The Training of the Twelve: Ageless Management Principles for Developing Competent Leadership

by A.B. Bruce

Rather than taking a comprehensive look at the life of Christ, or a comprehensive look at the character of the apostles, Bruce sets out to understand how Jesus interacted with and instructed his apostles. He approaches several key incidents in which the apostles were taught valuable lessons in a loosely-chronological approach, offering insights into the text that many exegetes have missed.

The book’s subtitle leads the reader to believe that he is getting himself into a “how-to” book on leadership, but he will find nothing of the sort. Rather than a “how-to” approach, Bruce simply exegetes the text and lets those lessons come through on their own. But more than those principles on leadership, this book is outstanding because of the care Bruce takes with the text, and the thought-provoking comments he offers throughout.

Because it was first published in 1871, the modern reader will find himself needing to adjust himself from twenty-first century writing. Rather than short sentences, short paragraphs and monosyllabic words, he will find himself confronted with sometimes-archaic language and paragraphs that often take up a page or more. But acclimating oneself to this writing style will be well worth it. There is a reason why this work is still in print in 2007, and why everyone who has read it only has good things to say about it. If you’re planning on studying the life of Christ in any detail, this book is definitely worth picking up and adding to your library.