During a sales and marketing career in high tech, Chris’ interest in religion was rekindled by a recommendation from a friend of his sister to investigate liberation theology. She further suggested he might benefit from participating in annual joint conventions of the American Academy of Religion and Society for Biblical Literature. This exposed him to every flavor of religious dialog, and detail as minute as the Thomasine and Johannine study groups, explorations of the Gnostic Gospels, exposure to the historical Jesus movement, and Christian care for the earth groups.

He discovered meaningful church and religion was difficult to find as he and his partner struggled to agree on choices. However, he continued to search and began blogging about his numerous church visits on an Anchorage Daily News blog created in 2008. The blog grew to a Saturday religion column in 2014, and has continued under Alaska Dispatch News owners.

Chris occasionally does mystery church visitor consulting engagements to assist churches with identifying weaknesses in the way they represent themselves to the public by their greeting, hospitality, music, and preaching. Very few Christian writers explore this genre across the U.S.

Chris Thompson