Hey everyone at Uprising!,

          Well, it’s that time of year again… I’m leaving you. I just wanted to write this, as I do every summer before I leave for pest control, and just let you know a few things that have been on my heart for you.

          We have been so blessed. I believe our family is stronger than it has ever been, and thanks to the beautiful vision God has for our church, I know that when I get back we will have many more calling Uprising home! God is not idle… He moves. And He has moved quite a bit since I have been back. Our family has been broken apart and rebuilt, this time much stronger than before, and I feel for the first time that we all have a good idea what our vision and purpose should be as we stand behind Joe and the pastoral staff at UC. I only ask a few simple things from you all.

          1. Obey your pastor. When Joe says, “Go and tell” and bring people to “Come and see”, he means it. It is a Holy Spirit driven mission, and we need to follow that and give the glory to God.

          2. Serve… Serve, Serve, SERVE! So many churches have become useless because they have lost their vision for the community and for the body of Christ. Unify always, and protect each other with everything in you! It should be our honor to bless those around us and bring people into that blessing, by volunteering the resources at our disposal and giving back to God what He has so generously given to us!

          3. I just want you to all know that I love you so much. I feel like I am being ripped away from two families- my blood family, and my spiritual body. Please know that I hold the deepest affection for ALL of you and I can’t wait to see you again this fall!

          4. Please be praying for me. God has laid it on my heart to get some things straightened out in my life so I can better serve Uprising. This internship has been a monumental time in my life to see not only what God has for me, but what I lack and need to improve on so I am more effective for His kingdom. If I do well enough in Texas, I will be able to come back and tithe a year of my life to UC full time, and Lord willing God will use me to be a blessing in your lives. That fact both humbles and blesses me. Thank you for the opportunity to know you and serve you.

          5. Remember that God loves you. He desires you. He waits for you day after day, and nothing is more important than learning how to see yourself as Christ sees you. If we meditate on that love, our paths will become straight. Don’t be “holy” to be “holy”… Be “holy” because you LOVE CHRIST! He has died for you and has given you a home for eternity! What more could he have done??? I long for the day my spiritual family will all understand the beauty of Christ’s love.

          6. Take care of Joe and Pam… They have put their lives on the line for our eternities and that is not to be overlooked! Joe, Thank you so much for the opportunity to know you and Christ’s church. I would be living for myself if you hadn’t spoken to me and asked me to “Come and see”! Your unwavering friendship and devotion to someone even as young and stupid as myself has been a constant source of encouragement and I want you to know that I am praying for you daily. I can’t wait to come back and see what God has for you and I in this partnership of the gospel. Pam, you FRIKKIN ROCK! You have become my church mommy and I love it! Keep living to encourage and minister to your husband. Both of your callings are beautiful and I am blessed to see them!

         So to all I write this final note and say, once again, Thank you! Our lives are but a vapor, and I humbly ask that you decide how you will use that vapor… Will you use it for God, for your church body, or will you use it for yourself, and for vanity. Rev. 3:15… But my main question is this…

          Are you guys ready for the Uprising?

Your servant,

Timothy Kurek

http://UriahMinistries.wordpress.com

          I’ve been re-reading some of my favorites… You’ve seen them before. IF you haven’t read them, do it.

         Oh and just for fun, I love seeing this blog on my phone haha… It looks funny!

        In the 15 years I have been participating in church I have never been surprised when I walk into a church to find people hiding behind false masks of righteousness.

        I ask the question, “How are you doing brother/sister?” and always here the same answer…

        “I’m doing great! How are you?”

        For the past few months I have been writing a book, as most of you know, and have lately tried to tie this lie into a chapter I call “Jesus In Drag”… Yes the title may be offensive, but I know that anyone who reads it will be able to identify with the message and the title will be clarified. It has opened my eyes to a truth that I pray all of you will think about after reading this blog.

        Who are you at church? Are you yourself, or someone that feigns spirituality by putting on the church mask that seems standard issue amongst believers? Are you really doing “great” when people ask?

        A few months ago I was at Saturday night setup- My church meets at the YMCA and on Saturday nights we have to put down the carpet, build the stage up, and rig the lights and sound- and I asked a good friend the same question I ask everyone at church…

        “How are you doing brother?” I asked, expecting to hear a cookie cutter answer. But what he said caught me totally off guard.

        “Not great man… I have been struggling with my drug addiction this week, really badly.” He answered totally unashamed of sharing his sin with me.

        I was floored by his honesty and vulnerability, but it demonstrated a truth that I hope we will all think about this week.

        Claim your sin.

        Without claiming your sin, it’s impossible to claim the redemption Christ offers.

        So I ask all of you… How are you doing brothers and sisters? Is your walk strong, and are you submitted to God’s will? How are you really doing?

        Mine is definitely not what it should be… Please pray for me. In 9 days I leave for Texas and will be separated from my church family for over 4 months… Please pray that I will listen to the Spirit’s instruction during this time period and will be able to honor Him with my life.

        Please think about this… If you have a mask on at church, please take it off. The body of Christ is a tool God has given us, so why hide behind a false identity?

        God bless you all my friends!

          So I just completed two major chapters of the book tonight and I feel good about what God has done with them. It was almost bittersweet to save them to my first drafts folder on my desktop, knowing that the next time I really get to work on them is after a publishing house goes through and helps me edit them… That also kinda scares me haha!

          I recently created a myspace for the book, http://www.Myspace.com/thedayikilledjesus, and posted a tentative clip from chapter four on the blog there to see if anyone would check it out and comment… The blog was up for no time at all when I had a fundy acquaintanceof mine come on and criticise it and me. So I decided to post it on here… Gotta love the fundies! As I have said before, keep in mind that this is a very rough draft and will probably be revised or deleted… I just like the moment of stream-of-consciousness writing I had here. What do you guys think?

        ”I’ve always wondered what love is. I think, maybe, love is like controlled chaos because when I think of love I see perfection, and I see the God that created everything that is, and treasures everything we could be. I think love is like a breeze. It comes by and wakes you up to the scenery around you, and it doesn’t ever let you take things for granted. Everyone has always told me that God is love, but I think that, that is backwards. I think love is God. Why else is it so hard to comprehend? Love is so much bigger than us, but it’s beautiful. Just as I can’t see the breeze, I can’t see love, but I know that both exist and both make me smile no matter where I am when they find me. Is it possible that wondering what love is might just be love, that the search for the current and for the breeze is the act of submission that God is looking for in us the most? Leaving the mysteries to God, but seeking them all the same may seem contradictory, but living to grow is art. And love is art. I one day dream to walk through a gallery of people, hungry for the breeze. Then maybe I will be able to know what love really is.”

Title & Excerpt ©Timothy Kurek 2008

          So, if you haven’t already, add the new myspace profile and check it out as you get some time. Most of the people on myspace will be my test readers throughout this process, so if you are interested, add me!

Watch this video, and let me know what you think…

http://www.vimeo.com/951902/

I promise you will be blessed…

          For a while now I have known that the title of my book is going to be “The Day I Killed Jesus”… I even have the copyright on it now. But for a while I have struggled to decide what the subtitle would be… Until the other day, that is. So without further delay, here is a cheesy picture revealing it to all! And here is the revised intro hook… Let me know what you think!

Title & Excerpt ©Timothy Kurek 2008

          “I was born into fundamentalism just as babies of crack addicted mothers are born into drugs. It was unfortunate and the residual effects still haunt me. In a lot of ways I wish my mom had been addicted to drugs instead of being infected by an infinitely more toxic faith, but through it Jesus has saved me, and this is the story of how I was rehabilitated. Like so many stories it begins with me in captivity. Then I escaped, and in so doing, I ended up meeting Jesus. What He offered me was unlike anything I had heard while I had been held captive, but when He called to me, I wasn’t ready. I hated His perfection, but inside I knew it wasn’t because I hated Him, it was because I didn’t feel worthy enough to accept what He was offering me. A chance for life. A chance for freedom. A chance for peace. And before accepting those things, I knew I would have to accept something much more sobering. I was terrified of what acknowledging the truth would mean, the truth that the blood of Jesus was on my hands. This is the story of how I got to that day. The day I pleaded guilty… The Day I Killed Jesus. And these are my confessions.”

                Any thoughts??? Let me know! It is an exciting thing to have the title of one’s first major book decided upon… And I can’t wait to post some preview paragraphs. If anyone has any questions, let me know!

 Title & Excerpt ©Timothy Kurek 2008

To Add Me On Myspace, Click the Link: http://www.Myspace.com/thedayikilledjesus

          Right now in my life I have been so powerfully reminded that everything happens for a reason. The good, the bad, and the ugly, that we must endure while alive for this vapor of an instant has absolutely nothing to do with us… It has everything to do with God though. People have been introduced to me in my life lately, and re-introduced after many years, and all of them have blown me away. But all of it has happened in such a way that I am only able to stand back and bow in awe of how beautifully it has all transpired to make my vapor a pleasing flash in the eyes of my perfect Father, God. Most of it has happened in spite of me, but I pray when I get to Heaven, God will be able to look me in the eyes, put His hand on my shoulder and say, “Tim, you pleased me…”

          Right now, I just want to encourage anyone that reads this to take a moment to step back from your life… Look at it as if it was happening to another and before you think anything or make any judgments, look up. If you do so I have no doubt that you will see the Lord smiling down, knowing that all of this is meant to be, for better or for worse. Then you will glimpse the big picture and it may just help you find the peace you have been searching for.

          May God be blessed by our vapors.

          Today I had the honor of getting to hang out with an author that has quickly become one of my favorites! As you guys know, I like to read, but for some reason I have gotten stuck on two powerful books… I have read his first book multiple times now and have read and re-read the first half of his second book, unable to venture further in fear that I might forget everything I have learned from the first several chapters! I’ve even taken notes on both, so needless to say it was AWESOME to meet him.

          His name is Jim Palmer and I have mentioned him several times on this blog before now… He is responsible for the books “Divine Nobodies” and “Wide Open Spaces”, and if you haven’t read them, READ THEM!!!

          This morning we met at Panera Bread and got to know each other, and he is even going to help me with “The Day I Killed Jesus”! People as personable do not come around regularly, so do yourselves a favor and pick up both of his books!

For more information check out Jim’s blog: www.DivineNobodies.com/blog

          Today I had the awesome opportunity to meet with Pete Wilson, the pastor of Crosspoint Community Church in Nashville, TN.

         I have been fascinated by his church since I saw its office in Bellevue Mall several years ago, and to finally be able to sit down with a fellow brother in the fight, was awesome.

          Right now his church is in a series called “Plan B” (I posted a video trailer a while back), and I am stoked to show you the full length intro video!

          Pete, if you read this, it was awesome to finally meet you. I can’t wait to see what Uprising and Crosspoint can do for the Kingdom! I’m praying for you and am excited to have met a kindred spirit covered by the blood!

          And for everyone else, I encourage you to come check out Uprising Church, and worship with us as we reach our community for Christ!

Love Sonnet XLV
by Pablo Neruda

Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because–
because–I don’t know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Don’t leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run
together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.

Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty
distance.
Don’t leave me for a second, my dearest,

because in that moment you’ll have gone so far
I’ll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?