I just finished Rob Bell’s book, How to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living, his book challenging readers to live in the present and make the most of their lives.

Meh.

I have to be honest, I was pretty underwhelmed by it. There was nothing bad about it, but nothing that really made it stand out, either. Rob Bell has been a mixed bag for me in recent years; I have significant disagreements with some of his theology, deeply resonate with other aspects of his teaching, and in general love his gift for communication.

I did appreciate his challenge that regardless of where God has placed you, your life has deep value and significance. He writes, “What you do with your life is fundamentally creative work. The kind of life you lead, what you do with your time, how you spend your energies – it’s all part of how you create your life. All work is ultimately creative work because all of us are taking part in the ongoing creation of the world.” (p.11)

Ultimately, though, while it has moments of strength and some great quotes I highlighted to use later, a lot of it felt somewhat trite. It is a short book; I think it only took me a couple hours or so to read – but it pretends to be longer than it is. Most paragraphs are only a sentence or two, most chapters are only a couple pages … there’s just a lot of white space. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; he’s done that very effectively in other books. But this time it felt a little more forced, like he was trying to stretch it into more than it is. And maybe that’s the frustration I have with it; it’s a solid message, but maybe it should be just a message instead of trying to force it into filling a book. It’s okay. And for the first time in a while, I’m not listing any theological issues to look out for in a Rob Bell book. But there just isn’t a whole to it, either.