John J. Thompson - Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate: Crafting a Handmade Faith in a Mass-Market World

Praise for
JESUS, BREAD, AND CHOCOLATE

John Thompson has listened to the parable of his life and retold it in terms of coffee, chocolate, bread, and beer. What could be more deliciously compelling? It is only in community, gathered around a table laid with Gods flavorful fare, that we learn to listen to and appreciate our lives. John has taught us just how this can be done.

MICHAEL CARD, songwriter, author, recording artist

John Thompson lays out a wholesome and satisfying spread in this book, drawing together all sorts of rich and appealing ingredients: thoughtful biblical reflection; scenes from a difficult childhood; his experiences as a musician, pastor, and journalist; and a series of meditations on the making and enjoying of food. From beginning to end, John whets our appetite for something more fillingand more life-givingthan processed food or processed faith.

STEVE GUTHRIE, PhD, associate professor of theology at Belmont University

For a generation, John J. Thompson has been deep in the skunkworks experimenting, helping to create and ultimately inhabiting an expression of the Christian faith that is sorely needed today. His new book offers a helpful vision grounded in theology and informed by real-life practitioners. What once was an outsider, alternative lifestyle now offers a life-giving balm to the American church.

NICK PURDY, founder of Wild Heaven Craft Beers and Paste magazine

John Thompsons new book fosters not only a renaissance of good taste but a concomitant hunger for real spirituality that is an inextricable part of real humanness.

TOM WILLETT, music industry consultant and author, www.tomwillett.com

This book is important. It captures an idea that is contagious and living. Theres a problem in our culture at large, the cause of which has never really been exposedin my minduntil now. John Thompson puts his finger on it. Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate is more than just a study of the artisan crafts of bread making, coffee roasting, and beer brewing. Its almost an indictment of the Industrial Revolution Almost, because its not really the Industrial Revolution that is to blame, of course. It is each of us. The machinery only accelerated our shallow and sinful tendency to ruin things. But Thompsons isnt a radical cry to destroy the automation and assembly lines of industrialism; it is simply a call to be mindful of how we live; to extract the precious from the worthless. His stories fit together seamlessly, build on one another, and collectively pack a big punch. They trace the problem in small, personal, specific areas and, without straining, reveal how the dislocation from our true identity leaves us yearning for a reconnect. He then lovingly points to a resolution thats within our reach.

DOUG VAN PELT, founder of HM Magazine

In Jesus, Bread and Chocolate, John J. Thompson serves up a delectable mix of personal story, keen observations of evangelical culture, and scriptural reflection. The result is a filling and satisfying meal for the growing number of people in our churches who are starving for something more substantial than consumer Christianity.

C. CHRISTOPHER SMITH, coauthor of Slow Church and editor of The Englewood Review of Books

What should Christians do about theologies and practices that have lost their flavor in a culture of commodification and consumption? John Thompson examines the growing renaissance in handcrafted, artisanal approaches to making bread, coffee, chocolate, beer, and music and finds engaging metaphors for spiritual discovery and renewal. Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate is shot through with the spirit of the times and shows Thompson as what he has long beena tastemaker.

DAVE PERKINS, MDiv, PhD, associate director of the Religion in the Arts and Contemporary Culture program at The Divinity School at Vanderbilt University

A breezy journey into the quest for faith that is holistic, organic, and deindustrialized.

SHAWN DAVID YOUNG, PhD, assistant professor of music at York College of Pennsylvania and author of Gray Sabbath

Humanity searches for truth in almost every aspect of life. Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate not only encourages us to continue our search; it explains that there are, in fact, answers if we continue to seek. In my own life, I have desperately wanted to encounter God. After reading this book, I see that I do experience his hand. I was looking for him in the earthquake and in the fire, but the Lord wasnt in the earthquake or in the fire; he is in the gentle whisper of our daily routines, the coffee we share with a friend in need, or even the passion and dreams we discuss with a family member over a local stout. The topics in the book are both timely and eternal, and Johns writings have encouraged me to craft my story with greater purpose and intention.

STEPHEN CHRISTIAN, songwriter and vocalist of Anberlin

Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate is fresh and enlightening. I plan on keeping it close by, especially as I travel. This book helps me feel close to the family, friends, and wonderful community of musicians here in Nashville whom I so love. Johns stories and his memories of discovering and rediscovering music and the power of the arts remind me that it is all spiritual as it weaves itself into the fabric of our lives. John is an intelligent man with lots of talent and heart. He writes from a different perspective that encourages me to keep doing what Ive been gifted and called to do. I see why the psalmist implores us to taste and see that the Lord is good. I pray we can all be an enticing aroma to others for the One who valued a good meal and beverage with his friends.

PHIL KEAGGY, songwriter, recording artist, guitarist

What do bread, coffee, chocolate, beer, and twangy music have to do with Jesus? It turns out, quite a lot. In Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate, John Thompson melds memoir and experimentation, showing us how the basic stuff of life like food and music turn out not to be so basic after all, but instead are an avenue for renewed connection, joy, and faith. This book isnt just about hipster values; its about grounding those of us who have felt disconnected from authenticityand not just from where our coffee or tomatoes come from, but from the gospel. The good stuff takes more time; it costs us more. Its also messy and full of what Thompson calls twang. Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate is about learning how to cultivate our tastes again for food and faith that connect us with flavor and mystery. Thompson helps us see that embracing authenticity in all areas of our lives, from food to relationships, brings us closer to who we want to be and what we suspected Christianity was really about. This book is satisfying, but I must warn you: it will make you hungry for the good stuff.