book report: Servolution by Dino Rizzo (2009)

As a book review blogger for Zondervan I get to pick the books I want to review. But the book I wanted was not available, so I got Dino Rizzo's book instead, Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution through Serving. My expectations were pretty low. I had never heard of this pastor, nor his church, Healing Place Church, and I'm just not in the market for church growth books. But I am interested in the local church becoming the hands and feet and mouth of Jesus Christ to those around them. That is the church Rizzo set out to be. His church is based in radical generosity, not just in material, but in time as well. I listened to a sermon today from John 13, when Jesus washes his disciples' feet. Rizzo seems to get Jesus's lesson from that example.
12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing?
13You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, because it is true.
14And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet.
15I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
16How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them.
17You know these things -- now do them! That is the path of blessing. John 13
He has also found that as they served, God provided more opportunities and more resources to fulfill those opportunities. I'm familiar with some of the opportunities he's described as I've been with our church to the same places, New York City after 9/11/01 and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. However, I was also inspired and encouraged by the local outreaches they do, from handing out bottled water to drivers stuck in traffic on hot summer days to block parties, where everything is given away with no strings attached. Their generosity has led them to provide training for released convicts so they can find jobs and stay out of jail. They help and encourage widows and single mothers. They also have reached out internationally, from Africa to Haiti. They do more than water bottles. They have set up mobile medical clinics in Louisiana. They built houses in Haiti. They've dug wells around the world for the poor. Rizzo's focus is on the poor, yet, somehow, money keeps coming in and the church keeps expanding and more and more are served resulting in more and more becoming part of the kingdom. They spread the good news through word and deed. This culture of serving results in new ministries forming by those in the congregation coming up with new niches to help, both locally, at 2AM when the bars close, and internationally, in Mozambique. With such a huge impact from such a simple philosophy of ministry, I think any believer would benefit from reading this book.

Thank you Dino Rizzo for writing it and for Zondervan for giving it to me for review.
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Comments

Andrew R said…
Thanks for posting this! I'm glad you liked it.

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