Learn to Dance the SoulSalsa: 17 Surprising Steps for Godly Living in the 21st Century [Paperback]

Leonard Sweet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Getting a Christian worldview is all the rage these days. But how about a Christian worldlife? Got one of those? Leonard Sweet wants to show you the ins and outs of living an old-fashioned faith in these newfangled times. In his engaging, symphonic, thought-bytes style, Sweet invites you to . . . Mezuzah your inverse * Do dirt and do the dishes * Cycle to church Give history a shove * Cheer rivals from the bench * Dance the salsa SoulSalsa unpacks biblical faith in ways that can change how you live in the real world. You can be a man or woman who walks the ancient path of a disciple in the world of the future. Because the NEW future is NOW--and now is the time to practice the '17 Lifestyle Requirements for Membership in the Postmodern Body of Christ.' It's no longer enough to say 'Say Amen, Somebody.' It's time to 'Dance the Salsa, Everybody!'--in a culture that desperately needs to see your moves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As American culture attempts to find its footing during the transition into postmodernism, Leonard Sweet, dean of the Theological School of Drew University and author of Soul Tsunami, attests that Christians must do the same thing. Soul Salsa is a "lifeware design package" that "enrolls you in a lifestyle seminary where you can get a life degree in artful, soulful living." With ultramodern packaging (Christians are called soul artists and even Leon@rd's name has a postmodern addition), the book introduces practical ideas about how to integrate one's faith into daily life in a changing, postmodern culture. Through clever chapter titles, Sweet gives profound biblical mandates new catch phrases to make them applicable to our society: "Make a Moment" (turn everyday events into memories to cherish), "Never Graduate" (always keep learning and growing), and "Give History a Shove" (make a difference in the world). In doing this, he modernizes Scripture that has previously withstood cultural turbulence.

Sweet's premise that "friendship with Jesus is a lot less rigorous than discipleship with Jesus" is a true call to biblical obedience, whether or not the reader is struggling to accept postmodernism. In fact, the sweeping assertion that postmodernism is a universal struggle is a grand generalization that does not address the fact that truth's anchor will hold no matter what context or culture the Christian is placed in. Practical advice and guidance does abound for the reader looking for direction, however, from Web site references for further study (and a few just for laughs!) to probing questions at the end of each chapter. By the end of the book, the Christian reader will want to strive to make worship a way of life, the outworking of grace a visible commodity, and his or her allegiance to Christ the revolutionary factor that causes the soul to dance. --Jill Heatherly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This provocative exhortation to a more vibrant Christian life fairly sings with relevance. Sweet, a dean and professor at Drew University's school of theology, writes in his customarily accessible style, incorporating references to literature, art, poetry and the theater alongside suggested Web sites that Christians should explore, including Martha Stewart's carefully crafted page and www.siteforrent.com, the official site of the hit musical Rent. Throughout, Sweet posits that Christians should be living joyfully, creatively and counterculturally, participating in a wild dance called the SoulSalsa. The book continues the postmodernist themes Sweet explored in SoulTsunami and Aquachurch, offering suggestions for what postmodern Christian disciples should do. Among the 17 recommendations, Sweet notes that Christians should "practice inconspicuous consumption," multitask, sacralize the everyday, avoid gossip, become lifelong learners, enjoy regular sabbaticals and--in a particularly terrific chapter--die broke, having given everything away. Sweet has a knack for making concepts like "postmodern"--a word that has spooked many an evangelical--sound like wonderful opportunities for New Paradigm Christianity. (Postmodernism, for example, means that "no two people will have the same devotional life.") Sweet uses trendy, computer-based language to convey some spiritual points (prayer is our "uplink" to God; the entire book is a "lifeware design package"), but his enthusiasm is so contagious that even Luddite readers may have to give technology another chance. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310242800
• ISBN-13: 978-0310242802
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Len Sweet was born of a mixed marriage: his mother was a fiery Pilgrim Holiness-ordained preacher from the mountains of West Virginia and his quiet father a Free Methodist lay leader from the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York. After a deconversion at 17, when Len set about less sowing wild oats than planting prairies, he became an atheist intellectual and scholar dedicated to exposing the nincompoopery and poppycockery, if not tomfoolery and skullduggery of all religions. After this seven-year period of liminality, Len came back to the faith of his ancestors, where he has been ever since, exploring the "insterstices" and "semiotics" of religion, culture and history. He uses two words to describe himself: semiotician and interstitial. In other words, he is obsessed with two questions: "Where have you been?" and "Where are you going?"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh approach to the historical faith, April 27, 2002

By 

Andrew Edwin Jenkins (Birmingham, AL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul Salsa: 17 Surprising Steps for Godly Living in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

I'm intrigued by this one, because this book departs from Sweet's usual more academic approach to writing (it's not uncommon to see over 200 footnotes, including references to literature, magazines, websites, and recordings in one typical chapter).

It seems to me that Sweet is offering us the practical implications of living out the vision and reality he has painted in "Soul Tsunami" and "Aqua Church." This book reads much faster than either of those, and is certainly more personal than theoretical or corporate.

More readable than "A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Cafe," "Soul Salsa" marks out several "dance steps" you can do to make your life sing right now. All are biblical-- none are legalistic. All are process type things (you work at them, over time, towards a life-style transformation as opposed to just doing "one thing" and checking it off the box) instead of one-shot deals.

Would recommend for believers looking for a fresh approach to historical Christianity, if wanting to get into a small group study but not use one of the pre-packaged fill-in-the-blank books.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the future is now, November 25, 2000

By 

David E. Loar (Akron, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Soul Salsa: 17 Surprising Steps for Godly Living in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

Having been with Sweet in person, this book is the next best thing. He has seen the future of God's world and what the life in Christ will be in that future...and that future is now. You can dream. You can laugh. You can plan. You can do. Life is alive. Discipleship is a joyous journey not a drag you have to do.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great addition to any postmodern library, May 29, 2000

By 

Jordon Cooper "Coop" (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Soul Salsa: 17 Surprising Steps for Godly Living in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

This book came with a lot of hype and has lived up to my expectations. It is a practical fun book that also stretched my thinking and my faith. It is a book that will speak to a variety of people at different places on their Christian journey. Recommended!