Free Republic

A book that urges people to pray to God for a daily surprise gets a most unusual reputation after a pastor's accidental death. It was an epiphany, said Terry Esau: ask God for a daily surprise for one month and write down what happens. The result, he thought, would make people aware of the sacred things present in even the small maneuvers of each day. Then Esau went to Waco, Texas, and everything changed. A pastor there had heard about the book Esau wrote about his epiphany and wanted his congregation to partake in the 30-day faith experiment. Esau, in...

A US pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his Texas church when he grabbed a microphone while partially submerged, a church employee said. The Reverend Kyle Lake, 33, was standing in water up to his shoulder in a baptismal in front of 800 people at University Baptist Church when he was electrocuted yesterday, said Jamie Dudley, a church business administrator. Doctors in the congregation unsuccessfully performed chest compressions for 40 minutes, Dudley said. The woman Lake was baptising was not injured, Dudley said. Pastors at University Baptist Church routinely use a microphone during baptisms, Dudley said. "He was grabbing...

WACO, Texas (AP) -- A pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his church Sunday morning when he adjusted a nearby microphone while standing in water, a church employee said. The Rev. Kyle Lake, 33, was stepping into the baptistery as he reached out for the microphone, which produced an electric shock, said University Baptist Church community pastor Ben Dudley. Water in a baptistery usually reaches above the waist, said Byron Weathersbee, interim university chaplain at Baylor University.