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Title: Developing a Vision for Ministry in the 21st Century by Aubrey Malphurs, Haddon W. Robinson ISBN: 0-8010-9087-3 Publisher: Baker Book House Pub. Date: September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Ministry Vision Made Simple
Comment: Like most ministers, I have read several books on vision. Some titles were very inspiring, other titles were very confusing. The vast majority however, were not very enlightening. This book by Malphurs moves beyond establishing the need for vision and helps the reader grasp, communicate, and implement a vision.
Malphurs follows an easy-to-understand process beginning with the definition of a ministry vision and ending with the preservation of that vision. I recommend this book highly to all ministry professionals, especially pastors.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Great Book with a Few Weaknesses
Comment: Malphus joins the growing ranks of authors whose goal is to help bring renewal to the church by teaching pastors how to develop a vision for ministry. In this, Malphurs was very successful. The author presents a six-step process to help pastors develop and implement a vision in the local church
Being a small church pastor I appreciate his emphasis on the small church. The use of the fictional Pastor Bob was an excellent tool of identification. It allowed the author to bring in the human element of discouragement, frustration and antagonism in a way that every pastor can identify with. Malphurs dealt adequately with the idea of opposition. The Deacon Bill character is a man we call can identify with.
His advice on how to obtain a vision was excellent, it was pragmatic and easy to use. This is in direct contrast with Barna's The Power of Vision (pgs. 81-1-84) that promulgated a process so tedious that only the most tenacious pastor would ever work his way through. His insight that vision will become a dividing rod in the congregation rings true- those who buy into it stay, those who do not, leave.
This was a pretty powerful book, but it was not without some weaknesses. It assumed that some of Pastor Bobs board were visionary people. In far too many churches, the maintenance mind-set is firmly entrenched in the power structure and visionary people are excluded. It is not unusual to have no men of vision on a church board, what then? Although he did not neglect the opposition to vision within the church, I think he did underestimate it. Peter Drucker makes it very clear that the people who have the most to lose by vision are the people who have invested the most into the organization. Barna's insight into the nature of opposition in his excellent book Turn Around Churches was far more realistic.
This book was packed full of helpful advice. I especially appreciated the distinction the author makes between leadership and management and that both are necessary in growing churches. Churches cannot grow without leadership and they cannot deal with the problems caused by growth without management. Thus the pastor must wear both hats.
Yes, this is a must read dealing with issues concerning vision that are not adequately covered in other books on the subject.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good for beginners, not so good for the experienced
Comment: This book is for people who don't understand the importance of vision. it is a very basic book that gives too much of the author's opinions and not what has been proven through time and experience.
If you have some experience with vision, you may benefit from this book, or maybe not. Some aspects of this book are strong, and others are very weak. This book is more of a "do it this way" than a learn to do it for yourself style. It communicates the basic points of vision but does not teach people what visioning is really all about. if you already have a vision, you could use this book to help you figure out where to go with it. If you don't already have a vision this book will serve little use to you. The major downfall of this book is the lack of real life experiences to back up the principles taught. Whether the points mentioned in the book will work or not is anybody's guess. It's one thing to put a theory down on paper, it's another to see it live out.
I really wouldn't recommend this book as a first in the area of vision. But if you are getting all the information about visioning that you can get your hands on, you should get this book simply because there are some very useful and practical bits of advice in it.
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Title: Values-Driven Leadership: Discovering and Developing Your Core Values for Ministry by Aubrey Malphurs ISBN: 0801090156 Publisher: Baker Book House Pub. Date: June, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
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Title: Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry Leaders by Aubrey Malphurs ISBN: 0801090687 Publisher: Baker Book House Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
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Title: Developing a Dynamic Mission for Your Ministry: Finding Direction and Making an Impact As a Church Leader by Aubrey Malphurs ISBN: 0825431891 Publisher: Kregel Publications Pub. Date: July, 1998 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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Title: Ministry Nuts and Bolts: What They Don't Teach Pastors in Seminary by Aubrey Malphurs ISBN: 0825431905 Publisher: Kregel Publications Pub. Date: January, 1998 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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Title: The Power of Vision by George Barna ISBN: 0830732551 Publisher: Regal Books Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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