THE VOLUNTEER REVOLUTION
BY BILL HYBELS
GRAND RAPIDS, MI: ZONDERVAN, 2004
140 PAGES, HARDCOVER, CDN $18.99
ISBN: 0310252385
Reviewed by Doug Koop

"The desire to be a world-changer is planted in the heart of every human being, and that desire comes directly from the heart of God," says Willow Creek Community Church senior pastor Bill Hybels. "We can suffocate that desire in selfishness, silence it with the chatter of competing demands, or bypass it on the fast track to personal achievement. But it’s still there."

He believes that "we were not created to chase the wind. We are created to join God on a mission...It’s as if God has work gloves on. And he calls us to roll up our sleeves and join him with our talents, our money, our time, and our passion."

Hybels is firmly convinced that serving, freely giving one’s time and talents to help others, is a tremendously positive and powerful force capable of transforming individuals and society.

"Imagine what would happen if people in our world-by the masses-took up serving towels, draped them over their arms and willingly (even joyfully) served other people in their everyday lives," he writes in the just-released The Volunteer Revolution. "Such attitudes and actions would change our world.

"I believe a volunteer revolution can happen and that the church should set the pace and energetically lead the way."

As in most of his other books, this new volume from Hybels takes a decidedly practical approach as he explains and promotes a substantive Christian concept. He understands the church to be a community of people with a variety of abilities and attributes who are called to serve. Some are uniquely called to train others to serve (Ephesians 4:11-12).

"In most modern church settings, the ‘equipping servants’ would be paid pastors and staff members. Those equipped to carry out the good works of ministry would be the ‘volunteers.’"

Hybels also knows that effectively harnessing the goodwill and serving power of volunteers is a tricky task and sections of The Volunteer Revolution share helpful insights about how to understand and motivate volunteers. He observes, for example, "the easiest way to defeat a volunteer is to waste his or her time," and that "servants need to be reminded-constantly-that what they’re doing is not in vain."

Certainly the church has an important "service" mandate to fulfill. This small book communicates the essential message clearly and compellingly.