A Life worth a life...
I know it's been a while, and I have a lot to say, but I'm going to hold off on anything about me for the sake of someone else's memory. As most anyone that would be reading this knows, my friend, pastor, and mentor Kyle Lake died in an accident last Sunday. I did not find this out until Tuesday. So very very strange. Thirty three, a wife and three young children. It wasn't that long ago that I was sitting at Starbucks with Kyle talking about the transcendence of God versus his immanence. It was a guess about five weeks ago that I last saw Kyle - we were sitting next to each other at Common Grounds writing, and we talked a bit about me coming over here to Bangkok. I heard he had just finished his second book.
It has taken a few days for news to distill down to irreversible and indisputable fact.
"Why?" is the easiest question in the world to ask, and often the hardest to answer. We weren't that close or anything, we just met every now and again and talked about stuff. When I first heard the news, that's kind of all I could do was think about why, which is kind of my general process due to my quasi or perhaps pseudo philosophical tendencies. But it is all to easy for me to sit around and question Kyle's death when his family is now without a husband and father and they witnessed his death, as did many of my friends.
But my intent from the start was simply to say what a great man Kyle Lake was. I attended UBC in Waco, Texas for all four years of college, where Kyle pastored for the past 9 years I believe and David Crowder and his fabulous band lead worship. In my own humble estimation, a man (or woman) is only really a man if every night he can look in the mirror and know that between himself and God things are right and looking in his own face in the mirror he is not ashamed to look in his own eyes. A pastor is a very public position. But I don't think that Kyle was concerned whether his words or books or sermons reached one person or one hundred thousand people. The thing I loved about Kyle, which you know if you've ever had a mano a mano with him, is that he was completely sincere and genuine all of the time. There was never any pretense or pedantry. Kyle was unconcerned with being heterodox, which I always appreciated. This is one of those times when the words I need I can't find and if I could find them they would be too big to escape the pitifully small aperture in my face. So I'm going to quit and leave it at this: Kyle Lake was an example (one of few I think) of someone who worked tirelessly for what he believed in and did not leave things undone. Everytime I saw Kyle he was reading, writing, meeting with students, preaching, or with his family. He probably has no idea of the amount of people, that almost a week after his passing, are still mourning him and thinking about his life. There are people all over the country whose lives have been touched by Kyle Lake. And I don't think Kyle would done a single thing differently if he had never reached a one of them. He believed in his work, and that is the only way to get through this crazy thing we call life. Sorry if I rambled or repeated myself, it's not easy to try and commemorate someone who meant very much to me in a couple of paragraphs.
If anyone wants to send his family anything telling them how much Kyle meant to you, visit UBC's website and check out a program called footprints.
It has taken a few days for news to distill down to irreversible and indisputable fact.
"Why?" is the easiest question in the world to ask, and often the hardest to answer. We weren't that close or anything, we just met every now and again and talked about stuff. When I first heard the news, that's kind of all I could do was think about why, which is kind of my general process due to my quasi or perhaps pseudo philosophical tendencies. But it is all to easy for me to sit around and question Kyle's death when his family is now without a husband and father and they witnessed his death, as did many of my friends.
But my intent from the start was simply to say what a great man Kyle Lake was. I attended UBC in Waco, Texas for all four years of college, where Kyle pastored for the past 9 years I believe and David Crowder and his fabulous band lead worship. In my own humble estimation, a man (or woman) is only really a man if every night he can look in the mirror and know that between himself and God things are right and looking in his own face in the mirror he is not ashamed to look in his own eyes. A pastor is a very public position. But I don't think that Kyle was concerned whether his words or books or sermons reached one person or one hundred thousand people. The thing I loved about Kyle, which you know if you've ever had a mano a mano with him, is that he was completely sincere and genuine all of the time. There was never any pretense or pedantry. Kyle was unconcerned with being heterodox, which I always appreciated. This is one of those times when the words I need I can't find and if I could find them they would be too big to escape the pitifully small aperture in my face. So I'm going to quit and leave it at this: Kyle Lake was an example (one of few I think) of someone who worked tirelessly for what he believed in and did not leave things undone. Everytime I saw Kyle he was reading, writing, meeting with students, preaching, or with his family. He probably has no idea of the amount of people, that almost a week after his passing, are still mourning him and thinking about his life. There are people all over the country whose lives have been touched by Kyle Lake. And I don't think Kyle would done a single thing differently if he had never reached a one of them. He believed in his work, and that is the only way to get through this crazy thing we call life. Sorry if I rambled or repeated myself, it's not easy to try and commemorate someone who meant very much to me in a couple of paragraphs.
If anyone wants to send his family anything telling them how much Kyle meant to you, visit UBC's website and check out a program called footprints.
posted by nordy | 10:34 PM
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