On Christmas Eve, a nice little gift arrived in the mail, thanks to HarperOne Publishers. It was N.T. Wright’s newest book, Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good. It’s set to release on January 6th.

The book comes in the vein of a few of Wright’s other releases in recent years:

• Surprised by Hope
• Scripture and the Authority of God
• After You Believe
• Simply Christian
• How God Became King
• Simply Jesus
• Surprised by Scripture

I’ve read a few chapters, thus far, and have appreciated N.T. Wright’s contrast between good advice and good news. While there is some overlap in this book with How God Became King and Simply Jesus, as well as other writings of his, Wright has taken time to focus intently on what the gospel actually is. The gospel is not “how to become a Christian.” That is not what Jesus, Paul and the early church announced. They proclaimed a much different gospel than what is espoused in most evangelical churches of today.

In all, here’s another book for popular audiences, one that those “in the pew” would do well to read, all to catch what the Scripture truly means when it speaks of the good news.