How did you come to be involved in this project? Was there a selection process?
God just brought it to my door. As Bobby Welch was taking his bus tour across the United States, he found out about my work as a sculptor and a bivocational pastor. While in Kansas City, he visited with Evangelism Director, Bob Mills. Bob told him about me and showed him some of my work at the Cabela's store. Bobby had Jay Johnston from LifeWay call me. We met in Gillette, Wyoming for lunch and discussed the idea.
Tell us how you felt when the statue was unveiled at last year's Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville ...
It was a tremendous privilege to be involved in such important work. It was quite an event. My wife and I have been in Wyoming for almost 10 years and I have been in this profession for 22 years. I do large monumental sculptures but this is my most valued project because of what and whom it is about.
What are the steps you take in creating a work such as this?
I try to develop a concept in my mind. I didn't know where to go at first. Bobby Welch envisioned that Dr. Graham be presented in a gesture of preaching. I struggled to see it in my mind, but one evening as I was flipping through some material, I came upon a graphic of three simple crosses.
I wanted to see the cross - the most prominent visual element is the cross. That is when it was given the title "There's Room at the Cross for You." I felt it was important to go beyond presenting a man, because Billy has given his life to preach the Gospel. He is not the kind of man who would seek glory for himself, so when the cross came into view, I knew it was about the Gospel.
At the foot of the cross is a stone inscribed with John 3:16, along with three nails. It presents the Gospel. I want people to come away with one feeling - that is to be struck with the message of the cross that Dr. Graham has preached.
Based on that, could you give us an idea of where the project is at this point?
I am about halfway through the large figure. The figure of Dr. Graham will be nine feet, four inches tall and the cross will be 17 feet tall. It is an enlarging process from the model presented last June.
First we create a styrofoan form of the figure. Clay is applied to the form and modeled to finish. Upon completion of the clay model, a mold will be made. The mold will be delivered to a foundry to be cast in bronze, assembled and finished. House Bronze in Lubbock, Texas - friends of mine and fellow Christians - will be doing the casting. Our foundry date is January, 2006.
Are you taking photographs as you go along and are you keeping a journal?
Yes, I am taking photographs throughout the process. I am not keeping a written journal. After the project is completed, I will sit down to reflect and write about it.
How will it be transported from Lubbock to Greensboro and then to Nashville?
A cradle will be created for it in order for it to lie on a flatbed trailer.
Have you seen the site where it will be located in Nashville?
When I was in Nashville in June, I met with (financiers) Chris Fryer and Matt Samuelson to review the site and envision how to position it. We'll talk more in the next few weeks to determine how to best position it on the site.
I understand that you are a Tentmaker missionary with the North American Mission Board. Tell us about the work you are doing in Wyoming.
My wife, Vickie, and I have been Mission Service Corps missionaries in Wyoming for over 10 years. We're known as "Tentmakers" because we provide our own means of support.
We have worked as church strengtheners and I have held interim pastorates. For the past four years I have been pastoring a church in a small (126 people) town. It is a little log church that began in home Bible study 25 years ago.
