STANLEY B. THOMPSON

1. What years did you quiz?
   I quizzed in 1957, 1958, and 1959.
2. Where and for what church did you quiz?
   My team was from Harvey, Illinois, in the then Illinois Conference. My father, W. Ralph Thompson, was the pastor and also our team's coach. My brother, Carl, and I were both on the championship team in 1958, along with James Setty and Sharon Krantz. The Harvey Free Methodist Church has since relocated to Monee, Illinois.
3. Did you or your team win any championships? If so, what and when?
   Our team won the championship in 1958 over the 50 chapters of the book of Genesis.
4. What was your favorite scripture? Why?
   A crucial verse in Genesis is Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis, for me, is one of the most interesting and readable books in the Bible. The stories themselves are fascinating--e.g. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. These are stories about real people, real situations. It is easy to relate to their emotions and experiences. It gives a background for some of what is happening in the Middle East today. Beyond that, Genesis tells the story of creation. This responds to one of man's most basic questions: where did I come from?
   
5. How did Quizzing affect you as a teen?
   Besides being active in quizzing, and about that same time, I was also a member of an Illinois sweet sixteen basketball team from Thornton Township High school. The Free Methodist Church, through quizzing, gave me (and many others) the opportunity to improve myself and excel in a challenging arena equally as absorbing and exciting as any sports or academic competition. In addition, due to the many hours of disciplined study that is required for tournament success, quizzing taught me some valuable study habits and life lessons and reinforced my appreciation for learning. My brother and I both went on to achieve earned doctorates, for example, and I am aware that several quizzers from my era did similarly. Our competition in the finals in 1958 was a very good team from Winona Lake, Indiana--a team which had won the championship the previous year. The three young men who anchored that team, Edward Knox, Dale Martin, and Dale Benson, all went on to achieve doctorates.
6. Are you presently involved in Bible Quizzing in any way or have you been since you were a quizzer? If so, how?
   I am not presently involved in quizzing in any way. However, I did write the questions one year in the early 70's for the quizzing regionals, semi-finals and finals, and in the 70's I occasionally served as quizmaster for various quizzes.
7. What ministries are you currently doing? How are you presently active in serving the LORD?
   I retired at the end of 2003 from active service in the Free Methodist Church. Along the way, I was privileged to hold such positions as Assistant Publisher of Light and Light Press, Director of the Division of Planned Giving, President of The Free Methodist Foundation, and Chairman of King Trust Company, NA. I was the founding CEO of the latter three Free Methodist organizations and also was founding Chairman/CEO of King Trust Charitable Gift Fund, the donor advised fund of the Free Methodist Church.