WACO, Texas - The University Baptist Church band had just led the
congregation in praise songs when the Rev. Kyle Lake stepped into a tank on the
stage to baptize a new member, something he did several times a year.
As a packed room of more than 800 people watched, Lake cried out and then
fell backward.
Several doctors in the Sunday morning crowd rushed up and pulled the
33-year-old pastor from the water, but Lake had been electrocuted. He was
pronounced dead shortly afterward at a hospital.
Some at the service, which was packed for Baylor University homecoming
weekend, said Lake had adjusted a microphone outside the tank. Others said it
appeared a piece of equipment fell into the water.
"It happened so fast; no one knew what was going on," said Sam Larson, a
Minneapolis seminary student who was in Waco visiting fellow Baylor graduates.
"It was horrible. Kyle was a guy who loved everybody; he didn't care who you
were. And everybody who met him loved him."
Waco police believe it was an accident, said police spokesman Steve
Anderson.
Detectives and the city's inspection department on Monday examined the
church's electrical system, microphones and band equipment to try to determine
exactly what happened, he said.
Randy Childers, who oversees code enforcement for the city, said officials
also were reviewing previous inspection reports and permits for the building,
which housed a supermarket before the church moved in about 10 years ago.
The funeral service for Lake, who was married and had a 5-year-old daughter
and 3-year-old twin sons, was planned for Tuesday at Waco's First Baptist
Church.
Lake, a Tyler native, graduated from Baylor in 1994 and the school's Truett
Seminary in 1997.
He had been a pastor at University Baptist Church for seven year. The church
had grown to about 600 members since it was founded in 1995 as a contemporary
church for students at nearby Baylor, the world's largest Baptist
university.
"He could speak students' language, and he could capture their attention and
hold it," said Jeter Basden, Baylor's director of ministry guidance and one of
Lake's professors. "He was funny and deep, and he could communicate with someone
who didn't have a church background."
Since news of Lake's death began spreading, several Baptist pastors have
talked about making sure their baptism practices are safe, said David Hardage,
executive director of the Waco Baptist Association.
But he said the tragedy won't end the tradition of completely submersing
someone during a baptism, which symbolizes a Christian's belief that Jesus
Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead. The woman who was to be
baptized Sunday wasn't injured, church officials said.
"It's an integral part of the Baptist faith," Hardage said. "For Baptists, we
don't believe that baptism is an act of salvation. We believe baptism is an act
of obedience and a testimony for what you believe."
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AP staff writer Anabelle Garay in Dallas contributed to this
report.
