why the name 'escalate?'

Escalate? Most of you are probably thinking that's an unusual name for a blog and wondering what the significance is behind the name. If you take a moment and read the welcome message to the right that will help lay the foundation. In much the same way that I believe it is the church's responsibility to be lifting up, growing up, and building up, I am also convinced that believers in Christ each have a personal responsibility to be carrying out these tasks. The word 'escalate' is a verb. I really like that! Its not a thing, its an action! The definition of escalate according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is: to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope. Think about that in terms of your life as a believer in Christ. Hopefully we all agree that Christianity isn't a religion - it is a relationship. Because of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection we are able to have a personal and intimate relationship with our Savior and Lord. Our desire for our relationship with Christ should be the same desire we have for our relationships with others that we love - that it would be a growing relationship that increases in extent . . . [and] intensity. Relationships are healthy when they are actively growing and increasing, not when they are stagnant (or worse, falling apart). As believers in Christ we should all desire that our relationships with Him would escalate. But more than that we want our personal worship to be escalating! We want our maturity in our faith to be escalating! And hopefully we want the kingdom of God to be escalating (that it would be increasing in . . . number, amount, intensity)! But all of this requires action. It doesn't just happen - it takes work.
I chose 'escalate' because it communicates well what I want to remember - that in my own personal relationship with Christ, and as a member of Christ's body, I want to always be growing, increasing, and moving forward. I hope and pray that that is your desire too and that the thoughts I share on this blog will help you towards that end.