Story of My Books # 19 - The New Testament in its World

Book # 19 was The New Testament in its World co-written with N.T. Wright. Whoa and wow, this book was an adventure, almost an odyssey in terms of production and marketing.

This book began with me having a conversation with Philip Law from SPCK. I was sitting at a bar with him, and he said, "Mike, do you have any ideas for books with us?" I said, "Look, I'm already booked up like Engelbert Humperdinck singing in Nashville. My dance card is pretty full."

"But I've got a good idea," I said. "You should get someone to work with N. T. Wright, and see if you could somehow take a lot of his works and somehow rework them, and create a one-volume . . . like, an N. T. Wright reader. Or even better yet, something like the writings of N. T. Wright in the genre of a New Testament introduction. Take that massive, brilliant, epic series he's got, Christian Origins and the Question of God, and turn it into a one-volume introduction to the New Testament."

At this point, Philip replied, "That is a brilliant idea . . . You should be the one to do it." I said, "Well, I don't know about that." I knew Tom a little bit from meeting him at conferences; I'd written a book on the Apostle Paul, trying to persuade my Reformed friends that Tom Wright is not the Antichrist—that he has a lot of good resources we really should consider for reading Paul and thinking historically about him. But later, after some conversations and speaking to Tom, he was very happy with it; and I was delighted. It's been incredible working with him to create this book and the video lectures too. I think it's a career highlight for me.

Part of the book is a compilation drawn from Tom’s various works across his industrious career, some of the stuff was written exclusively by me, Tom re-wrote some parts, and wrote fresh material for other parts.

The book is very detailed, saturated with pictures, lots of charts and tables, it covers critical issues and offers short commentaries on each book. It is partly a “N.T. Wright Reader” but it is also an attempt to show why it’s important to study the New Testament in its historical context and to also ask follow-up and theological questions as to how the New Testament matters for us today.

There are two DVD series to go with the book, one for lay audiences, and another one for seminary level students. There is a workbook for those who want to revise their knowledge from reading the materials. And there is a podcast drawn from the contents of the book including discussions with leading scholars.

Check out this video from Tom and I introducing the book:

There is also an interview I did with Matt Bates and Erin Heim from OnScript about the book.

I have to say that this book - working through Tom’s corpus, working with Tom himself, filming stuff in Israel and Greece, and the book tour - was one of the most awesome things I have been involved.

Plus, the feedback has been hugely positive, and there has been good take-up of the book as a textbook for intro courses in universities, seminaries, and colleges. I hope it continues to be the #1 New Testament intro for many years to come.