The subtitle of After You Believe by N.T. Wright is, “Why Christian Character Matters.” Funny thing is that the sub-title is more relevant than the title. Or at least it is in my opinion.

I have always enjoyed the writing of N.T. Wright. I greatly admire his intellectual firepower. His ideas are cutting edge.

But this book left me tired. It didn’t inspire like I hoped it would. There’s nothing in this book that I strongly disagree with, it just didn’t teach me anything truly new. And if I’m not learning something new, then I need to be engaged on an emotional level that inspires me. Tony Campolo books are that way: the information isn’t new to me but the emotional power of his style is sure to inspire.

At least for me, Wright didn’t bring that to this book. Carefully researched and very well thought out, the premise of the book strikes me as a big “well, duh” moment. Elegantly written and thoughtfully crafted, the style of the book makes me say “okay, very nice, thank you for your thoughts” in a dismissive tone that really means “glad that’s done … what can I read now?”

Which is disappointing. I wanted to love this book because I admire Wright.

As I said, the subtitle of the book is more descriptive. Why Christian character matters is an important topic, but the answer is pretty obvious. And a book title called “after you believe” should encompass a lot more than just Christian character. But I’m being nit picky here. Sorry.

Having said all of that, I do wish more people would read this book. It’s a message that many need to hear. Including myself.

Maybe it’s a bit like seeing a movie. If you aren’t in the right mood, even a great movie comes across as mediocre.

Which brings up a scary thought … N.T. Wright isn’t going to make a movie, is he? Yikes.