King of Kings (statue)

King of Kings before it was destroyed by a fire caused by a lightning strike in June 2010.

King of Kings was a 62-foot (19 m)-tall statue of Jesus on the east side of Interstate 75 at the Solid Rock Church, a 4000+ member Christian megachurch near Monroe, Ohio, in the United States. It was destroyed by a lightning strike and subsequent fire on June 15, 2010.

Located on the Interstate-facing side of the church's outdoor amphitheater, the statue was set on an island at the head of the church's baptismal pool, flanked by fountains and lit by colored spotlights.^[1] It depicted Jesus from the chest up, with his arms and head raised to the sky. The statue had a 42-foot (13 m) span between its upraised hands and a 40-foot (12 m) Christian cross at its base.^[2] The completed statue weighed 16,000 pounds (7,000 kg).^[1]

Construction

It was designed by Brad Coriell,^[3] sculpted by James Lynch, and assembled by Mark Mitten.

Constructed on a metal frame or armature manufactured in nearby Lebanon, Ohio, the sculpted figure itself was created in Jacksonville, Florida, then trucked north.^[1] The main body of the statue was made from a core of Styrofoam covered by a thin skin of fiberglass.^[1][2]

The sculpted statue was completed in September 2004 at a cost of approximately $250,000.^[1] Coriell donated some of his time to the project.^[3]

Popularity and nicknames

The statue was given many nicknames, both affectionate and derisive, by local residents and I-75 travelers. Among them were:

• Big J^[1]
• Big Butter Jesus^[4]
• Touchdown Jesus (The statue's most popular nickname, American football referees signal a touchdown with a similar gesture)^[1]
• Super Jesus^[1]
• MC 62-Foot Jesus (like musician MC 900 Ft. Jesus)^[1]

The statue was also credited with inspiring two musical works:

• Comedian Heywood Banks wrote and performed his novelty song "Big Butter Jesus" about the statue.^[1]
• Singer-songwriter Robbie Schaefer of the band Eddie from Ohio wrote the song "Monroe, OH" after driving past the statue.^[5]

Destruction

On June 15, 2010, the statue was struck by lightning and consumed in the resulting blaze.^[6] The statue had been sculpted using a thin skin of fiberglass over a flammable styrofoam interior stabilized by a metal frame,^[2] and the fire consumed all but the internal metal structure. Following the fire, the pastor of the church stated that the church planned to rebuild the statue with fireproof material.^[7][8] In the days after the destruction, the church's digital sign displayed the message "He'll be back".^[9]

Although the statue cost about $250,000 to construct, it was insured for $500,000 because the artist, Brad Coriell, had donated his time to the creation.^[3] Damage to the statue and amphitheater was estimated at $700,000 - $300,000 for the statue and $400,000 for the amphitheater.^[9][10] PETA offered funding through an "anonymous Christian donor" to help rebuild the statue if allowed to promote veganism at the church.^[11]

Replacement statue

Construction of a 52-foot replacement statue with a substantially different design began in June 2012. The new statue, called Lux Mundi, was assembled on the site on September 19, 2012 and dedicated on September 30, 2012.^[12][13]

See also

• List of statues by height
• List of the tallest statues in the United States

References

External links

• "Solid Rock Church website". 
• "Pictures of the statue". 
• "Video of Heywood Banks performing "Big Butter Jesus"". 

Coordinates: 39°27′14″N 84°19′35″W / 39.453857°N 84.32642°W / 39.453857; -84.32642