JourneyOnline
Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint, San Francisco, 2007
RRP: $32.95
In the preface to Soul Graffiti, Scandrette indicates “there is a need for public discourse grounded in both thought and practice about how we connect the details of our daily lives with the present availability of the kingdom of God”.
He talks about the integration of our faith into the fabric of our doing and our saying not just with people but with creation.
Once the definitions of graffiti as “immediate, street level and personal” – just like Jesus’ message in his day; and tagging “marking territory” and “claiming personal space” – linked to the quest for the God tag in our hearts – are understood, the book proceeds to draw the reader into an up front dialogue with their own faith story.
The book is divided into four parts: Hearing the Message of Jesus in the Here and Now; Embracing Life as a gift and Sacred Trust; the Greater wholeness of genesis vision and Imagining and Inhabiting the way of life.
Each chapter concludes with topics for the ongoing conversation and experiments to try.
The first chapter ended with Scandrette’s spray painted graffiti “Creator – Recreate – Here – Now – Instigate a revolution of faith hope and love” and an invitation to experiment by painting your own soul graffiti – an invitation which we embrace, in different technology, in the story of Mr. Eternity and putting quotes on our church notice boards to provoke passers by to think about God-relatedness.
Scandrette urges us to embrace the beauty and significance of our lives; to taste, touch and see how our God is present and caring in our world and then he challenges us to ask God to help us to see and feel for the whole creation (people and places) through God coloured lenses and respond with our being.
Soul Graffiti is an interesting, at times provocative book, that could provide insight to people who are finding parts of their life compartmentalised from their faith actions and want to be more like Jesus.
Reviewed by Rev Lesley Holt
