Yesterday Kansas City was warm for the first time in a long time. The sun came out, we reached somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty degrees and we forgot about the biting cold that Old Man Winter has been hitting is with this season.

Warm weather is a very powerful force. In the suburbs it is known for being freeing and bringing people out of emotional funks. In the inner-city however, it's known for making life more hectic and a little more gritty.

I felt it yesterday as I was driving in to work from school. There were way more people out and about. Double or triple the number that you usually see. The bus stops were packed and the street corners were crowded with people young and old. And though it was finally warm outside, there were still people congregating in formations that represented football huddles. Exchanges and transactions took place with striking disregard for whoever might be watching as they drove by.

My feeling was right, and it was a more hectic day than usual. Sirens sang out in three and four part harmony for the better part of the afternoon and evening. I don't think the police helicopter touched down for a couple of hours. And as a welcome gift for my first spring day in inner-city ministry we were treated to a drive-by shooting and ensuing police chase just a block from our building.

In retrospect it was very kind of God to call me to inner city ministry in the winter. I had a chance to figure things out and get settled. Now, spring is emerging and it's time to turn up the heat. Literally.

Fair Dinkum