Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus - Softcover

Scandrette, Mark

4.18

80 ratings by Goodreads

9780470276624: Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470276622 ISBN 13: 9780470276624

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2008

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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.

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From the Inside Flap:

"Soul Graffiti is creative, inspiring, challenging in equal measure. Mark has a wonderful way with language—weaving 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 graffiti—immediate, 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 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. 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.

From the Back Cover:

Praise for Soul Graffiti

"Encouraging readers to become apprentices of Jesus, Scandrette provides stories of ordinary people struggling to follow Jesus, and offers spiritual practices for those who want to do likewise. The book's focus on the responsibility of each Christian to be part of the "genesis-vision" of God—in other words, to be a co-creator with God—will speak to contemporary readers who find Jesus more compelling than the institutional church. They will also appreciate its eclectic mix of ecology, social justice, biblical theology and a smattering of wisdom from other faith perspectives..."
—Publishers Weekly

"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

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