Kerrville – Max Greiner is an accomplished artist. “I always dreamed to be an artist, and that’s what God made me,” expressed Max. He’s also an unapologetic Baptist. “Boy, God put a passion in me after I got that and I couldn’t let go of it then,” said Max.
Since 1978, Max has been creating all sorts of art here in the Lone Star State but one piece has given him a divine purpose throughout his life. It’s also been the inspiration to complete The Coming King Sculpture Prayer Garden in Kerrville. “The Divine Servant,” sculpture is the one that, kind of, started this whole venture for Max.
Max’s story starts in the 1970’s, after marrying his wife Sherry in 1975, he started his fine art business and had major success. But when the market crashed in 1986, his world came tumbling down. “We didn’t have any money. We were losing the land, losing the mobile home, losing the business, and that’s when I cried out and said, ‘God, help. I need help, please.’ And He spoke and said, ‘I want you to do a sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet.’ and I heard it. I said, ‘Okay.’,” explained Max. “Many consider it my masterpiece, hopefully each one of them has that character to them, but that’s how it began. God was teaching me about humility. That’s what this is about. You can see Jesus washing the feet of the disciple, Peter, right before he went to the cross the next day. That’s what God wants us to do. He wants to help keep us clean and walk through this life, and if we get dirty, he’ll forgive us and wash our feet again,” explained Max. “That took off, and then God… I waited. I learned He could give me ideas, so I just waited on Him. Then He gave me other ideas. I wouldn’t just work a month like an artist or an architect and say, ‘What’ll I do today?’ I’d just say, ‘God, tell me what you want.’,” said Max.
Several religious sculptures followed and one day Max thought he had completed his divine duty. “When I finished “The Coming King” I said, ‘Well, God, I guess we’re done. That’s the end of the book, Revelation. I guess I can quit now.’ I thought I was through, but then He gave me this vision to do a sculpture prayer garden,” said Max.
That’s when get got a call he wasn’t expecting. “A stranger out of Beaumont, Texas, named Marlon Quibodeaux, called up, and he said, ‘I’m Marlon Quibodeaux. I’m a businessman and an evangelist in Beaumont. And God says you’re supposed to build a 77′ 7″ cross on Interstate 10.’ I said, “What?,” explained Max.
Max prayed about and felt called to do it. Now he just needed a place to put it. He was drawn to this hilltop in Kerrville and contacted the owner. “Hey, this is Max Greiner, in Kerrville, Texas. I’m an artist and evangelist and I believe God wants to use your property to build a sculpture garden to honor Jesus Christ. Would you give me your land? If not, what would you sell it for? He didn’t answer my… He didn’t return my call,” joked Max.
But with prayer and incredible generosity, somehow this massive project miraculously came together. “God brought in other people and contractors and lots of volunteers. It was a work of the Body of Christ. It’s not just the Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Pentecostals; it’s the Catholics, it’s the whole Body of Christ. Everybody that claimed Jesus as Lord and Savior, they wanted to do this,” expressed Max.
“For me, it was like it resembled how big God is,” said visitor Jen Case. Jen felt called to come here from Nashville. “I literally felt just peace and everything that I had been carrying just fell off me,” expressed Jen.
“See, most people don’t know, God still works miracles,” expressed Max.
“The peace and the serenity here is amazing,” stated Jen.
“If you love God, it will be one of the most amazing experiences of your life. If you don’t like God, it could be one of the most amazing experiences of your life,” said Max.
The cross and sculptures are inspiring, but even more uplifting are their prayers placed on rocks around the scripture garden, thousands of them. “It’s one of the favorite aspects of the garden for a lot of the visitors. They’re thanking God for answering their prayers and they’re also asking God to answer their prayers,” explained Max.
Prayers for the sick, for family, for service members, and for healing. Walking along this path, you can’t help but to say a prayer for those who need it most. “That’s what this kind of illustrates is the effect and power of prayers. That’s why people have canceled suicide here. They’ve been healed of drug addiction, abuse, and all kinds of stuff. Sometimes people leave their problems right here at the cross. They dump them off at the cross, let Jesus worry about them and they go away free,” expressed Max.
“I just felt super led to write my name and his name on this rock. I just put, “beautifully broken.” Then I wanted to do another rock. I thought, well, I don’t know if I was going to put my kids names, or whatever, but all of a sudden, God just put it on my heart. “All for your glory” came to my mind,” said Jen.
“God is a mystery, I don’t understand it, but we know you got to come to God and to get your prayers answered,” expressed Max.
So if experiencing a little spirituality is something that your soul seeks, a stop at The Cross in Kerrville is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List. “Bring all the people that are your friends and family to the garden, and also bring all the people you don’t like and just drop them off at the entrance and pick them up in a couple of hours and they’ll be a lot better,” said Max.
“This is so beautifully overwhelming, everybody needs to see this,” said Jen.
“This is God showing off on this mountain,” stated Max.