Jerry

On Monday of this week, one of my good friends in CA went home to be with Jesus. The following post is long, but I want to pass on what I learned from Jerry...

While we all know in the back of our minds that this life ends, it still shocks. I was astounded as I read the news of Jerry’s passing. When we hear a news story of some unknown individual dying, we may feel sympathy for the survivors. Or, we may learn of someone we actually knew, and we sense an odd feeling. And while my loss cannot compare to Jerry’s family, this one hurts and the sense of loss is real. Even my daughter Ally, who interacted with Jerry often during childcare at Celebrate Recovery, felt the loss and shed many tears. “He was just so sweet!” she recalled.

Jerry was content to be a behind the scenes guy, but this does not mean he settled for second best. I think he understood where God placed him in life. Practically, he brought tremendous stability to our computer systems and helped us become more efficient. Sometimes, a bizarre computer glitch would arise, and Jerry would be stumped. After a while, we would just learn to live with it. Then usually early in the morning, I would find the problem solved. In my doorway stood Jerry with a goofy smirk on his face. “Yes,” he said, “we figured it out.” Often he would try and explain the complexities of some network address thing that usually floated over my head. He eagerly helped us with computer and network issues.

But Jerry’s influence did not end with computer hardware. He had a burden for a certain kind of person. I don’t want to sound insulting to the people he reached, so please take this the right way. Jerry looked for those on the fringe. He would often be frustrated that so much time and energy was spent on those who appeared to have all of life figured out and were rising stars. Jerry looked for those who were not often noticed. Especially with the junior high students at Los Gatos Christian, students could be found in his office after school lending him a hand. He would train and teach them about computers. However, he also would help them with problems at home or school. These boys admired Jerry simply because Jerry considered them valuable and loved them. I always admired this quality about him and have striven to include it in my own life.

Finally, as Celebrate Recovery began to grow, I knew I had to let my own guard down and become more transparent. The thought repulsed me, but Jerry modeled transparency for me. He trusted me with secrets he would not normally advertise. We all have things we are working on, and he gave me the courage to admit my own faults and sins. This not only helped me lead at CR, but the influence continues today.

To Deb and Family and Friends of Jerry Lee, I share your grief at our loss today. And of course, I am so happy for Jerry seeing Jesus as his is. Jerry has that goofy smirk on his face now too! He has left a legacy at Venture Christian Church and Los Gatos Christian School – two previous milestone places in my life. His legacy will not only continue there, but I strive to pass what I learned from him in my latest life milestone at Zion of Petroleum Valley in Western Pennsylvania. Godspeed, Jerry.

Pastor Joe