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Soul Graffiti

Posted May 11, 01:18 AM | 0 comments | by Steve Knight | Link

From Mark Scandrette—writer, poet, and leader in the Emergent church movement. Mark blogs at MarkScandrette.com, and participates in the community, www.reimagine.org

Friends,

Four years ago I was walking on a beach with two dear friends (who are married to one another)—when one of them said, “Mark we have three years of funding to start a church, but we’re not sure we will even be Christians by this time next year.” They had begun the messy and fertile journey of rethinking faith in light of deeper personal longings and a more global awareness. I had been through a similar season of wrestling and recognized that beyond the deconstructing, they would need guidance and companions to create a new path of faith and a new kind of life. I started reflecting on the ideas and practices that have helped me along the way and wondered if these insights could be helpful to my friends.

I’m writing to let you know about a book project I’ve recently completed called SOUL GRAFFITI: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus. This is the first book in the series, A LIVING WAY, a partnership between Emergent Village and publisher, Jossey-Bass Wiley.

This project was birthed out of my experiences and thoughts as I’ve been working out faith along with my family and community in San Francisco. I’m very excited about this project and its potential to connect with an audience that may be skeptical about Christianity or organized religion, yet curious about the message of Jesus—and longing for a way of life that is more holistic and integrative. Many of the books and articles that have come from the emerging church community have addressed important issues of theology, leadership, and community. With SOUL GRAFFITI I hope to add to this conversation by addressing our longing for a way of life that is fueled and inspired by the message of Jesus.

SOUL GRAFFITI explores the message of Jesus as an invitation to embrace life as a sacred journey learning to collaborate with our Maker’s intentions to bring healing and greater wholeness to our world. Through stories and reflections, SOUL GRAFFITI addresses the questions, “What was the essential message of Jesus and how can we inhabit that message as a way of life?” SOUL GRAFFITI is an invitation to explore the life and teachings of Jesus as a pattern for pursuing a spiritual path that is fueled by compassion, creativity, community, and connection.

I’m convinced that if we want to see a different and better tomorrow, change often begins with new ideas and stories that inspire new actions, and this is the kind of public conversation I hope to create through the release of SOUL GRAFFITI. Some people are beginning to use SOUL GRAFFITI as a catalyst in small groups and cohorts. Questions and “experiments” are included in each chapter to prompt further discussion and action.

I hope you will consider checking it out, and would love to hear your impressions.

You can hear a sample reading of SOUL GRAFFITI on the Emergent Village podcast

To find out more about SOUL GRAFFITI you can visit my blog or website

SOUL GRAFFITI is available at bookstores nationwide or through Amazon.

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