The Power of Vision

If you are looking for the best book on what exactly a vision for ministry is and how to do it...YOU FOUND IT!! This was a required textbook for one of my seminary classes, and I absolutely loved reading it. No other book that I have read so far and I've read quite a few, really explains the "HOW-TO" of vision in your ministry and your life! We all need a vision and passion given to us by the Holy Spirit if we are going to be effective disciples of Christ. I highly recommend this book to all pastors, teachers and laymen.

George Barna has put out so many well needed books over the years. He is definitely a Teacher to the Body. When it comes to Vision he definitely has set the standard with this book. Know that the beauty of this book is that it doesn't feel like he is talking above anyone's head while setting the standard.He uses a chapter to address 20 common myths of Vision and then gives simple rebuttals for even the novice to understand. The beauty of this book is to see Barna handles an age long question of Vision and how gently but surely continues to take the reader deeper and deeper into the subject without even realizing it.What Vision? What to know about Vision? Read this and you will walk away satisfied

This book is an invaluable addition to any pastors library. Though brief, it gives a concise and pragmatic look at what vision is and how to implement it. Barna chips away at our misconceptions concerning vision and argues persuasively that it is the one indispensable ingredient for a growing church. Pastors who have a well-defined vision and who are able to articulate it to their congregations grow their churches, those without it do not. The books greatest strength is Barnas lucid style. I appreciate his way of dealing with each objection that is raised to vision he destroys each with irrepressible logic. Barna disarms the reader whose preconceptions about vision would have torpedoed anything he was trying to communicate.But the books greatest strength is also its greatest weakness; it left me hungering for more. Although I can understand why he wants us to go to extraordinary lengths to know yourself (pg. 80 ff) the series of forty-one essay questions that each pastor should ask himself is a little much. It would take an extraordinary person not to become lost in the process before discovering the end. The book gave me hope. I have always known that the reason one church grows and another does not is because of pastoral leadership, rather than congregational indifference. What I did not know was why. Was it merely that some pastors have a natural charisma that others do not? Or was it something more fundamental, namely vision? It also helped me overcome the old enabler model of leadership I was taught in seminary. Vision comes from an inspired pastor and then trickles down from the top and not from committee consensus. It is an outstanding book.

Of the thousands of books written on the subject, Barna's is at the very top of the pack. This book powerfully, succintly, grippingly presents what a vision is, where it comes from, how to capture it, how to apply it, how to deal with myths and vision killers, and much more. If you want to be an effective minister, or an effective, purpose-filled human being, read this book, then read it again. Every seminary and every Church ought to present this book as a gift to graduating students or at ordination. The vision comes from the Lord, the resources come from the Lord it is impoosible to fail.

To this point the, The Power of Vision is the best work I have read on the subject of vision for ministry. Barna does an outstanding job of defining vision and explaining its importance. Along the way he gives many valuable insights concerning the crafting and casting of vision for ministry.