Frank Damazio - Strategic Vision: Embracing Gods Future for Your Church

STRATEGIC VISION

Pastor Frank has earned the right to teach the rest of us about leadership in the Body of Christ. I admire his relentless pursuit of Christ and his love for the local church. This book will strengthen, encourage and equip all of us for the assignments God has given us.

B RADY B OYD

Senior Pastor, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Author of Let Her Lead and Sons and Daughters

Some people just write books, but Dr. Frank Damazio is truly the modern pastoral prophet of the pen. His insights into both the realms of leadership and strategy are unique, practical, prophetic and at the same time transformative. Every leader would be wise to heed this clear prophetic call to excellence.

D R . C HRIS H ILL

Senior Pastor, The Potters House of Denver, Denver, Colorado

Frank Damazio has a track record of building lasting churches and helping leaders create a simple yet profound visions for their churches. This book will help you outline a church model that builds a culture of people committed to your vision and propel your church forward. I highly recommend this book for you and your team!

C HRIS H ODGES

Senior Pastor, Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, Alabama

The first time I met Pastor Frank, I knew I was standing next to a general in the faith. Having built strong works from the ground up, he also knew what it was to step into pastoring an existing influential church and international network where a foundation was already laid. With skill, he honored the heritage, yet brought both the church and the pastors network into a new era of worldwide influence and fruitfulness. That, is strategic vision!

M ICHAEL S MITH

Executive Director, ARC

Whatever Frank writes about leadership, I want to read!

L EE S TROBEL

Bestselling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith

Pastor Frank has done it again: given us a great resource that will ignite, expand and refine fresh vision in the hearts of leaders! Strategic Vision is a thorough and insightful work, a must-read for those desiring to become effective leaders and great church builders. This book will undoubtedly be in the toolkit of all those we are training for future ministry.

D AVE P ATTERSON

Lead Pastor, The Fathers House, Vacaville and Napa, California

2013 Frank Damazio

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 978-1-4412-2383-8

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2013

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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 New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other versions used are:

ESVScripture taken from the English Standard Version, Copyright 2001. The ESV and English Standard Version are trademarks of Good News Publishers.

GNTScripture taken from the Good News Translation, Todays English Version, Second Edition) Copyright 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

KJVKing James Version. Authorized King James Version.

THE MESSAGEScripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

NETQuotations designated (NET) are from The NET Bible Copyright 2005 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org. All Rights Reserved. Scripture quoted by permission.

NIRVScripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Readers Version. Copyright 1996, 1998 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

NIVScripture 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.

NLTScripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

PhillipsThe New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition, J. B. Phillips, Translator. J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

RSVFrom the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

I dedicate this book to all present leaders and to all next-generation leaders who will go beyond me and take the vision into the future with bold faith, creative ideas, flexibility, thinking with new thoughts and leading with fresh vision. I especially want to acknowledge my son, Andrew Damaziohe is a future leader along with many next-generation leaders: Jude Fouquier, Jr., Jordan Boyce, Dylan Jones, Melissa Vogel, Angie Riesterer, Chris Durso, Rich Wilkerson, Jr., Carl Lentz, Judah Smith, Joel Houston, Julia Damazio, Marcus and Kim-Maree Janzen, Jeremy Scott, Doug and Donna Lasit, Nathan Finochio, Robert Madu, Asim and Lisa Trent, Poncho Lowder, Phil Dooley, Adam Durso and many, many more. You have all enriched my life, and as I see it, the future is in good hands!

C ONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln changed history forever when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a five-page document that declared slavery illegal in the United States. The proclamation represented countless hours of thinking, strategizing, drafting, debating and even sacrificing lives in the bloody conflict known as the Civil War. But Lincoln had a vision of a country where all peopleblack and whitecould live together as equals, just as the nations founding document espoused: All men are created equal. He had a firm conviction that slavery was wrong, and he would give his full measure of devotion to building a nation that honored the vision of equality.

Lincoln was a very gifted man. He was addicted to education, staying up many nights to read by candlelight and absorb knowledge and wisdom from leaders and scholars. He earned a law degree and opened his own successful practice. Lincoln was often praised for his skill in the courtroom and his impeccable excellence in writing. When questioned about making a run for the presidency, Lincoln remarked, I can be nominated, I can be elected, and I can run the government. He did not say, I want to be president. Rather, he saw a nation that was deviating from its intended course and he said, I have a vision of what this nation could be, and I have the skills necessary to help make the vision a reality. History shows that that is exactly what he did. His vision became fact. And long after his death, a free country without slavery lives on.