Synopses & Reviews
"Scandrette guides us down a winding, beautiful path through an urban park of whole-life Jesus-y spirituality. It's a story-weaver's bountiful spreadfilled with chocolate and wine and artisan breadof the present Kingdom of God. See that the Lord is good, indeed."
Mark Oestreicher, president, Youth Specialties
"Through Mark's rich insights and reflections, and especially through his stories ? about Jack, Richard, Gary, Caroline, Emperor Arcadia (you'll never forget him!), Michelle, Beryl, and many others, you'll get an honest and inspiring view of what 'the emergent conversation' is really about, and what it's for."
Brian McLaren, author/activist (brianmclaren.net)
"Soul Graffiti is not so much a book as it is an encountera deadly serious encounterwith a Christianity that is urban, American, un-institutionalized, and now. If you truly like your own Christian walk just the way it is, you definitely should not read this book."
Phyllis Tickle, religion analyst and compiler, The Divine Hours
"Mark Scandrette guides us in this beautifully written and brilliantly illustrated book along a path towards actualized spirituality in a postmodern world. The book provides new avenues to ancient truths."
Tony Campolo, professor of sociology, Eastern University
"Soul Graffiti chronicles Mark Scandrette's brave exploration into an intentional, lived Christianity. In a world numb to religion, inhabiting the way of love may be the only apologetic left."
Sally Morgenthaler, www.trueconversations.com
"In Soul Graffiti, Mark Scandrette strips away the religious traditions that cloud our view of Jesus and gives us the courage to investigate the transformational message. If the challenge for churches and for individual followers of Christ is to live out the gospel, this is the help we need."
Nancy Ortberg, founding partner, Teamworx2
Review
“Through Mark’s rich insights and reflections, and especially through his stories … about Jack, Richard, Gary, Caroline, Emperor Arcadia (you’ll never forget him!), Michelle, Beryl, and many others, you’ll get an honest and inspiring view of what ‘the emergent conversation’ is really about, and what it’s for.”--Brian McLaren, author/activist (brianmclaren.net)
“Soul Graffiti is not so much a book as it is an encounter--a deadly serious encounter--with a Christianity that is urban, American, un-institutionalized, and now. If you truly like your own Christian walk just the way it is, you definitely should not read this book.”--Phyllis Tickle, religion analyst and compiler, The Divine Hours
“Mark Scandrette guides us in this beautifully written and brilliantly illustrated book along a path towards actualized spirituality in a postmodern world. The book provides new avenues to ancient truths.”--Tony Campolo, professor of sociology, Eastern University
“Scandrette guides us down a winding, beautiful path through an urban park of whole-life Jesus-y spirituality. It’s a story-weaver's bountiful spread--filled with chocolate and wine and artisan bread--of the present Kingdom of God. See that the Lord is good, indeed.”--Mark Oestreicher, president, Youth Specialties
“Soul Graffiti chronicles Mark Scandrette's brave exploration into an intentional, lived Christianity. In a world numb to religion, inhabiting the way of love may be the only apologetic left.”--Sally Morgenthaler, www.trueconversations.com
“In Soul Graffiti, Mark Scandrette strips away the religious traditions that cloud our view of Jesus and gives us the courage to investigate the transformational message. If the challenge for churches and for individual followers of Christ is to live out the gospel, this is the help we need.”--Nancy Ortberg, founding partner, Teamworx2
Synopsis
"Soul Graffiti is creative, inspiring, challenging in equal measure. Mark has a wonderful way with languageweaving together stories, metaphors, and insights that combine into a poetic call to take seriously the radical nature of Christ's life and teaching and live it out in our own communities."
Jonny Baker, Church Mission Society, London, UK
Mark 1:14 says that "Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God." Mark Scandrette thinks that the message and method of Jesus were a lot like graffitiimmediate, street level, and personal. Jesus spoke as one who knew the struggles and joys and longings of the people he encountered. The good news Jesus proclaimed is relevant for our day if the real issues of our lives, the places where we feel pain, loneliness, and failure are acknowledged as part of the story. The "good news of God" must speak to the whole person: our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and our relationships with people and the planet we call home. And like graffiti at its best, the message becomes a two-way conversation of intimacy and respect.
In Soul Graffiti Mark Scandrettewriter, poet, and leader in the Emergent church movementuses vivid stories of his own life and the lives of the many people he has encountered in his home in the Mission District of San Francisco. He seeks to answer the central question: "How can we be about making a life in the way of Jesus?" Soul Graffiti's simple and lyrical exploration of the essential message of Jesus as it relates to the experiences of contemporary spiritual seekers integrates theological insight with awareness of human psychology, culture, and daily life. Written to appeal to the sensibilities of those who inhabit a post-Christendom milieu, Mark Scandrette's deepest hope is to give readers greater motivation for, and a fuller sense of what it means to make a life in, the way of Jesus.
Synopsis
In
Soul Graffiti ? Mark Scandrette—writer, poet, and leader in the Emergent church movement—uses vivid stories of his own life and the lives of the many people he has encountered in his home in the Mission District of San Francisco to explore what "good news of God" might mean for our particular time and place. He seeks to answer the central question:
"How can we be about making a life in the way of Jesus?" Soul Graffiti is a simple and lyrical exploration of the essential message of Jesus as it relates to the experiences of contemporary spiritual seekers. He integrates theological insight with awareness of human psychology, culture, and daily life. Written to appeal to the sensibilities of those who inhabit a post-Christendom milieu, Mark Scandrette's deepest hope is to give readers greater motivation for, and a fuller sense of what it means to make a life in, the way of Jesus.
Video
About the Author
Mark Scandrette (www.markscandrette.com) is the executive director and cofounder of ReIMAGINE (www.reimagine.org), a center for spiritual formation in San Francisco that sponsors city-based learning initiatives, peer learning groups, and The Jesus Dojo, a year-long intensive formation process inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus. Mark is a founding member of SEVEN, a monastic community working as advocates for holistic and integrative Christian spirituality. With extensive experience providing leadership in churches and community based organizations, Mark has been a minister, writer, and spiritual teacher for 15 years. Mark is also a senior fellow with Emergent (www.emergentvillage.com), a growing generative friendship among missional Christian leaders. He is married to Lisa Scandrette, an educator and textile artist. They have three children and live in an old Victorian in San Francisco's Mission District.
Table of Contents
Emergent Visions Series Foreword.
Foreword.
Acknowledgments.
Preface.
Introduction: Graffiti Punctuating the Silence.
PART ONE: HEARING THE MESSAGE OF JESUS IN THE HERE AND NOW.
Reading Gandhi in Palm Springs.
1 Curiosity and the Ghosts of the Past.
2 Rabbi and Revolutionary.
3 Community: The Path of a Companion.
4 Experiments in Truth.
PART TWO: EMBRACING LIFE AS A GIFT AND SACRED TRUST.
Are You Feelin’ Me?
5 Darkness and Light: The Scandal of Eternity.
6 Our Eyes as Windows on the World.
7 Living and Telling the Story of Your Life.
8 Creativity: The Path of an Artist.
PART THREE: THE GREATER WHOLENESS OF GENESIS-VISION.
Fat Chance Belly Dance.
9 The Tiny Seed and the Big Tree.
10 Bread and Wine and the Deeper Magic.
11 Compassion: The Path of a Healer.
12 Beryl: A Semiprecious Jewel.
PART FOUR: IMAGINING AND INHABITING THE WAY OF LOVE.
Freedom to Run and Play.
13 Contemplation: The Path of a Mystic.
14 Dancing into the Circle.
15 Enter the Jesus Dojo.