When I was asked to fill a pastorate in 1995, the person doing the asking asked the question: Do you have a vision for ________________ ? I had to tell him, "No." Over the next few weeks as events unfolded I began to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Part of the transition process involved a "Night of Prayer" for the city. A small group of people gathered at the worship center at the appropriate time that evening.

After a little discussion we decided to send teams to each of the five high schools and the city hall complex to intercede and pray. My partner and I drew the assignment of praying at the high school farthest from the worship center. As we drove I prayed. My prayers were pretty generic until something a little out of the ordinary happened. The city was a suburb of Los Angeles, a bedroom community. I began to get a sense for how the families lived. Paycheck to paycheck was the norm. Husbands commuting 1-1.5 hours away from home for their jobs. Moms working to make ends meet and kids coming home to empty houses. As I prayed I became more passionate, crying out to God for the needs of these families. At one point, I became overcome with emotion and lapsed into some all out, just plain "crying."

By this time we were in front of the high school. As we prayed I felt the struggles of the teachers and the students. The peer pressures on one side and the overwhelming sense of responsibility on the other.

We had agreed to meet up afterwards with the other groups and share our experiences. The trip back to the worship center was quiet in the car. I was trying to place the experience in my "understanding" grid.

This text is the closest I could come up with:

From the NetBible at Bible.org:

9:35 Then Jesus went throughout all the towns 61  and villages, teaching in their synagogues, 62  preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. 63  9:36 When 64  he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, 65  like sheep without a shepherd. 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 9:38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest 66  to send out 67  workers into his harvest.”

Compassion leads to passion in ministry and spurs us to action.

Ask yourself: On a scale of 1 to 5, five being, I am burning with passion for my community and 1 being, my passion embers are barely glowing, where do you fall?