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Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus
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 "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.
- GenresNonfictionTheology
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 20, 2007
9 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Mark Scandrette
9 books23 followersMark Scandrette is an internationally recognized expert in practical Christian spirituality. He is the founding director of ReIMAGINE: A Center for Integral Christian Practice and he is on the creative team for NINE BEATS collective. A sought after voice for creative, radical, and embodied faith practices, he frequently speaks at universities, churches and conferences nationally and internationally and also serves as adjunct faculty in the doctoral program at Fuller Theological Seminary. His most recent books include The Ninefold Path of Jesus, FREE, Practicing the Way of Jesus, and Belonging and Becoming (with Lisa Scandrette). Mark lives with his wife and their three young adult children in an old Victorian in San Francisco's Mission District.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 25, 2008
I haven't read this entire book yet mainly because I lived it. . . Well most of it.
I wasn't alive for some parts of it, but for the greater part of it I was there.
I am sure it is absolutely wonderful, because my Papa wrote it, it must be!
The only part I didn't like was the part where Papa wrote, it took a lot of energy and he often stayed up past midnight writing, then slept for 4 or five hours and woke again and kept writing.
I am so proud of him! I hope and expect that his book will change many lives, it definitely changed our family's.
I wasn't alive for some parts of it, but for the greater part of it I was there.
I am sure it is absolutely wonderful, because my Papa wrote it, it must be!
The only part I didn't like was the part where Papa wrote, it took a lot of energy and he often stayed up past midnight writing, then slept for 4 or five hours and woke again and kept writing.
I am so proud of him! I hope and expect that his book will change many lives, it definitely changed our family's.
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May 16, 2013This book is meant to expand your understanding of what it means to live a life in Christ, and to challenge you to find ways to put that understanding in action.
The first task is attempted in the actual text of the chapters, which comprises 90% of the book. The task might be accomplished if you are a brand-new Xtian or legalist (and legalists would not read this book). For the rest of us, we end up reading some anecdotes that highlight how cool and accepting the author is (despite being a Christian!), and how wise.
He summarizes past conversations by quoting them, but then the quotations say things that no person would say in real life. That leaves you wondering whether he made it up, or is sprucing it up for a written publication. If it's the first, it's bad fictional dialog; if the second, it's needlessly pretentious. His anecdotes are all the same, too, while trying to show how different they are and how well they point to deep spiritual truths. They all involve him, and he's doing something new and quirky and edgy and outward-oriented, meeting new people, hanging out with people outside of his class, even crazy people. Shocking! Just like Jesus, how brave!
If this blatant self-aggrandizement were all the book offered, you would have seen 1 star.
But occasionally he brings up new concepts, a few of which I strongly agree with (and take for granted, but was glad to see someone write down). And many, many of which I disagreed with, and which he made no attempt to convince me of. More specifically, made no attempt to relate to readers unlike him, and convey his message in a way they would be open to. Still, several interesting ideas was a good change from the anecdotage.
I guess we'd still be at 1 star, except for the 10% of the book that is aimed at the second task of challenging readers to act on their non-legalism and find ways to live deeply for Christ.
The author still shows his personality bias (he's into art, music, the lyric, beauty, life, love, fruitiness-general, remembering to foster your inner world [as opposed to doing it naturally]) in what he recommends we experiment with to live for Christ, and I didn't like that.
But ultimately this part of the book is better. I support his call for experimentation, for one thing. And I like that he often asks the reader to find something related to what he said in the chapter, something that fits them, and wrestle with an idea or try living something out.
This is good, and I got a couple of ideas from the end-chapters, and am better off b/c of it. Others like me who know how they should be living and need periodic nudges to get out of ruts, but better than me b/c less critical, may get lots out of it.
For that reason I would have gone to 3 stars, except the writing wandered all over the place, discursing on this idea then that anecdote, and finally a major point at a random place in the chapter, then suddenly, end of chapter. Badly organized. Like my book reviews.
I would like to see the author put this book into a new form, online. Allowing easy skimming of the main text and fleshing out the Questions and Experiments in individual blog entries maybe.
The first task is attempted in the actual text of the chapters, which comprises 90% of the book. The task might be accomplished if you are a brand-new Xtian or legalist (and legalists would not read this book). For the rest of us, we end up reading some anecdotes that highlight how cool and accepting the author is (despite being a Christian!), and how wise.
He summarizes past conversations by quoting them, but then the quotations say things that no person would say in real life. That leaves you wondering whether he made it up, or is sprucing it up for a written publication. If it's the first, it's bad fictional dialog; if the second, it's needlessly pretentious. His anecdotes are all the same, too, while trying to show how different they are and how well they point to deep spiritual truths. They all involve him, and he's doing something new and quirky and edgy and outward-oriented, meeting new people, hanging out with people outside of his class, even crazy people. Shocking! Just like Jesus, how brave!
If this blatant self-aggrandizement were all the book offered, you would have seen 1 star.
But occasionally he brings up new concepts, a few of which I strongly agree with (and take for granted, but was glad to see someone write down). And many, many of which I disagreed with, and which he made no attempt to convince me of. More specifically, made no attempt to relate to readers unlike him, and convey his message in a way they would be open to. Still, several interesting ideas was a good change from the anecdotage.
I guess we'd still be at 1 star, except for the 10% of the book that is aimed at the second task of challenging readers to act on their non-legalism and find ways to live deeply for Christ.
The author still shows his personality bias (he's into art, music, the lyric, beauty, life, love, fruitiness-general, remembering to foster your inner world [as opposed to doing it naturally]) in what he recommends we experiment with to live for Christ, and I didn't like that.
But ultimately this part of the book is better. I support his call for experimentation, for one thing. And I like that he often asks the reader to find something related to what he said in the chapter, something that fits them, and wrestle with an idea or try living something out.
This is good, and I got a couple of ideas from the end-chapters, and am better off b/c of it. Others like me who know how they should be living and need periodic nudges to get out of ruts, but better than me b/c less critical, may get lots out of it.
For that reason I would have gone to 3 stars, except the writing wandered all over the place, discursing on this idea then that anecdote, and finally a major point at a random place in the chapter, then suddenly, end of chapter. Badly organized. Like my book reviews.
I would like to see the author put this book into a new form, online. Allowing easy skimming of the main text and fleshing out the Questions and Experiments in individual blog entries maybe.
March 13, 2009
I don't know if you would call Scandrette a "theological artist" or an "artistic theologian," but the merging of the two disciplines (art and theology) makes for an incredibly refreshing perspective in this book. And given his competence in both areas, he achieves a winsome tone while addressing issues of serious profundity, resulting in some very compelling reading. Scandrette has a way with words that makes the book read like poetry at times (sometimes actually using poetry) and like an engaging memoir at other times. His penchant for story-telling and the compassionate humanity illustrated in how he speaks of his family and neighbours draws the reader in to want to count him as fellow pilgrim in the journey of life. Or at least to strive to have the same character and perspective on that journey.
Scandrette's essential message? There is a way to be fully alive, fully human. It is found not in religious formulas or sub-culture. Nor is it found through an unhealthy preoccupation with escaping to the afterlife. Instead, it is found by making a life in the Way of Jesus.
In the introduction of "Part One: Hearing the Message of Jesus in the Here and Now," Scandrette outlines the content of the book:
That's about as structured and "text-booky" as Scandrette gets. The rest of the book is full of engaging mini-narratives that explain his points. With those stories, he beautifully, and often poignantly, illustrates the way in which he is striving to make his own life in the Way of Jesus.
And this is precisely what makes Soul Graffiti so compelling. It comes across as simply an overflow of Scandrette's life. My personal library is full of books with spiritual formulas, anecdotes, disembodied theories, and philosophical musings (many of which are actually quite good). This book, however, will have a special place on the shelf. For it's powerful persuasiveness isn't found so much in pithy, well-packaged principles to be recognized as "good ideas." Rather, it is found in the life of a Christ-follower whom I can point to and say, "I want to take ownership of the Way of Jesus like that guy has. In my own unique way, I want to live in to the story of God."
Scandrette's essential message? There is a way to be fully alive, fully human. It is found not in religious formulas or sub-culture. Nor is it found through an unhealthy preoccupation with escaping to the afterlife. Instead, it is found by making a life in the Way of Jesus.
In the introduction of "Part One: Hearing the Message of Jesus in the Here and Now," Scandrette outlines the content of the book:
"This book is divided into four parts that correspond to four phrases from the introduction of the Gospel of Mark . . . Part One explores the context from which we encounter Jesus as a messenger. Part Two addresses issues about how we relate the 'good news of God' to our time and place. Part Three investigates how the sacrifice of Jesus is related to the message of God's reign. And Part Four discusses how we might respond to the invitation to 'repent and believe the good news.'"
That's about as structured and "text-booky" as Scandrette gets. The rest of the book is full of engaging mini-narratives that explain his points. With those stories, he beautifully, and often poignantly, illustrates the way in which he is striving to make his own life in the Way of Jesus.
And this is precisely what makes Soul Graffiti so compelling. It comes across as simply an overflow of Scandrette's life. My personal library is full of books with spiritual formulas, anecdotes, disembodied theories, and philosophical musings (many of which are actually quite good). This book, however, will have a special place on the shelf. For it's powerful persuasiveness isn't found so much in pithy, well-packaged principles to be recognized as "good ideas." Rather, it is found in the life of a Christ-follower whom I can point to and say, "I want to take ownership of the Way of Jesus like that guy has. In my own unique way, I want to live in to the story of God."
October 17, 2008
The starting point for the book is this...if Jesus were alive today, where would he live and who would he serve? This author does what for many of us would be the unthinkable...he moves his family from the comforts of suburban Bay Area living to a neighborhood in San Francisco where most of us would not dare to step out of the car. More than being a memoir, this book is really sort of an "ignitor" into digging deeper into issues of social injustice in our own place and in our own season. At the end of each chapter are bullet points to reflect on and actions to consider...This is a thought-provoking read, at the very least. If you have a heart for social justice and want to dig deeper into God and Social Justice then this is the book for you. It may very well be transformative.
September 14, 2013
This will seem completely unfair... But I stopped reading out of boredom. I don't think it has much to do with the book but rather where I'm at. I'm tired of reading more and more stories about how extreme Jesus was and therefore how extreme we should be as we are told stories of these missional people. It's all true but I'm tired of reading about them and the assumed attack on the pre-existing local church. I want to see that missional culture within the cranky old crotchety local churches on all our street corners
August 25, 2010
We read this book with our College Book Club this summer and they were all a huge fan of it. I thought it was a really great and totally accessible for the students.
One thing I particularly enjoy about the book, was that it had discussion questions and "spiritual experiments" at the end of each chapter. So it worked perfectly for our use.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone - especially to be used with college students, young adults, or even as a church-wide book study.
One thing I particularly enjoy about the book, was that it had discussion questions and "spiritual experiments" at the end of each chapter. So it worked perfectly for our use.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone - especially to be used with college students, young adults, or even as a church-wide book study.
Currently reading
November 16, 2009I love the experiments and thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter.
June 13, 2011
Great concepts and perspectives. The writing felt a little disjointed, but it was so refreshingly open-minded!
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June 14, 2011LOVE LOVE LOVE. Fresh ideas on how you do faith.
August 25, 2011
Meaningful application, artful expressions, and moving stories make this non-fiction book a must-read for those seeking to follow the way of Jesus.
Read
February 20, 2016how to live life among the broken
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews