In college, Johnson was the activity director at Emmanuel Baptist Church in downtown [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. He became partner in the Alexandria law firm of Bolen, Erwin & Johnson. James A. "Jay" Bolen, the lead attorney in the firm, served two terms on the Alexandria City Council from 1977 to 1984 and had been Johnson's [[Sunday school]] teacher at Emmanuel church.<ref name=cenlafocus>{{cite web|url=https://www.cenlafocus.com/2015/09/michael-mike-and-sheila-johnson/|title=Michael "Mike" and Sheila Johnson|publisher=cenalfocus.org|date=September 12, 2015|author=Holly Jo Linzat|accessdate=December 30, 2019}}</ref> | In college, Johnson was the activity director at Emmanuel Baptist Church in downtown [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]]. He became partner in the Alexandria law firm of Bolen, Erwin & Johnson. James A. "Jay" Bolen, the lead attorney in the firm, served two terms on the Alexandria City Council from 1977 to 1984 and had been Johnson's [[Sunday school]] teacher at Emmanuel church.<ref name=cenlafocus>{{cite web|url=https://www.cenlafocus.com/2015/09/michael-mike-and-sheila-johnson/|title=Michael "Mike" and Sheila Johnson|publisher=cenalfocus.org|date=September 12, 2015|author=Holly Jo Linzat|accessdate=December 30, 2019}}</ref> |