Welding may seem like a great hobby during retirement, but for Tellico Village resident Ken Kinzler the art form assists his mission to spread the word and love of God.
Kinzler crafts metal crosses and sells his wares to neighbors and area churches. He has tinkered with metalwork most of his life — making home decor for his wife, such as lamps and sunflower-shaped yard art — but his metal cross ministry has especially picked up steam during retirement. If he was to count, he said he has probably made more than 1,000 crosses, which have made their way into homes, in area churches, such as The Community Church at Tellico Village and First Baptist Concord Church in Farragut, and even into a church in Costa Rica and parts of Guatemala.
The cross-making ministry began after Kinzler noticed a high retail price for crosses from typical religious sources. Kinzler said many times those prices often prevent churches from buying crosses in addition to furthering their mission work. His prices are reasonable, and he vows to sell the crosses for material cost only.
“It does take quite a bit of labor to do it, but a much simpler cross, the same size I’ve been making for churches I can find from $300-600 a piece on the Internet, and I charge $25 because that’s my cost,” Kinzler said. “One of the reasons churches have bare walls is because if they want to purchase these types of religious art and crosses it would take a lot of money that may better be used for mission purposes and so forth. I know at First Baptist Concord I think what we figured out that what they had would have been the equivalent of $10,000-$15,000 worth of material had they bought it from the Internet on religious sites and then instead of doing that they probably spent $500 on mine.
“If you’re talking about $12,000 or $15,000 it doesn’t matter how large your church is that’s a significant amount of money that then can be diverted to missionary work or other needy causes, so rather than spend that on decorating your church, which probably isn’t as high a priority as serving the needy, it seems to be a good combination of what I like to do and what they need. So since I’m retired I really get a bang out of this because I feel like I’m doing work for God. In fact one of my Internet purchasing names is God’s welder,” he said with a chuckle. “I feel good about this and the church gets the benefit of product for a price that they can afford without sacrificing missionary work or the needy causes, so it’s a win-win situation, and I’m happy it came out this way.”
But while he enjoys his hobby of welding, at the end of the day he hopes his crafts glorify God’s name.
“If just one person is inspired and moved to seek Christ’s power of salvation by viewing these crosses, my efforts will not have been in vain,” Kinzler said in a booklet to help sell his wares.
“It disturbs me greatly to see that we seem to be on a track that we are taking God out of things as quickly as we can,” he added. “They are taking prayer out of schools, taking God out of events and trying to discuss taking God off coins and currency. I guess it’s my way of fighting back against that a little bit.”
While the cross is a symbol of Christianity, Kinzler continues that symbolism in his artwork. He uses nails, which were used in Jesus’ crucifixion, and some of his designs resemble thorns, as was worn in a crown fashion by Jesus during his crucifixion in the New Testament.
“The Bible discusses once in a while ... a purifying effect of fire, for instance when gold is refined it has to be heated and melted and the impurities rise to the top and are taken off,” Kinzler said. “And in the Bible it’s a purifying system, so I also use fire in this process of welding.”
Each small cross and another design called the “large spiral nail cross” contains 12 nails in the main segment to represent Jesus’ 12 disciplines and is supported by three nails to represent the Trinity.
“I get a nice, warm fuzzy feeling when I’m doing this,” he said. Kinzler’s life changed dramatically in 2004, he said, when he found Christ.
“I had been going to church all my life, but I think there is a big difference in being an observer and being a participant. After my mother passed away in 2004 I had promised her earlier that I would see her in heaven,” he said. “I knew she was a born again Christian, and I always knew that’s what I should have done. When she passed away in 2004 I just decided to intensify my relationship with God, and it really changed my life.
“I feel warm and fuzzy. I feel at peace. Nothing bothers me much anymore about the worldly things that I used to get all uptight about like getting a letter from the IRS,” he added with a chuckle. “Or hitting a golf ball in the water. And I feel I can glorify his name and spread the crosses around and hopefully do my little part and preventing us from taking God out of everything.”
His hobby has received rave reviews from across the community. Neighbors purchase smaller crosses to give encouragement to their grandchildren, and his church, The Community Church at Tellico Village, distributes Kinzler’s wares for special recognitions, such as baptisms, retirements or other milestones.
It’s a love and a ministry he thoroughly enjoys, and when he crafts a new metal cross, he turns classical music on his boom box in his shop.
“It’s just such a peaceful and great environment. I love doing it,” Kinzler said. “... I hope they (recipients) get a warm feeling, and I hope that this is connecting them to a greater spiritual power in a sense and gives them a little bit of comfort ad keeps their mind where it really ought to be.”
To purchase one of Kinzler’s work of art, call him at 865-657-9186 or email kenkinzler@charter.net.
