I will be in sunny San Diego February 5-7 to connect with friends who are facilitating the Emergent track at the National Pastor’s Convention.
If I’m a good boy my buddy Doug Pagitt said I might be able to say a few words in his Critical Concerns Course. If you happen to be in San Diego and want to connect drop me a line (mark(at) reimagine.org
I’m traveling through the heartland of Northern California doing a series of Perspectives Lectures for the U.S. Center for World Missions. I’m teaching on: Living in the Rhythm of God: an exploration into kingdom theology.
Sunday night I spoke in Lodi, Monday night in Oakdale, and tonight in Brentwood. I’ve stayed with wonderful people who have offered warm hospitality– and its been fun to connect with people from all walks of life who are seeking to follow the way of Jesus.
I’m helping to organize this little experiment:
A quick update on Emmaus Road, a Bay Area Emergent Cohort.
In 2006 we gathered in a variety of venues to promote generative friendships among missional Christians. We met in locations around the bay area for meals and discussions on a variety of topics– and in the later part of the year a group of us committed to meeting once a month over six months for a more intensive Peer Learning Community. In 2007 we’ve decided to try a
topical approach.
The conversation continues in 2007 with a series of theological discussions we are calling: The Sugarlump Theology Salon
WHEN? Feb. 15 at 7-9 P.M.
WHERE?
Sugarlump Coffee Lounge
2862 24th Street @ Bryant
San Francisco CA 94110
(415)826-lump
TOPIC: How Mass Collaboration changes everything. Contextualizing ecclesiology in an era of a participatory world view and a culture of mass collaboration.
DISCUSSION FACILITATOR: Dr. Linda Bergquist, adjunct professor at Golden Gate Theological Seminary, missional strategist and lover of theology.
You can prepare for this discussion by downloading a sample chapter of the book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything and also I Corinthians 12.
Wikipedia defines salon as “a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation and readings”.
The Sugarlump Theology Salon is a gathering of Christian theologians and thinkers in the San Francisco Bay Area who meet in order to share and discuss their ideas and get peer feedback from one another. In the tradition of “The Inkling” (the literary group of C.S. Lewis’s and J.R.R. Tolkien that met in a pub for readings and criticism of their own work) we meet in a
coffee house (the San Francisco equivalent of a pub) called the “Sugarlump Coffee Lounge”.
We will determine the topic for the next monthly Salon following our initial discussion.
Please R.S.V.P. two days prior to this event by contacting Derek Flood:
derek.flood@yahoo.com
Looking forward to connecting!
Last weekend my son Noah and I went with my friend Charley Scandlyn to Yosemite for four days. Charley was officiating a wedding and we got to tag along and enjoy the solitude of the Valley. I had always wanted to see Yosemite in the winter and it was spectacular! Noah and I had a great time hiking and walking on top of frozen lakes and streams. As a special bonus we were invited to the wedding and to the wedding feast at the fabulous Ahwahnee.
After almost a year apart my friend Justin Dillon and I got to have breakfast together yesterday morning at Tartine. For the past couple of years Justin has been promoting an album with his band Tremolo. More importantly he has used his album, Love is the Greatest Revenge, to promote efforts to end human trafficking through a fund he established. Serendipitously Justin has been networking with record companies and Hollywood film studios on a project to develop a Television special (ala Live Aid) to end human trafficking. While we were eating breakfast the President of Virgin records called and he recently sat down with T Bone Burnett to talk about being involved in the project. I admire Justin’s persistence in being an advocate for the causes of justice in the entertainment industry. When he is not having meetings in Hollywood he supports his family by painting houses in the East Bay– and if all goes well he will be the unpaid executive producer for this television special. Way to be subversive.
I’ve been in the process of asking friends and colleagues to review the manuscript of my book, SOUL GRAFFITI, which will be released by Jossey-Bass Wiley on April 13. I was a bit surprised when my marketing editor suggested that writing the book was only 10% of the work involved in seeing a book project become successful. I’ve come to understand that if we really believe change is neccessary and possible, we have to do what we can to let our collective voices be heard. And this is what I hoped to accomplish when I set out to write SOUL GRAFFITI. Here’s what a few of my friends are saying about the book:
FROM AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST BRIAN McLAREN:
When I heard that Mark Scandrette was writing a book, I knew it would
be good, partly because Mark is an artist and poet and I knew he would
be good with words. But even more, I knew that Mark is living a
beautiful, gritty, honest, and hopeful story that deserves to be told.
Now that I’ve read Soul Graffiti, I can say it’s even better than I
had hoped. Through Mark’s rich insights and reflections, and
especially through his stories … about Jack, Richard, Michelle,
Gary, Caroline, Emperor Arcadia (you’ll never forget him!),
Beryl, Michael and many others … you’ll get an honest and inspiring
view of what “the emergent conversation” is really about, and what
it’s for. If you’re a young adult, maybe alienated with conventional
Christianity and trying to figure out what way of life to follow - or
even if you’re a middle-aged or older adult feeling the downward tug
of complacency and cynicism, here is the book you’ve been waiting for.
FROM AUTHOR SALLY MORGENTHALER:
“We’ve made the Good News into some Disney-esque ticket to paradise. Maybe it’s a whole lot more messy and mundane. Maybe it means Christians actually doing the work of God instead of just talking about it. Soul Graffiti chronicles Mark Scandrette’s brave exploration into an intentional, lived Christianity. In a world numb to religion, ‘inhabiting the way of love’ may be the only apologetic left.”
FROM MARK OSTREICHER, AUTHOR AND PRESIDENT OF YOUTH SPECIALTIES:
Scandrette guides us down a winding, beautiful path through an urban park of whole-life Jesus-y spirituality. It’s a story-weaver’s bountiful spread – filled with chocolate and wine and artisan bread – of the present Kingdom of God. See that the Lord is good, indeed.
I’ve been recommending too many books as “must reads”, and, after reading a pre-release manuscript of Mark Scandrette’s upcoming book, soul graffiti: making a life in the way of jesus, i’ve cornered myself. Because, if I just say this is a “must read”, I put it on the same level as twenty other books I’ve written that about in the past year.
So, this one is a “muster read”, or a “more than must read”, or something like that. Really.
I’m on a silent retreat as I write this, sitting in a cabin in a canyon in the desert where the only sound is my breathing, the wind, and the occasional bird. And I just read mark’s book straight through, in one setting (well, I heated a frozen thai chiken pizza at one point, and poured a glass of chimey blue at two points).
More than any book I’ve read, mark lays out what an emerging faith can look like – a life (as the subtitle says) ‘in the way of jesus’. He does so with traditional prose and thoughts about scripture, yes. And those parts are good and well organized and all. But what really makes the book stand apart from all other is mark’s amazing storytelling. He’s not just a storyteller, he’s a storyweaver. Some chapters have a series of stories, with mark’s throughts in-between or following; but the best chapters – and there are many of them – have a couple stories, given in bits – like mark is breaking off pieces of amazing chocolate and giving it to you, just slowly enough to force you into savoring.
This is the faith I aspire to. This is a statement of belief. I want to buy this book by the caseload and give it to everyone I know.
This is a shameless plug for a workshop I am cofacilitating beginning this month. When we did this offering four years ago it was very helpful for those who participated. Some people got “unstuck” creatively. Other people discerned that it was time to quit a job, change careers, move to another place, go back to art school, or start becoming more disciplined with their creative endeavors. The practices of morning page journaling and artists dates helped us connect the good dreams of our maker with the messy details of daily life.
Rediscovering Creativity Workshop
Do you aspire to be more creative in 2007? Perhaps you can remember a
time when you had more freedom of expression. Many people have experienced
profound personal transformation through practices that combine
spirituality and creativity. This seven-week workshop will explore how to cultivate
your artistic voice and talents more fully. Through daily personal exercises
and group process we will help one another tap into our creative potential,
using Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, as a guide for inspiration
and discipline. Sponsored by ReIMAGINE! A Center for Life Integration. We are
a collective of artists and activists that fuel initiatives to integrate
spiritual formation, creativity, community-building and social action. We
believe personal integration comes through revolutionary thought,
experiential learning and transformational relationships.
Team facilitated by Mark Scandrette and Adam Klein. Mark Scandrette is a
writer, poet and life coach (and author of the forthcoming book on
integrative spirituality called SOUL GRAFFITI ). Adam Klein is a poet,
athlete and mechanical engineer.
Wednesdays 6-8 P.M.
January 17-February 28
Location? Golden Gate Community Inc. 21st @ Shotwell.
Cost:$30 which includes a light dinner each week. (Scholarship
information available upon request) Text for the workshop will need to be purchased by
each participant.
To register email peeps@reimagine.org by January 12th.
For more information call 415-235-9552
After a 3 week hiatus we had a small Seven Gathering last night. Alot of people from our community were either sick or on holiday. Yet we had four visitors from other places, including Deborah and Sarah from Tribe L.A. I met the good people of Tribe when we had them share their drum circle worship at the Emergent Conventions in ‘03 and ‘04. Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran, the pastor of Tribe, and I both participated in a consult at Fuller a year later. As we talked I found out that Deborah and Sarah had previously been involved in a community in Reseda led by my friend Nathan Clair . Last night was just another reminder of how connected we all are. Deborah and Sarah shared a meal with our community because I know Nathan, meeting on a camping trip 5 years ago in Colorado. And Sarah and Deborah found Tribe L.A. because they went with Nathan to the Emergent Conventions, which I helped organize. When I meet people now, one of my first questions is, “How are we related?” or “who do we both know?” because the chances are that we have people in common. A reminder to be aware of the power of loose connections.
If you live near by it would be great to see you at one of these events:
January 14 Menlo Park Presbyterian. Sanctuary Service 7 P.M.
In January and February I will be making the circuit with the U.S. Center for World Missions speaking on the kingdom of God.
January 23 First Presbyterian Church Berkeley, CA 6:30 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
January 28 First Baptist Church. Lodi, CA 6:30 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
January 29 River Oak Grace Community Church Oakdale, CA 6:30 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
January 30 Golden Hills Community Church, Brentwood, CA 6:30 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
February 11 Hope Chapel Windsor, CA 4 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
February 12 Baymarin Community Church San Rafel, CA 6:30 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
February 13 Trinity Christian Center, Vacaville, CA 6:30 P.M. Perspectives Lecture
I made whole wheat crepes this morning. Some of you may know that I love cooking for groups of friends and even quite large groups. At the Emergent Gathering every october I make crepes for about a hundred people in our cabin each morning. I get alot of request from the fellas who want to make this breakfast to impress the ladies. Several people have asked for my recipe– so here it goes. Crepes are actually a simple, healthy and economical breakfast option and the batter can last for up to three days if stored in the refrigerator.
WHOLE WHEAT CREPES
2 Cups whole wheat flour ( I ground my own at hom
1 Tsp. Salt
2-4 Tblsp. surgar (can be left out for savory crepes)
1 Tsp. Mexican Vanilla
2 cups skim milk
1 cup warm water
1 stick of melted butter
8 eggs
Melt butter and mix in a bowl with whole wheat, warm water and milk. (Mixing the wheat flour, butter and liquid ingredients excelerates the relaxation of the gluten in the wheat to give the crepes a better consistency and smoothness. Add in other dry ingredients and eggs. Whisk until fully blended and airated. Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto a heated skillet– swirling to coat the pain evenly. Flip the crepe when moisture condenses on top of crepe surface. (chocolate chips can be added after crepe has been flipped. Fold crepe in quarters or roll and lightly dust with confectionary surgar. For a lighter option, omit chocolate and squeeze lemon juice onto crepe and lightly dust with confectionary surgar.
BANANA FLAMBE
1/2 to 1 stick butter
1/4 cup half and half or heavy whipping cream
1/2 to 2/3 cup brown surgar
4-6 bananas peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tsp. cinnomon
1/2 cup dark rum
After preparing crepes, set aside in over set at low heat. Melt butter in skillet and adding surgar and stir at medium low heat just until surgar has disolved. Stir in bananas, remove heat and add rum. Light immediately with a match and rotate pan until alcohol has completely burned off. Return to heat and add cinnamon and half and half. Reduce until sauce develops a gravy-like consistency.
Fill crepes with banana flambe mixture. Roll and lightly powder with confectionary surgar.
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image: detail of installation by Bronwyn Lace