Kyle Lake Meets the Giver of Life

The University Baptist Church in Waco will meet tomorrow morning without their Senior Pastor.

Imagine for a moment that you were one of the 800 present last Sunday. As Kyle Lake waited for the girl to enter the baptistery, he reached up to adjust the microphone…just as he had done a hundred times before. Only this time, something went wrong. A jolt of electricity went through Kyle’s body. Kyle belted out a scream, and was thrown to the rear of the baptistery. An amazing rescue effort ensued, but ultimately Kyle quietly slipped from this Earth and into the arms of his Abba.

I spent an afternoon with the staff of UBC this week. I never knew Kyle and had never set foot in the church before. But, as the stories began to unfold before me, the sadness that overwhelmed my heart was unspeakable. Listening to Ben Dudley, David Crowder and others reveal the hurts in the depths of their hearts was almost too much to bear.

Perhaps the hardest part of my conversation was when I asked about Kyle’s 5 year old daughter, Avery. After Jen, Kyle’s widow, told her innocent daughter the news of her father, Avery came out and tugged on Ben’s shirt. With tears in her eyes she said, “My dad got to go to Heaven. I won’t see him anymore, and I will miss him…but he’s in Heaven.” Any remaining strength I had left…left. I wept like a baby. I’m afraid Avery’s new found reality hit too close to home. I urge everyone to cover the Lake family in prayer…even if you don’t normally pray. Kyle leaves on this earth a beautiful 5 year old daughter, 3 year old twin boys, Sutton and Jude and a wife who adored him.

I left encouraged that this young church was allowing the Lord to gently lead them into their future…whatever that may be.

Below are Kyle’s final sermon notes exactly as he wrote them:

Live. And live well.

BREATHE. Breathe in and breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.

Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.

If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well.

Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.

If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year olds nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.

If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.

And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.

And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life.

Because it is most definitely a Gift.

Appropriate words for one who would soon meet their Giver of Life.


The following verses were read at Kyle’s funeral:

Psalm 34:17-19 "Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. Disciples so often get into trouble; still, God is there every time."

II Corinthians 4:16-18 "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever."

1 Corinthians 13:12 "We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!"

1 Peter 1:3-5 "What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven - and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all - life healed and whole."