Book Review – Chasing Francis

Chasing Francis
by Ian Cron
Author’s website

I’m not sure how I ended up downloading this book to my Kindle – I think it was a long-standing admiration I have for Francis of Assisi along with the description of the book. Whatever it was, I’m delighted it ended up on my Kindle, because I really enjoyed reading this story.

It’s fiction, written a bit like a long parable. It’s the story of a young evangelical preacher, and his crisis with faith.

Here’s the author’s (or publicist’s) description of the book:

Author, musician and speaker Ian Morgan Cron sheds new light on the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, “the Last Christian.” Cron masterfully weaves actual accounts from the life of Saint Francis’ into the fictional story of Chase Falson, a New England minister on a pilgrimage to regain his faith. It’s an amazing story with profound implications for the contemporary church. Read the story, and then learn even more about St. Francis’ radical activism and theology in the robust forty-page study guide.

While at times the story is predictable and over-simplified, I don’t really find this as a fault within the context of this book and this story, as I think it makes the story more accessible for a broader audience.

The story itself is a wonderful one, connecting the church of several hundred years ago with the church of today, helping the reader to see the “unity” or “catholic” of western Christianity. It’s so easy for Protestants today to see ourselves as quite separate from the Catholic Church, but this story does a really good job of illuminating the sameness of both the bright spots and the blemishes. I also very much enjoyed the fact that the author stayed away from doctrine, and talked about the real heart of the Faith, drawing a line from Jesus to Francis, then extending it forward and wondering where it can be connected today.

In all fairness, I have to say that I suspect the author’s view of Christianity is similar to my own. When this happens, it’s always easier to find the good in a book. Notwithstanding this caveat, I do think this is an excellent first book by a young author. I suspect that folks who are firmly entrenched in a right-wing sort of fundamentalist, with no desire to hear a different point of view, won’t like the book. I also suspect that folks who are firmly anti-Christian for whatever reason, with no desire to hear a different point of view, won’t like this book. However, for that vast center of western Christianity – folks with good and legitimate questions who find themselves on the edge of faith crisis from time to time – folks who wonder why the Christianity we practice today seems so distant from the life Jesus led – I think those folks will find this book educational, entertaining, and inspiring.

I highly recommend it!

Author: Neil Hanson

Neil administers this site and manages content. View all posts by Neil Hanson