George Barna is the founder of The Barna Group, a market research company. Barna has written other books on leadership and church growth, such as The Power of Team Leadership and Grow Your Church from the Outside In, however, Barna stated in the introduction to The Power of Vision that he had never before “had a book that it seemed to be written through me rather than me. ” In this book, Barna emphasizes the importance of pastors and church leadership discovering God’s vision for their ministry and the church. Although “vision” is a popular topic in both business and church administration, Barna claims that few churches, believers, or even senior pastors have an understanding of God’s vision for ministry. This book contains simple and straightforward principles for discovering God’s vision, for projecting the vision and helping others grasp it, and for implementing the vision for the glory of God.
Barna’s primary purpose in writing The Power of Vision is to challenge pastors and leaders to discover God’s vision for their ministry and then develop and implement the vision. In this writer’s opinion, Barna does a good job of achieving the intended purposes of the book. Barna defines “vision” as “a clear mental picture of a preferable future imparted by God to his chosen servants and is based on an accurate understanding of God, himself, and circumstances.” Then he breaks the definition down into four more detailed components: a clear mental picture; a preferable future; a future focus; an impartation of God. Throughout the book, Barna refers to the different components of this definition but continually emphasizes the most important component; The vision is imparted by God.
Barna also paints a clear picture of a visionary leader by listing the requirements for grasping God’s vision and describing the characteristics of a visionary. Vision requires knowing God, knowing yourself, and understanding circumstances such as needs, opportunities, and barriers. Visionary pastors have “an urgent need to seek the glory of God by doing His work, His way, according to His vision.” It is common for leaders to confuse mission with vision, which is why Barna emphasizes the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement. A mission statement defines the ministry and describes the objectives. It is a general statement about what the church hopes to accomplish. A vision statement is “specific, detailed, personalized, distinctive, and unique to a particular church.” The vision statement puts the goals of the ministry into action. There are many myths related to vision development, so Barna lists twenty of the most common myths and dispels them with the reality of true vision.
The book also goes into great detail to discuss the benefits of having a vision and also covers the barriers and cost of implementing the vision. Most importantly, Barna reminds leaders that vision must be God-centered and not based on personal abilities because “man’s vision is flawed.” The values and desires of the leader must align with the heart of God. A vision produced by God will be perfect, blessed and inspired and has only one goal, which is to glorify Him.
The things in this book that I consider strengths are, first of all, that it is easy to read. The book is short and written in plain language rather than full of confusing jargon. Second, the book provides detailed and accurate information in a very direct and straightforward way. Third and most importantly, Barna gives God the glory for the inspiration of this book.
Anyone with a serious desire to be an effective leader will look for ways to improve their skills, but few people have time to read large books full of confusing technical jargon. Barna offers relevant information in a simple format. Although the book is quite short, it is not short in substance. Barna begins with a definition of vision that helps you better understand what “vision” really means. Vision is having a clear idea or image in mind of the future that you prefer. However, the key to vision is that it should be God’s vision given to a leader rather than just the preferred future an individual may have for the church. All pastors want the best for their church and may have great ideas and plans for the future, but only God’s plans for the future will succeed. Barna not only explains the process of capturing, projecting and implementing the vision, but also provides information on common misconceptions regarding the vision. In chapter three, Barna explains the difference between vision and mission because the two are often confused. Then correct twenty of the most common myths about vision. It is often easier to understand how to do something correctly if one first understands what they were doing incorrectly.
Although I am not a pastor or in a leadership position in a church, I enjoyed reading The Power of Vision. Anyone looking for direction regarding God’s call for them in ministry should read this book. As part of the body of Christ, all Christians have a purpose and a work to do within the ministry. Discovering God’s vision for life and ministry is important to all of God’s people. It is especially important for shepherds because they are called to lead the flock. Having a clear vision imparted by God will give pastors the direction to lead effectively. This book is inspiring and challenging and would make a valuable addition to any pastor’s library.
Bibliography
Barna, George. The power of vision. 3rd ed. Ventura, CA: Regal / Gospel Light, 2009.
