Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus (Living Way: Emergent Visions) | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark Scandrette
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.45
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 208999
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0470276622
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4
EAN: 9780470276624
ASIN: 0470276622
Publication Date: May 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
In Soul Graffiti Mark Scandretteawriter, poet, and leader in the Emergent church movementauses 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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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
The best book to come out of the Emergent movement April 16, 2008
Mark Scandrette's debut book is quite simply the best book Emergent has produced so far. There have been books about Emergent and books that have helped to influence Emergent, but this book is the best one that has come right out of the Emergent movement.
Soul Graffiti is not a theoretical exploration of the Emergent movement. Rather, it is a collection of stories and experiences that were birthed in the Emergent movement. I think this is an important distinction and is something that sets Scandrette's book apart from so many other "emerging church" books.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Soul Graffiti Finds a Savior in the Streets October 17, 2007
Mark does not just write about philosophy or ideals, he tells the stories of a Christian life that is actively embodying the urges of Jesus Christ. Soul Graffiti speaks to those who see the world from an artistic, mystical, and sacred perspective. He speaks to the urban injustices that are happening right next door and how God is an active participant in the lives of the low and forgotten. As a student, artist, and socially conscious Christian, this book is an encouragement to my aching that Jesus' teachings were not meant to only be read, but lived. For those looking to serve a gospel Jesus -- a Messiah who is daring, dirty, poetic, and inspired by compassion -- Mark gives you eyes to see the Teacher's footsteps in the abandoned places less traveled.
A practical and thought-provoking book. September 17, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mark's book is both practical and entertaining. His stories ground the ideas of God's Kingdom in real terms and show the adventure of a life lived in pursuit of God's heart for people. I've done a quick read-through, but I expect to go through the book again more slowly--with other people, I hope-- taking time to process his suggested topics for discussion and to implement his experiments in Kingdom living.
Soul Graffiti is a gentle book, one that I was sad to finish. July 6, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
There is a word that you rarely hear nowadays - gentle. Our times seem to call out people & things that are bold, that are fierce, that can do things that get noticed. You can see this fierce world raging in urban streets, in popular media and (sadly) in many communities of faith.
Mark Scandrette is gentle - in a way that pulls people into his story and in the process a much bigger story. FMark, his wife Lisa and their kids Hailey, Noah or Isaiah live in the Mission District of San Francisco. To say they live there is not enough - they inhale all that this area has to offer, they are colorful portraits in the multi-color mural that is constantly being painted in the Mission. Mark has helped foster seven, a community of people, living in SF, aiming to "collaborate with the Creator in bringing about greater wholeness and love into the world". As a community they have committed to 7 vows: Creativity, Prayer, Community, Service, Obedience, Simplicity and Love.
Of Mark's many gifts, hospitality is a strong strand. His life/work seems like one grand, floating party - shifting from locale to locale, with celebrants weaving in and out. In the hospitality that the Scandrettes embody, drag queens sip red wine with Fuller grads, gallery owners bunk up in the small but warm Scandrette living room with recovering pastors. In the '30s & '40s in NYC, they'd call these floating crap games: dice games which is moved from place to place to evade the authorities. Mark uses art & conversation, rather than dice, but the vibe is the same: if this is not what heaven is like, it will do until we get there.
For me, much of the emerging church phenomenon fits a bus terminal metaphor - a passing point where all types of people wait for their next connection, finding safety & solace from fellow travellers. Some times the bus terminal is noisy & chaotic, other times it is as quiet as a convent. In my experience of this phenomenon, Mark mans the Traveller's Aid table, with his lovable grin & hipster hat or hair do. The table is usually a card table that Mark found discarded some where on Valencia, there are scraps of food from meals in progress, music and art scattered all about.
Images Mark wrote Soul Graffiti from his experiences at that rickety old table. It is brimming with stories of people who float in and out of life. It's rare that someone can capture their essence in a book - even more rare when at the end of 272 pages, you find that you've fallen deeper in love with that person, more in love with the you you've re-discovered, even more in love with God & Jesus and (even) church.
Soul Graffiti is a gentle book, one that I was sad to finish. Mark Scandrette is a gentle presence in my life & thousands of other folks - I can't wait for next walk we have & the next chapters he writes.
Amen June 17, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Emergent folks often talk about following Jesus or living in the way of Jesus, but rarely is this phrase followed by story after story of a life in process of Christo-transformation. If you want to hear some of these stories and be challenged by them then go get Mark Scandrette's new book `Soul Graffiti.' The book is organized into four parts that follow the initial teaching of Jesus in gospel of Mark and the though Scandrette does occasionally give direct theological reflection, the book itself is story driven and oh so compelling. When you get done you will either be fired up that someone in the First World is actually identifiably Christian, which gives you hope for yourself or be irritated that you read a book that ended up challenging you to the core. Or both. Scandrette is a luring story-teller which enables his family and community in San Fran to untame Jesus and the gospel for the reader. He mentions taking the risk of being offended by Jesus and his teachings and his stories reveal to us just how offended we need to get, but also how rewarding a life on the way of Jesus can be. If you want to be encouraged, challenged, and have a stack of super sweet stories to bring up next time some one asks what following Jesus looks like the get it, read it, and do it.
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