The Power of Vision

by George Barna

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). What is vision, and why is it an essential element of any effective ministry? This relaunch contains updated material and a new introduction to introduce the truths in this book to new church leaders. 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 discovering God's unique vision for you € ways to share and promote congregational ownership of the vision.

Genres: Leadership, Christian, Church, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

George Barna was raised and educated on the East Coast before moving to California in the early 1980s. He held executive positions in advertising, public policy, political campaigns, and media/marketing research before beginning his own company, the Barna Research Group (now The Barna Group), in 1984. The firm analyzes American culture and creates resources and experiences designed to facilitate moral and spiritual transformation. Located in Ventura, California, The Barna Group provides primary research as well as developmental resources and analytic diagnostics. The company has served several hundred parachurch ministries and thousands of Christian churches throughout the country. It has also supplied research to for-profit corporations such as Ford Motor Company, The Walt Disney Company, Visa USA, and Prudential, and has assisted the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as well.

To date, George Barna has written more than 40 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health. Included among them are bestsellers such as Revolution, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, and Pagan Christianity? Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bimonthly research report, The Barna Update, which is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm's Web site (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today" and is counted among its most influential leaders. In 2009, George initiated Metaformation, a new organization designed to help people maximize their potential. More information about his current projects is available from www.georgebarna.com.

Barna is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large multiethnic church, has been involved in several church plants, and currently leads an organic church. He has served on the board of directors of various organizations. After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two master's degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife and their three daughters in Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading novels, playing and listening to guitar, relaxing on the beach, visiting bookstores, and eating pizza.

Reviews

[Ron Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat dated; some of the basic assumptions were repudiated in Barna's later work.

I stopped reading for several hours when I saw that John Sculley was held up as an example of a visionary leader. (Fired Steve Jobs from Apple, nearly wrecked the company, voted 14th-worst CEO of all time by the business press? Yes, that John Sculley.) I had to force myself to go on.

However, I don't recommend going too far, since by the end of the book he has referred to Ray "Krocodile" Kroc, "Trickle-down", and IBM as other shining examples of vision at work.

So, the centrist-authoritarian, top-down church structure is not just assumed, it's baked right in. He has since repudiated this idea (but not fixed it in subsequent editions, either.)

Nonetheless, there is some thought-provoking material here. Thought-provoking, but totally devoid of evidential support -- no sources are cited, other than Biblical.

[Garland Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Barna's passionate plea for ministry leaders to work hard to discover God's vision for their ministries. It is a very fast read, and Barna incorporates some good insights on how to go about discovering God's vision for a ministry. I found chapter 6 to be especially useful.

If you're interested in discovering more about vision and ministry, this is a good place to start. But don't stop here. Read Visioneering by Andy Stanley and Visionary Leadership by Burt Nanus. Barna's book gives less practical steps and insights that these other two books. So it is a good place to start, but don't end there.

[Bearded Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Barna was the founder of the Barna Group. Barna had founded his think tank in 1983 and sold it in 2009. While he owned it they began their marketing talents for Disney, this was long before they took off on researching for evangelicals, the church, and culture. Barna has written several books. Of which, I have now read two authored by him (Revolution and The Power of Vision) and a third one he co-wrote with Frank Viola (Pagan Christianity). Barna is a rather interesting author, with some interesting thoughts about the church. In Revolution, Barna discovered, long before the Doners even became a thing, that the churched were massively leaving the Church in an exodus. In this book, Barna seems to be ok with them leaving, almost stating that they should. In Pagan Christianity, Barna did most of the research (to which I have a lot of complaints about, having a history degree). Viola and Barna attempt to state, incorrectly, that the problem with the modern Church stems back to the practices brought in by pagan converts to Christianity, who then took on leadership roles within the church. Now, in Power of Vision, which is in its third edition, Barna gives church leaders, pastors, and individuals a way to grow their churches.

Do not get me wrong, this book, as it stands, is very well written. I also find myself very torn as I write this review. I do like a lot of what Barna offers in this book, however, I have to rely more on what the Bible teaches about growing a church.

Barna’s argument is that in order for any church to grow and thrive, it must have a vision. This vision cannot be any vision, however, it must be one that is God-given. Barna, then, begins his book by explaining how there are examples of biblical and non-biblical, modern visionaries. Barna’s examples are Paul, David, Nehemiah, and Moses. He then moves to the modern ones: Mother Teresa, Marin Luther King Jr., Donald McGavran, Bill Hybels, and Supreme Justice Antonin Scalia. Barna defines vision as “a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants to advance His kingdom and is based on an accurate understanding of God, self, and circumstances” (Barna 20018, 28). Barna then explains that most churches tend to confuse a mission statement with a vision. He follows that up with 20 different myths (along with their realities). Barna spends the next eight chapters of the book describing how a church can find God’s vision for themselves and grow their congregations. Barna’s final chapter is spent showing how the individual Christian can take the same method and use it for their own personal lives.

First, Barna is correct, one needs a vision and a mission statement. Neither one is synonymous, but you can not have one without the other. However, the Bible does not actually teach this. When Paul went around, preaching the Gospel, he was not spending time in board meetings trying to decide what each churches mission and vision statement was going to be. Jesus did not come to give his disciples a mission statement and a vision. No, Jesus came to die for our sins, taken on God’s wrath that was due us, and give us his righteousness upon his resurrection. Paul was concerned with only one thing, to preach the true Gospel of God—Jesus crucified and resurrected. David was chosen—his vision was not an answer to him being predestined by God to be king, nor was it his choice. David’s actions were the consequences of being chosen by God.

Second, every Christian, pastor, and church, aside from what Barna believes, should have one vision and it should be the same—to preach the true Gospel of God, Jesus crucified and resurrected. What Barna states is not really wrong, or bad, it’s just that we don’t need different, individualized vision statements for seeking God, knowing ourselves, and to spread the message of God’s kingdom. As Christians, we should be doing this daily, along with our churches throughout the week. Unfortunately, this, in my honest opinion, is what is wrong with the Church in America. Pastors are brought up to believe that they need to treat their churches as an individual, personal businesses. They are taught that, in order to grow, they need marketing, mission, and vision statements. Sadly, what works in the secular business world, should and, does not work in Christ’s church. The early church did not spend time in board meetings, devising statements, and coming up with grand plans to grow their churches. No, the apostles were directed by the Holy Spirit. All of the Apostles had one thing in common—to preach Christ crucified and resurrected and nothing else. As I have said before, Barna makes several good statements in this book and I do agree with several of them, however, as a Christian, I cannot promote this book to any pastor who is having problems and troubles in their church.

Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers http://www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksb... program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa....

[Dayo Adewoye · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Barna's Book is a helpful discussion of how crucial vision is for Christian leaders as well as individuals who desire to align themselves with God's unique purpose.

It will walk you through what vision really is, how to seek the unique one God has for you, as well as point out common obstacles and dangers.

At around 200 pages, it requires not too many hours. Nevertheless, it is time wisely spent.

I recommend it gladly.

[Michael Galarneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone struggling with developing a vision for their ministry. There are a lot of great insights and guidelines given that will go a long way in helping the reader to put the pieces together and find the path God plans for them.

[Josh Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Worth the Second Read

Practical and Biblical insights on being a godly leader. Encouraging to be reminded that although all leaders face adversity while implementing a new vision, it is worth it all in the long run.

[Dr Ariel Rainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about vision, and I think it would benefit every minister to read it-the earlier in ministry the better! However, it is definitely a book for PASTORS and he makes little to no effort to apply it to any other type of Christian minister.

[Barb Dendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very insightful and a good read. Its an eye opener towards "Vision" what it is and what it is not.

[Holly Anne Smith Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one for school. Vision building is interesting and necessary…. But maybe not so much that I’ll buy the book to read again 🙃

[Jason Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry, pretty common sense stuff that builds momentum throughout this short book. I felt like much of it was just a good reminder until the last third of the book. Perhaps it is because it was new material, or perhaps because it was finally starting to sink in. I finished this meditating mostly on the need for vision to be much bigger and the fact that new vision always receives pushback. I'm very thankful I read this.

[Andrew Barlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a relatively quick read (as most leadership books are). I found it a good introduction to the topic of vision and was helped a fair bit. I think the greatest insight I was reminded of is that vision and mission are not the same. Mission is general and philosophic; vision is specific and detailed.

[Sydney Herron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a Marketing class; while I thought the premise of the book had potential to be interesting, I was disappointed in it. For a book purporting to help you decipher the vision God has for your life, it used very little Scripture..

The book is easy to read. It felt very repetitive.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gives decent recommnedations for churches looking to develop vision statements, but often contradicts himself. There is no 1,2,3... lising for what to do, and most of the advice is philosophical rather than practical.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good, short, presentation on the necessity of vision for the Christian Churches of today. It is well put together with easy to read information. A good read for those interested in the church.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[David Prieto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barna is classic in delivering an understanding of the demographics and impact of christianity on the world. Good Read.

[Alek Seams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was easy read but I found it a little bit repetitive.

[James Tetley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, some good quotes, but in need of grounding with greater practical examples, the concepts surrounding gaining the vision were somewhat nebulous.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, concise guide to discerning God's vision for his churches.

[Jevans]

Vision must come from an individual who is a strong leader.