Foreword

Unlikely Leaders tells the story of the Christian church’s beginning. Jesus left the work in the care of eleven men who seemed, humanly speaking, to be poor choices for establishing a world-wide movement to bring a rebellious planet back to its Creator. Their number included a brash fisherman who crumpled under pressure, a young man and his brother who were so hot-headed that they earned the nickname “sons of thunder,” a tax collector who had enriched himself by working for the enemy, a patriot (“Zealot”) who may have belonged to a group known for assassinating enemy collaborators, and a loyal but doubt-filled man who could rarely see the bright side of anything. A little later someone else joined them who had originally done his best to destroy them. What could come of a group like this?ULe 5.1

Their story is a thrilling account of what God can do with unpromising material. It should give courage and hope to anyone who wants to serve God but is carrying the baggage of the past. God specializes in doing wonderful things with people who give themselves to His cause, to follow His leading. The Bible’s Book of Acts ends abruptly, suggesting that there is more to come in the story. We may be a part of that ongoing story today, as we near its completion.ULe 5.2

Unlikely Leaders is an adaptation of From Trials to Triumph, a 1984 condensed edition of Ellen G. White’s classic volume, The Acts of the Apostles. The condensed volume included all the chapters of the original, using only Mrs. White’s own words but shortening the account.ULe 5.3

The current adaptation goes a step beyond this, using some words, expressions, and sentence constructions more familiar to twenty-first century readers. Most of the Bible quotations come from the New King James Version, which closely resembles the King James Version that Ellen White commonly used. It is hoped that readers who are new to her writings will enjoy this adaptation and that it will encourage them to read the original editions of her works.ULe 5.4

This volume presents insights into the Bible’s account that will help the reader not only to understand the stories and instructions found there, but also to see how they apply to the Christian’s life today.ULe 5.5

There are five powerful volumes in the “Conflict of the Ages” series. Unlikely Leaders was condensed and adapted from the fourth of the five. That many more readers may be drawn to God through these books and their presentation of Bible themes is the hope and prayer ofULe 5.6

The Trustees of
The Ellen G. White Estate