Thompson casts hopeful vision for children
By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer
September 28, 2004
JEFFERSON CITY – Greg Thompson has an extravagant vision for Asleep kNOw More, the ministry he founded to care for the souls of children, in that he wants the entire educational system of America, the one he used to be a part of as a school superintendent, reformed.
“We’re going to take that battle to the point of changing textbooks and curriculum and educating children, parents and teachers on what they can do now within the game that’s allowed,” said Thompson, whose job with the Humansville School District was officially terminated Sept. 8. Thompson visited the Baptist Building Sept. 13 to meet with Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders for the first time and expound on issues of religious freedom. Thompson was fired because he acknowledged God by hanging a Ten Commandments plaque in the school.
“The control from the legislature and the judiciary is a game. We’re listening to the rhetoric, like ‘separation of church and state,’ as if that’s a fact when it’s a lie. We have to change the rhetoric.”
Thompson is discovering that he has plenty of allies. His speaking schedule is booked until the middle of October, and his visit to Jefferson City, where he shook hands with MBC Executive Director David Clippard and MBC Controller Jay Hughes in The Pathway home office, was important in that he communicated to the largest Protestant body in Missouri that he is sober-minded and serious about contending for what matters most.
“Because it is children’s souls, there is a battle that’s going to be fought, and there are some actions that will be taken,” Thompson said. “The battle’s got to be taken all the way to the nation, and I’m just one person, but I’m going to be that one person. There are so many people that are hungry for something to be done.
“The Good Lord’s molding things, and he’s bringing minds to the table as He sees fit. I look at what you (the MBC) have done as being an action. You all are not just sitting back, you all are trying to get people out there on the line. You’re trying to say to people, ‘Here’s a way to put your breastplate on. Stand up there and let’s go to work.’”
Thompson said he continues to both love and forgive the woman who is working to oppose putting the Ten Commandments before the eyes of Humansville’s children. Carrie Roat earned $45,000 when the school district settled a federal lawsuit out of court. Her attorney, Richard Crites of Springfield, has since married her, and Carrie Crites is continuing to act like a self-appointed religious watchdog, Thompson said. Because she has registered the name “Asleep kNOw More” with the State of Missouri, Thompson said he began the process Sept. 14 of registering with the Secretary of State’s Office the Fictitious Name, or official organizational name, “America Asleep kNOw More,” which accurately describes how he and his board members are seeking to put God and America’s Christian heritage back into all levels of government and schools.
“We’re just going to keep on going forward, not miss a step for the Good Lord,” Thompson said. “It’s important to make sure that we put ourselves in a position that they can’t be ornery, her and her husband, God love them. We’re going to go forward. It will just be a hassle if they try to do anything against something that’s trying to protect the souls of children.”
The 13 board members of America Asleep kNOw More have met to finalize the paperwork on the name change, Thompson said. The general feeling is that the new name may actually be an improvement.
“We need to help wake up the whole country,” Thompson said. “It’s the Christians that are going to make the difference. It’s the Christians who are going to have to be the catalyst that helps turn things around.”
On Sept. 16, Thompson met with Tim LaHaye, co-author of the award-winning Left Behind series, in Washington D.C. for about 90 minutes.
“That was an absolutely wonderful blessing of a meeting,” Thompson said. “He was very interested in seeing if there was anything he could think of to help us. He and his wife (Beverly) are going to pray about being on our Advisory Committee.”
Thompson flew back on Sept. 19 in time to see the Ten Commandments monument from Alabama that has been on display in Humansville during the fall festival as a sign of support from Roy Moore, the former Alabama Chief Justice who lost his job last year under similar circumstances. Thompson said he is very grateful for the work of the American Veterans in Domestic Defense in bringing the monument to Humansville—so much so that he gave them a Ten Commandments plaque that had been hanging in the school so that they could take it around the country and explain its significance in the context of religious liberty.
“They definitely have the Good Lord with them and no fear,” Thompson said. “My first reaction was that I was so appreciative that Judge Roy Moore had honored us through the veterans to have them bring it up to our community, basically saying that we’re in this battle together.
“The main thing that’s energized me is how faithful the Good Lord is to bring good out of evil. Just to be able to watch His Presence and His Hand move across things, I think He’s ready for the remnant in this country to stand up, and that’s starting to happen. There is a passion that’s building up. It’s beyond just saying, ‘Yeah, we need to do something.’ People are saying, ‘Yes, I’m ready to stand up. How can I do it?’”
Thompson said the ministry is operating with four staffers out of a small office in Humansville.
“I think our staff’s going to need to grow,” he said. “There needs to be a hundred people setting up these councils (in every city) and going to speak to different groups. I personally would go seven days a week until I die. That’s my prayer that the Good Lord would use me up.”
His experience has left him a bit philosophical on the topic of attorneys. He is encouraged that at least one, Dee Wampler, member, Second Baptist Church, Springfield, has become his friend. Wampler recently dropped him a line expressing his ongoing support.
“They (attorneys) have a hard profession,” Thompson said. “I’ve found in my research, as I’ve been working with attorneys, there’s so many of them who are ignorant of different aspects of the law and of the founding of this country. I’m trying to give them some insights where I can and give them some resources. It’s just something that they haven’t been exposed to.”