Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus

Mark Scandrette is an artist with his life. And his life is painted throughout his first book, Soul Graffiti, which released last week from Jossey-Bass. Mark is one of those people willing to get his hands dirty as he seeks to depict a more authentic and more organic way of "making a life in the way of Jesus," the tagline of this great book. But perhaps Mark is more of an actor. Throughout Soul Graffiti he interacts with a wild cast of characters who, like him, want to know God but are filled with fear, misgivings and hurts. Mark's loving engagement with these folks on the stage of life will inspire you and fill you with hope. Or maybe Mark is a poet. His words weave the stories of his life throughout Soul Graffiti, providing lyrics for the songs sung by the crazy, the disenfranchised and the wounded, people that too many of us pass by without a word or a thought. Artist. Actor. Poet. Soul Graffiti is the event that is Mark Scandrette. This should be reason enough to purchase this book. But if you don't know Mark, buy this book because it is an honest depiction of someone who takes seriously the command of Christ to sell everything and become a radical disciple, and that is sadly lacking in today's Church. Buy Soul Graffiti and let Mark Scandrette help you reimagine what it means to follow Jesus.

Mark Scandrette's first solo effort is really something-- lyrical, ethereal, and visceral. It is a compelling call to a life lived after Jesus written by a real person with a real family living in the real world. As arresting and engaging and upending as Dallas Willard's "Divine Conspiracy", but made practical, and set to music. This book made me hungry, and not just metaphorically. Its look at real-life spirituality made me grateful for my body, my appetites, and for the good world in which I live. I wasn't hungry for fancy things, either-- a piece of chocolate, a bowl of cereal, an egg, a turkey sandwich, or a good beer (since Mark is such an oenophile, and I'm such a contrarian). It is a rare book on Christian spirituality that doesn't make a person feel guilty for their physicality, but Mark has found a way to affirm and expand our humanity, all at once. Remarkable. Of some books, it is said, "I couldn't put it down," but of this one I want to add, "I didn't want to keep reading." On the one hand, I wanted to move quickly; to take in its beauty all at once. On the other hand, I wanted to slow down and accept the gentle invitation to live into this life. And on the third hand, with its call to a new kind of life so compelling and clear, I found myself not wanting to change. And yet, I can't seem to get the tune out of my head.

Mark Scandrette's Soul Graffiti is a beautiful and startling encounter with a gritty, poetic and adventurous way of life patterned after Jesus. The stories are woven together to create a provocative manifesto proclaiming the power of love. What sets Soul Graffiti apart is the practical dimension. Mark uses his unique talents as a storyteller to draw us into real life experiments in following Jesus in the details of life. As he illustrates this way of life he manages to be both raw and elegant at the same time. This book is full of ideas for pressing forward on the journey...walking in new ways, developing new habits, finding new rhythms. You will encounter an inspiring and dangerous faith full of risk taking and love.

If one were to take the mind of Dallas Willard, the tongue of a beat poet, and the heart of a Franciscan brother, put them in a blender, and pour them into a book, you might end up with Soul Graffiti. Soul Graffiti is a poetic, prophetic, call to follow the radical Way of Jesus. Mark Scandrette rips off the scab of encrusted, safe, sentimental American Christianity and invites the reader into the provocative, fresh, improvisational riff of discipleship with Christ. The book is a call to imagine the Way of Christ for the Post-Christian West.