Customer Reviews

The Vision and the Vow: A Call to Discipleship

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In reading The Vision and the Vow by Pete Greig, you are taken beyound comfortable boundaries, beyond the "easy-does-it Christianity" that the modern church has gotten drunk on. Pete Greig challenges those who claim Christ as Savior to also embrace him as Lord. We cannot divorce the two, and therefore we must submit to His authority with our whole lives. Greig takes us through his vision of where the Church is headed, and how Christians needs to rise above mediocrity and start becoming revolutionary.

We are to be disciples, not converts. Greig points out that all to often Christians are letting themselves become complacent in their faith instead of being whole-life disciples. It is not an easy call to be a disciple of Christ, but it is a worthy one.

I just can't explain how this book has impacted me over the last month. I've read a chapter a night as my devotional time. Pete Greig is an amazingly honest and moving writer. His writing flow meets wonderfully with my thought process. I was convicted, challenged and called to meet the expectations God has in store for our generation. I hope you are ready for a wild ride that will get you thinking inwardly - to your heart and mindset - and outwardly - to show kindness to the world through living out Christ.
Thank God Pete followed God's moving to write this book.

The vision and the vow - pete greig

Not being someone who's been into the whole 24-7 thing massively I haven't read any of pete grieg's stuff before. I've been amazed and impacted by some of the truths of coming back to a life of sacrifice and love for God.

The book is not a natural contender for a recommendation on the ignite web site because towards the end it suggests you think about taking a vow of commitment to love Jesus, be kind to others and spread the gospel in other nations. It's not miles away from our own ignite declaration we encourage you to take but in all honesty we're into building God's kingdom and want to recommend this one to you because we believe it may inspire you.

The book has roughly five sections, firstly a fabulous chapter about Jesus that I've loved and that the vision, from the 247 stuff is actually Jesus and then some of how that works out in real life for us people living in the 21st century. The Vision in these pages connected somewhere in my heart with a desire that longs to live "dangerously, obsessively and undeniably" for Jesus. My favourite part of the book is called "summon the losers", identifying that no one is too bad, broken or boring to be used by God. I've used it as a great framework for some talks I've been doing in Christian unions across Cardiff. Those chapters, and in fact the whole book is packed with great stories and illustrations about us growing up into maturity with our relationship with God, a call to discipleship and some of the "how to" help that is most valuable.

This is an excellent book exploring what it means to be fully committed to Jesus Christ in our current world. It explores everything from grace to holiness to our commission to take the gospel to the world. The call to prayer and intimate relationship with God is set in line with the call to be outward meeting the practial and spiritual needs of the hurting. This book is definitely worth the time. It actually surprised me how good it is. Pete Greig writes in a very natural and honest style and is very easy to read and identify with.

There are countless faith based books each year that try to describe what it means to "live a Christian life". The Vision and the Vow paints a clear picture of a faith that has clear roots in the first century church, but also desires to be unlike anything the world has ever seen. Grieg describes a collection of Christians who live by the thought that "none live for themselves". Grieg's passion is palpable as you read through the book. This book is a great read for Christians who have lost their vision, or need a new breath of fresh air.

I have ordered over 20 copies of "Red Moon Rising" to distribute to Christian friends--all responses have been positive. I purchased "The Vision and the Vow" just to see what Pete Grieg was currently thinking. I found it powerful and persuasive--count me in. It is the rare book I want to give to a very gifted, capable, unconventional non-Christian who understandably can't get interested in "normal" Christianity.

Well, if you haven't heard of the "vision", where have you been? A powerful poem on a prayer room wall was copied down and sent round the world - unbeknown to the author, Pete Greig. It seemed to express what many people were longing for and, as it says on the cover of this book, "more than 2 million people impacted already" - this is a book of the vision, the whole poem / prayer / heart cry written out with a bit of background and just some of the stories of those who have been changed and challenged.

Turn the book round and you get "the vow" - a contemporary call to radical discipleship, I won't go so far as to say this is "the cost of discipleship" (Bonhoffer) for our generation, but this little book pulls no punches! Drawing on his own experiences and the inspiration of others, Pete lays out the key elements of discipleship today and the challenge to live a life of obedience in our culture.

A riveting and powerful read. The story of a poem, the story of Pete's journey with the Lord, but, more than that, this is the story of God - what He wants to do today with us. Buy this book, read it and pass it on.

The real meat in Pete Greig's 'The Vision and the Vow' is an urgent call to radical discipleship. In an age where we have reduced 'becoming a Christian' to mean that you once stuck your hand up in an evangelistic meeting, this is an important message. The proposal to adopt 'rules of life' as a framework for discipleship runs against our culture and will raise questions for some branches of the church, but is well argued and biblically rooted.

So why do I only give this book 3 stars? Well, the double sided format is confusing and puts it in the 'novelty' section, when it actually deserves better than that. The 'vision' and 'vow' sections are aimed at different audiences and sit uneasily together.

If you can get past the format, this is a rewarding and thought provoking read. I reckon that if a publisher would re-issue 'The Vow' on its own with a different cover, it would probably gain the wider readership that it actually merits!

This book has helped me to see my Christian walk in a way I never saw it before. I have been challenged and changed by the words of this book. It is time to start living the Vision for Christ instead of playing church. Don't read the Vision and the Vow if you're not ready to be challenged for Christ.

Excellent little book. The "Vision" section is primarily pictures that are representative of different topics. The "Vow" section is excellent reading and offers a really insightful view of the Christian life.