By Allie Martin and Jody Brown
February 26, 2002
(AgapePress) - Residents of a small Louisiana town are banding together in the wake of a threatened lawsuit by the ACLU over signs which proclaimed that Jesus was Lord over the area.
A threatened lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union meant the removal of signs at the entrances to Franklinton, Louisiana, which read "Jesus is Lord Over Franklinton." A local official says churches in the area paid for the signs, and that he had public road crews erect them as a matter of safety. But the ACLU says public money was used to put up the signs on state roads, violating the separation of church and state. So the signs were taken down.
Now, thousands of blue yard signs reading "Jesus is Lord of All" are appearing in yards and in front of businesses and churches throughout the town. Franklinton resident Rick Cook says it is a wonderful sight to drive through the town.
"You pull into the Sonic, there's 'Jesus is Lord of All.' You go to the barber shop, there's 'Jesus is Lord of All.' Ace Hardware, 'Jesus is Lord of All,' " Cook says. "And you drive through the neighborhoods ... and down the highway and out into the county, and every corner you turn, there's a blue sign now."
Cook says the incident brought area churches together. "We bound our hearts together and we purchased quite a few signs [that] look just like the 'Jesus is Lord Over Franklinton' signs, but they say 'Jesus is Lord of All' because He is Lord of all," he says. "We've placed them in every Christian business that would take a sign."
Cook points out that the yard signs are all on private property and funded by private individuals. "The individual had the choice -- they could come pick the sign up from the church," he says. "But there are blue signs all over the town now."
Franklinton, with a population of about 4,000, is the governmental seat of Washington Parish. The town is located about 50 miles north of New Orleans.
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