Pastors bring Blackwell to Hartville

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Pastors bring Blackwell to Hartville

10-city Ohio tour stops in Stark to spread faith message with help from GOP gubernatorial hopeful

By Doug Oplinger and Dennis J. Willard, Akron Beacon Journal, January 18, 2006

HARTVILLE - About 330 Christian faithful rallied at the Hartville Kitchen to sing praises of America, to remind themselves of the dangers of complacency, and to hear gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell preach on God's call to action.

Against a large U.S.-flag backdrop and flanked by large projection screens, Ohio Restoration Project founder Russell Johnson brought his 10-city Patriot Pastors tour to the Akron-Canton area Tuesday.

A choir and a gospel quartet brought the audience to its feet with praise songs as images of American landmarks, heroes and troops moved across the screens.

Johnson warned that Christians have allowed a ``secular jihad'' to remove prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Bible from public places.

He likened it to Nazi Germany, where church congregations would sing so that they could not hear the passing of trainloads of crying Jews headed for a nearby concentration camp.

Too many Christians lead ``Neville Chamberlain lives,'' Johnson said, referring to the British prime minister who signed a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.

A picture of Hitler and Chamberlain flashed on the screens.

``We're calling God's people to pray, to serve, to shine and to be salt and light,'' he said.

Johnson criticized the ``handful of our religious friends on the left who have formed an unholy alliance with the secular left'' to challenge the religious exemption of his organization.

The Restoration Project and a separate organization -- Reformation Ohio, headed by the Rev. Rod Parsley of Canal Winchester -- are strong supporters of Blackwell, who often is the keynote speaker at their events.

On Sunday, a coalition of 31 pastors representing a variety of religious denominations signed a letter asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate Johnson and Parsley to determine whether their groups have gone beyond their religious designation and have become political organizations.

Johnson repeatedly praised Blackwell's leadership skills, his support of Issue 1 in 2004 that banned same-sex marriage, and his positions on other issues important to the Ohio Restoration Project such as opposition to abortion and support of free enterprise and school choice.

In attendance were: Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell of Cleveland; Medina Republican William Batchelder, who last fall resigned as a 9th District Court of Appeals judge to attempt a return to the state legislature; former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, a lobbyist who is planning another run for Congress this year; state Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, a candidate for attorney general; and Sandra O'Brien, a candidate for state treasurer.

O'Brien, of Ashtabula County, gave the opening prayer; Grendell delivered the closing prayer.

Blackwell spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s call to be more than observers. He said Christians must ``define, fortify, help shape, influence the mores'' of the culture.

He said Christians must be on the front line, causing change. They must bring behavior in line with what they say they believe.

Blackwell also criticized the ecumenical group that has challenged the tax status of the Ohio Restoration Project. ``There are political and social forces trying to run God and faith and religion out of the public square,'' he said.

He recalled his father leaving inspirational quotes for him to find. One was from abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who said, ``Those who are whupped easiest are whupped most often.''

Christians should show that they are not going to be whupped, Blackwell said.

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