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Baker Publishing Group - George Barna

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130 pages

English

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In The Power of Vision, George Barna invites church leaders to discover the power of God's vision for ministry. Readers will learn: how God has shared his vision throughout history, how vision is different than mission, common practices and beliefs that inhibit true vision, practical steps toward practicing God's unique vision for them, and ways to share and promote congregational ownership of the vision. Barna's word to all Christian leaders: Uncovering God's vision for your ministry is not an option. As Barna clearly states, "To minister authentically and authoritatively, you must first clarify your vision, then embrace it and make it the focus of your life's work and the heartbeat of your church." Vision is the insight God provides to instruct and direct our paths, a reflection of what God wants to accomplish through us in building his kingdom. With this clear picture, from God, of where you are headed, your chances of a successful journey are increased exponentially.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	02 janvier 2009
Nombre de lectures	3
EAN13	9781441223623
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE
POWER OF
VISION

© 1992, 2003, 2009 George Barna
Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Baker Books edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-2362-3
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
CEV—Contemporary English Version . Copyright © American Bible Society, 1995.
NKJV —Scripture taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
TLB —Scripture quotations marked ( TLB ) are taken from The Living Bible , copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction: God’s Vision for Your Ministry
Although pastors and laity are more aware of the importance of vision for ministry, we are also in more desperate need than ever for a clear understanding of God’s purpose for each individual church .
1. Masters of Vision
Throughout history, God has shared His vision for ministry with those people who have earnestly sought His will for their lives .
2. What Is Vision?
Vision for ministry is a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants and is based on an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstances .
3. Don’t Confuse Vision with Mission
Mission relates to ministry objectives, while vision deals with a ministry’s direction and uniqueness .
4. Myths that Mar Vision
We must remove misconceptions about the process that God invites us to use in seeking His vision for our ministries .
5. Whose Vision Are You Following?
Man’s vision is flawed, but those leaders who turn to God will find that His perfect vision is one that blesses, inspires and survives testing .
6. Capturing God’s Vision
To succeed in this quest, you must be willing to study, pray and fast to know yourself, your ministry, your environment and your God .
7. The Character of God’s Vision
You will find that God’s vision is inspiring, specific, predictable, empowering, stretching and people oriented .
8. Your Ministry Will Benefit
God’s vision will remove many pressures from your shoulders. Other benefits include an increased interest and commitment in ministry by members of the congregation .
9. Vision Killers
Tradition, fear, stereotypes, complacency, fatigue and short-term thinking often hobble a ministry and prevent vision from emerging or from being widely accepted .
10. Articulating the Vision
Communication is the key not only to grasping a vision from God but also to sharing it with the congregation .
11. The Trickle-Down Effect
The vision can be shared with staff, lay leaders and the congregation through the trickle-down process that permeates every facet of church life .
12. Count the Cost
Seeking God’s vision can be a lonely and exhausting process—but the benefits are worth it .
13. Capturing a Personal Vision
Every Christian is called to live a life of ministry .
Appendix 1: Study Guide
Study outlines of each chapter to help share the principles of vision with your leadership team or church .
Appendix 2: Mission and Vision at The Barna Group
How mission and vision work for The Barna Group .
Appendix 3: Vision and Church Marketing
Seven steps for marketing your church .
Appendix 4: What If?
Five common objections are often raised when the necessity of God’s vision is mentioned .
About The Barna Group
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In 1983 my wife and I began attending an unusual church near our home that, at that time, was in the western suburbs of Chicago. The church was Willow Creek Community Church, pastored by Bill Hybels. Many elements made that church so unique for Nancy and me. Perhaps the most gripping of those, however, was the unflinching devotion of the church’s leaders to their vision for ministry. It was my first introduction to a church that was serving God on the basis of His vision for the congregation.
Willow Creek transformed my life in many ways, not the least of which was calling my attention to the role and importance of vision. Since then I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of churches, parachurch ministries and for-profit corporations, evaluating how vision impacts their work.
This book is the result of those years of study. It has become a passion of mine to see the Church led by true leaders—people who have grasped His vision for their life’s ministry and who pour themselves into living the vision.
I wish to thank two groups of people who supported me along the way. Teachers comprise the first group. They are the visionaries who have modeled the process for me or who have exhorted me to investigate it more closely. Although many teachers have been a part of that learning curve, special thanks must go to Bill Hybels, Don Seltzer, Luder Whitlock and Ron Sider for demonstrating vision in ministry. On occasion their actions or words have confounded me. But upon deeper reflection on the circumstances, I always have arrived at an understanding of their motivation by recalling their vision for ministry.
Enablers make up the second group. These are my partners in ministry at the Barna Research Group. The stellar efforts of these colleagues enable me to study the culture, probe organizations, interact with leaders, challenge and consult with ministries and describe some of what I have learned in book form, such as this one. My current core team includes Irene Castillo, Lynn Gravel, Cameron Hubiak, Pam Jacob, David Kinnaman, Dan Parcon, Celeste Rivera and Kim Wilson. I am grateful for their professionalism, dedication and camaraderie.
I am also grateful for my family. My wife, Nancy, has been instrumental in everything that Barna Research and I have produced in the past two decades. She has been personally supportive and professionally indispensable, even as she has scaled back her time within the company to care for our children. My daughters, Samantha and Corban—neither of whom had been born at the time I wrote the original manuscript—are an endless source of love, support and prayer. Together, these three women of God have facilitated my pursuit of the vision that God has given to me for my life. I know that God will honor their investment in our work for the Kingdom.
George Barna 1992
INTRODUCTION
GOD’S VISION FOR YOUR MINISTRY
It’s amazing how significantly things change in a decade—and how much they stay the same.
Prior to the early ’90s, relatively few people had written about the importance of vision. Then, without warning, vision became the hottest topic around. Major corporations started searching for leaders who could inspire personnel and investors with a compelling vision of the future. Bestselling business books addressed the topic. Presidential races began to hinge on the articulation of a grand vision for the nation, culminating in Bill Clinton’s defeating the incumbent George Bush in November 1992. Political analysts noted that Mr. Bush had derisively—and, in retrospect, unfortunately—dismissed “the vision thing,” virtually assuring his defeat by voters who perceived the Republican to be visionless. “Vision” had entered the lexicon of the average person.
But things change slowly in the Church—sometimes for good reason, other times perhaps not so. Thousands of church leaders, aware of the vision revolution occurring in society at large, began to read books on the topic, talked about the matter at conferences and suggested to their congregants that a vision statement was needed. Despite those good intentions, few churches immersed themselves in a true vision-development process that produced a genuine sense of God’s vision and a related vision statement. What emerged, for the most part, were committee meetings resulting in refried mission statements or updated strategy statements designed to justify what the church was already doing. God was not at the center of the process, as He must be if we are seeking His vision.
In fact, there was often a serious problem of centricity: In case after case, the outcome of vision-development efforts resulted in the explication of human vision rather than God’s vision. This is no minor flaw. As we have seen during this past decade, pouring resources into our best ideas can leave a church and its people flat. The decision to ignore God’s best ideas is both an act of disobedience (by rejecting His will) and an act of strategic ineptitude (by leaving a myriad of untapped opportunities untapped).
What We Have Learned
Since writing the original manuscript of The Power of Vision , I have had the privilege of conducting more than 200,000 interviews with adults, teenagers, pastors, church staff, leaders in business and government, and executives of nonprofit and parachurch organizations. That wealth of information has enabled us to draw many conclusions about the church, people’s faith and contemporary culture. Not surprisingly, some of those conclusions relate to the continuing significance of vision for the life of the Church. Among those conclusions are:
1. Although they are good people and have been called to ministry, most senior pastors do not have an understanding of God’s vision for t