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 God’s flavorful fare, that we learn to listen to and appreciate our lives. John has taught us just how this can be done.”

Michael Card

“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 filling—and more life-giving—than processed food or processed faith.”

Steve Guthrie

“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

“John Thompson’s 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

“This book is important. It captures an idea that is contagious and living. There’s a problem in our culture at large, the cause of which has never really been exposed—in my mind—until 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. It’s almost an indictment of the Industrial Revolution … Almost, because it’s 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 Thompson’s isn’t 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 that’s within our reach.”

Doug Van Pelt

“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

“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 been—a tastemaker.”

Dave Perkins

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

Shawn David Young

“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 wasn’t 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 John’s writings have encouraged me to craft my story with greater purpose and intention.”

Stephen Christian

“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. John’s 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 I’ve 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

“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 isn’t just about “hipster” values; it’s about grounding those of us who have felt disconnected from authenticity—and not just from where our coffee or tomatoes come from, but from the gospel. The good stuff takes more time; it costs us more. It’s 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.”

Amy Hughes

“John J. Thompson has always been a compass for finding the True North of good music. Now he’s doing that for the yearnings of the human heart. John speaks to our need for something real, something with roots. There’s a whole world of prepackaged, artificial, unwholesome faith out there. John points us to something different.”

Joel J. Miller

“has no problem telling you what he sees through his lens. Like he says, he’ll do his best to ruin you for “the cheap stuff.” Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate is easy to read and leaves you pondering some things you may not have considered from the rut you might be in. One thing is certain: if you let John be a guide, you know when you are indulging in the “real thing.”

Jerry Bryant

“It was sometime in the 1980s or early ’90s, hot as blazes outside, in the middle of Cornerstone Festival. I was debating a young John Thompson on feminism—me the liberal to his gently conservative position. (If the topic had been drinking alcohol, we’d have changed places.) But the conversation took a turn into personal bios, and I sensed in him a deeply kindred spirit. He dared to share things about his terrifying childhood and journey toward God—things only a transparently humble and self-reflective person could dare. His story “twanged” something deep within me, an echoing string played by the same invisible fingers. The book you hold is from a man no longer as young in years but still majoring in the ability to tell the truth in love ... and with a twang (more on the latter in his book!). I hope you read it with an eye to discovering something real that first captures one’s attention and then captures one’s heart, soul, and life.”

Jon Trott

“Essential items are mere commodities in our mass-market culture, and we often miss out on the vitality and art that consumerism trades in for ease and comfort. This neutering of the nutrients isn’t just confined to the food industry, but as John Thompson points out, it is affecting our lives of faith. While looking into the worlds of handcrafted bread, chocolate, beer, music, and more, Thompson helps us realize that our relationship with God may be “enriched” with nonvital elements that take away the satisfaction we yearn for. If you want a primer of the inner workings of an organic faith that is impacted by artisans and practitioners from other walks of handcrafted life, I doubt you’ll find a better book than Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate.”

Randy Ross