Sheridan team took over, he has maintained something close to a championship level for the last twenty years. This includes his starting a new ministry across town–Woodside. But Craig Scott has never been just about competing, though his competitive nature is clearly visible. He is about empowering others in Christ. His main thrust always seems to be to consider the personalization of Scripture. As a quizmaster, people now see him as strict on the titles of Christ. This is because to him it so important that the student understand and personalize the Scripture. His philosophy of coaching was to create a team that was “coachless.” He wanted students to understand what they could do and needed to do, so that they could do well whether or not he happened to be sitting behind them.
In addition to the empowering of students, he has empowered other leaders. Since he began Woodside, he has had a few other people coach the Bible Quiz teams there. He has shown it can work with a protégé and has seen the blessing that many hope for, as his son now succeeds him. He has created a ministry that will live beyond him. As a leader, I believe this is what God plans. In Christ’s earthly ministry, he created a system that was able to live beyond his life here. Pastor Scott has done this better than anyone. In all my experience with Bible Quiz, few have impacted me more than Pastor Craig Scott, and he is one whom I can say my life is truly better for just having met him. He has truly left a legacy.
Use God’s light, Craig, you’re on the list!!