Ken Johnson and The Ten Commandments

Ken Johnson first got national attention for simply standing for the truth. Focus on the Family Citizen Magazine wrote a great article concerning his example his legacy:

What was the Rev. Ken Johnson thinking? As leader of the Adams County, Ohio, Ministerial Association, did he really expect the great American Civil Liberties Union to allow the local school board to post the Ten Commandments at four new public schools in 1997?

"I just didn't think anybody in the county would be against them," Johnson said. "Christians, Muslims and Jews all respect the Bible Ten Commandments; I didn't think we'd have any problems." first and great commandment

Berry Baker, a 55-year-old communications equipment installer from Peebles, Ohio, saw the Ten Commandments of the Bible and complained to the school board in 1998. The ACLU filed suit in February 1999.

That was just the beginning for Johnson. The ministerial association decided to hold a public meeting to discuss the lawsuit-and 600 residents showed up.

"We saw there was a lot more support (to fight this) than just among the ministers," Johnson said. "That's the reason we formed Adams County for the Ten Commandments (ACTC)."

Johnson founded ACTC with fellow ministers Tom Claibourne, Ron Stephens and Doug Ferguson. They created a yard sign which reads "We Stand for the Ten Commandments" to raise money for the school board's legal defense. It wasn't long before the idea caught on nationwide. As of Oct. 3, 2000, ACTC had shipped 113,000 signs to 47 states and Puerto Rico.

Read the rest of the article in the citizen magazine. See picture of Ken Johnson hold the Ten Commandments yard sign for which he won national fame. Surely this will be impressive to have this on his resume on Resurrection Day: Ten Commandments Story

The below contains some history of what happened in Adams County

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This is a timeline of the events leading to the formation of Adams County for the Ten Commandments, and its ongoing work. It is story that is far from over, for it is "history in the making." Key events will be added as they occur.
 

AUGUST, 1997

Four new high school/middle school buildings are completed at Manchester, Seaman, Peebles, and West Union in Adams County, Ohio. As part of each schools' dedication, a tablet-shaped granite monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments is placed near the flagpole.

The project was facilitated by the Adams County Ministerial Association at the urging of a number of residents of Adams County who expressed concern over the lack of a firm moral foundation for  students in the county. It was entirely funded and is maintained by donations from private citizens and businesses.

The Adams County/Ohio Valley School Board permitted the monuments to be placed on school grounds. The placement of the monuments is widely reported by local and regional news media.

JANUARY - SEPTEMBER, 1998

An unmarried man from Peebles, with no children in the school system, writes several letters to the Superintendent of the district proposing the placement of monuments which he asserts represents his religious group, "The Center for Phallic Worship," of which he represents himself as the "Interim Director."

The proposed monuments were to be four 6' "anatomically correct" penises, with the words "Love One Another" inscribed on the bases.

The school board ignores these requests.

FEBRUARY 8, 1999

The ABC, CBS, & NBC affiliates in Cincinnati, Ohio report from Adams County that a lawsuit will be filed against the school district challenging the placement of the Ten Commandments monuments on the school lawns.

FEBRUARY 9, 1999

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) files suit in federal court demanding the removal of the monuments from the school lawns. The suit names the entire school board, as well as each individual board member and the Superintendent by name, as defendants in the litigation.

This is the first time individual school board members have ever been named in an ACLU lawsuit against a school board. Several lawyers regard this as a "scare tactic" designed to intimidate the board to remove the monuments.

The plaintiff is Peebles resident, Berry Baker, Interim Director for the Center of Phallic Worship. A number of community residents begin to formulate a plan to organize support for the school board in fighting the suit, and to stand for the morality espoused by the Ten Commandments.

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

A decision is made by a newly formed steering committee to hold a community-wide rally the following Sunday, February 14. Leaflets are printed and distributed at local basketball games. Peebles Church of God is chosen as the rally site because of its 300+ seating capacity.

FEBRUARY 14, 1999

Over 600 community residents attend the "standing room only" rally, offering passionate support for the placement of the monuments. The event is a picture of small-town America at its best: A grassroots movement that is part patriotic rally, part revival.

The Cincinnati ABC affiliate described the rally as "a call to action," as indeed it was. Numerous volunteers signed up to be part of a citizens committee to support the school board in the fight against the lawsuit.

Over $5,300 is collected in an offering, helping to establish a firm financial base for the committee. The community is poised to stand firm.
The Ten Commandments