Recently I asked our staff to give me 3 words to describe the last year at Elevation Church.
Hands down, the most frequently recurring word was intense.

I like that. I think ministry should be intense. Ultra intense. The death of Jesus was intense. His resurrection was intense. The reality of an eternal hell is intense. So is the possibility of an eternal heaven.

Our production meetings are intense. If a microphone snaps, crackles, and pops during the worship service, you’d better believe it won’t be tolerated. The worship of a holy God and the preaching of Bible is an intense endeavor. So the technical components that make that happen should be scrutinized. Intensely.

Our staff evaluations are intense. Being a spiritual leader of God’s church means you will stand before Jesus Christ and give an account for how you managed His people and His resources. That’s going to be an intense encounter. We may as well start practicing now… with intensity.

Don’t get me wrong. We have a lot of fun leading this church. But we also have a lot of headaches at the end of a lot of days.
I’m sure not everyone is wired for the kind of intensity that Elevation Church demands. Fair enough.
But if you want to play on a winning team, you’ve got to hit the weights hard.
And we represent the All-Powerful God who allowed His Son to be brutally murdered so that the world could escape the punishment of Hell.

Dang right it’s intense.
Any other approach would be malpractice.