George Barna - The Power of Vision: Discover and Apply Gods Plan for Your Life and Ministry

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 meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout 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:

CEVContemporary 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.

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 Gods purpose for each individual church.

Throughout history, God has shared His vision for ministry with those people who have earnestly sought His will for their lives.

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.

Mission relates to ministry objectives, while vision deals with a ministrys direction and uniqueness.

We must remove misconceptions about the process that God invites us to use in seeking His vision for our ministries.

Mans vision is flawed, but those leaders who turn to God will find that His perfect vision is one that blesses, inspires and survives testing.

To succeed in this quest, you must be willing to study, pray and fast to know yourself, your ministry, your environment and your God.

You will find that Gods vision is inspiring, specific, predictable, empowering, stretching and people oriented.

Gods vision will remove many pressures from your shoulders. Other benefits include an increased interest and commitment in ministry by members of the congregation.

Tradition, fear, stereotypes, complacency, fatigue and short-term thinking often hobble a ministry and prevent vision from emerging or from being widely accepted.

Communication is the key not only to grasping a vision from God but also to sharing it with the congregation.

The vision can be shared with staff, lay leaders and the congregation through the trickle-down process that permeates every facet of church life.

Seeking Gods vision can be a lonely and exhausting processbut the benefits are worth it.

Every Christian is called to live a life of ministry.

Study outlines of each chapter to help share the principles of vision with your leadership team or church.

How mission and vision work for The Barna Group.

Seven steps for marketing your church.

Five common objections are often raised when the necessity of Gods vision is mentioned.

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 churchs 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 leaderspeople who have grasped His vision for their lifes 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 Corbanneither of whom had been born at the time I wrote the original manuscriptare 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

Its amazing how significantly things change in a decadeand 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 Clintons defeating the incumbent George Bush in November 1992. Political analysts noted that Mr. Bush had derisivelyand, in retrospect, unfortunatelydismissed 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.