Lessons from a Troubadour

Master singer-storyteller John Michael Talbot’s concert meditations—heard and appreciated by millions of concert-goers over the last half-century—are now available in this unique volume. This collection of parables and stories reveals Talbot’s mystical, monastic heart and gives him an opportunity to present the Christian faith in holy and ordinary language. 

As John Michael Talbot’s music became more popular over the years, he began to immerse himself in the teachings of the contemplatives, mystics, and monastic fathers and mothers of the Christian tradition. In time he began to share some of that teaching with his audiences between songs during concerts and during retreats, parish missions, and diocesan conventions. While on stage, this Grammy-winning contemporary Christian music pioneer is known as much for his stories between songs as he is for his playing and singing.

 

Fans of Talbot—the founder and spiritual father of an integrated monastic community—will savor his wise reflections on the mystery of the Trinity, the intimate love of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount as the heart of Christian teaching, and the need to find what he calls our own “inner room” for prayer and contemplation.

 

Lessons from a Troubadour gathers this material into book form for the first time.  Talbot’s words open an important window into understanding the Catholic faith. Both inspiring and practical, you’ll find ways to apply it to your daily life as well.

John Michael Talbot is a prolific Catholic singer-songwriter, speaker, and bestselling author who founded an integrated monastic community, the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Talbot began performing at age seventeen with his brother Terry in their country folk-rock band Mason Proffit. He has recorded more than fifty albums and authored thirty books. Recognized as one of Catholic music’s most popular artists and whose work also is widely held by Christians of other denominations. Talbot’s compositions are published in hymnals throughout the world. He received a Dove Award for Worship Album of the Year, Light Eternal, with producer Phil Perkins, and is one of nine artists to receive the President’s Merit Award (a Grammy) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1988 he was named the number one Christian artist by Billboard magazine. Born into a Methodist family, Talbot explored fundamentalism, Native American religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and the Jesus movement. That’s when he began using his musical talent to express his faith, eventually becoming a pioneer in the contemporary Christian music scene. He studied all Christian denominations, but found Catholicism spoke to his heart. He was inspired after reading about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and began studying patristics, and monasticism at a Franciscan center in Indianapolis, Indiana. He entered the Catholic Church in 1978 and joined the secular Franciscan order. He started a house of prayer called The Little Portion, which he later moved to Arkansas. This developed into the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Talbot remains the spiritual father and minister general of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, which also includes the St. Clare Monastery in Texas and those who live outside the community. His humanitarian efforts have been recognized by the Mercy Corps with the Mother Teresa Award. He created and was host of All Things Are Possible with God on The Church Channel. Talbot lives as a family monastic with his wife at The Little Portion Hermitage, which he founded in Berryville, Arkansas.

“Lessons from a Troubadour offers a rich exploration of the breadth and depth of Catholic Spiritual tradition. John Michael Talbot, sharing from his own conversion story and the sources of inspiration for his music and preaching, helps us see how Catholic spirituality can shape the daily lives of people who seek to follow Jesus more closely.”
Cardinal Donald Wuerl
Archbishop of Washington

"John Michael Talbot is one of Christian music’s most well-known artists, and a man who has given everything he has to follow Jesus the Lord. Though he has written nearly forty books, Lessons from a Troubadour stands out from all the rest. Almost journal-like, these parables, prose, and stories are folksy, deep, revelatory, and vetted from millions of miles of road ministry. I have toured with John Michael, shared meals, and asked him many questions about life, faith, and music. But now I know he was holding back! From the crazy pancake breakfast that inspired the magnificent song “Holy is His Name,”  to his thoughts on the landmark recordings The Lord’s Supper and the Painter, this book is almost a spiritual tell-all. Yet the final section moves way beyond music and theological reflection as John Michael opens his heart in a deep and personal way and offers both his successes and perceived failings as a source of inspiration and challenge for those who want to follow Jesus into deeper waters of faith."

Tom Booth
Composer and artist, speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director 

"To understand theological truths is great, but to see theological truths in everyday life is transforming. When the mundane becomes an adventure you know that God is with you. You will be inspired by John Michael’s observations and insights as he has not only been walking with the Lord for a long time, but seeing things we often miss.”
Jeff Cavins
Founder of The Great Adventure Bible Study 

"Meditate on these pages and you’ll learn where the beautiful songs came from. They came from a full life—John Michael Talbot’s—and they came from the spiritual realities he’s pursued with a singular passion. His melodies have been with me for decades. These pages have the same staying power."
Mike Aquilina
Author of A History of the Church in 100 Objects

“Almost every morning on the way to work I listen to John Michael Talbot. He is one of the great Catholic voices of our times—not just as a musician but also through his speeches and writings. I highly encourage you to seek him out and engage him to inspire your parish or group.”
Matthew Kelly
Founder of Dynamic Catholic

"John Michael Talbot has put his deep love for the Lord and his extraordinary musical talent at the service of the Church. His dedication to Christ will be an inspiration to all who hear him.” Most Rev. Peter Sartain

Archbishop of Seattle

 

“I believe in years to come, John Michael Talbot will be remembered alongside those such as Thomas Merton as one who brought the richest and most significant attention to modern monastic life and the spirituality of the hermitage.”
Tom Cordero
Director of music for the Diocese of Brooklyn

 

“John Michael Talbot shares his spiritual path with the special touch of a musician. In Lessons from a Troubadour, readers’ hearts will sing as they participate in his rich experiences and learn the basics of the Christian spiritual life. Here, John Michael enriches and inspires us to search for God in our own lives, to find that God is present in many ways, and to realize that we must just be open to discover his love for us.”

Abbott Primate Emeritus Notker Wolf, O.S.B.
Guitarist with the Christian rock band Feedback