12 Faithful Men by Collin Hansen and Jeff Robinson

I did receive this book at no charge from the publisher for my unbiased, honest opinion.

Disclaimer: I am not this books target audience. The target audience for this book is specifically for pastors, deacons, or other (mostly male) heads of the church. Here after all heads of the church will be grouped together under the term Preacher.

The book boils down to one main premise: that all preachers who are truly called to be servants of God as preachers tend to have a somewhat tragic life in some form or fashion. All of the biblical scriptures and each of the ’12 Faithful Men’ mentioned are examples to back this belief. He gives examples of how even in biblical times, the Apostle Paul had to experience tragedy, and how in many of Paul's letters, he mentions that to truly be a good teacher of God’s word then you would need to go through many tragedies not only to test your faithfulness but to be a better preacher. Paul (and thus the author) further explains that through these struggles, you will be able to better connect to your congregation as you will be more understanding and compassionate. His main biblical scripture he continues to draw from being Corinthians and more specifically 2 Corinthians, although he does utilize other passages as well to support his view. 

Further, he does give additional examples from other preachers to show the struggle of those called to serve, such as those, that like Paul, were also imprisoned for sharing the gospel, as well as personal tragedies, such as the loss of spouses, children, and other loved ones. He gives examples of those that have been pushed out of their congregations or due to circumstances, were forced to preach where they weren’t truly wanted, as well as, some that had their own personal, inner struggles. 

While I did feel that some of the stories could have definitely been shortened a bit and were only drawn out to give a bit of filler, overall it was a good book. I would definitely recommend this book to pastors, preachers, or other heads of the church, especially those new to the calling.

Let me state that while I am not part of the target audience in this instance, I can appreciate the subject matter. There are several examples and scriptures mentioned that I can definitely see myself drawing back on during my own difficult times.