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A creative and compelling examination of the impact--800 years ago and today--of St. Francis of Assisi.
Description: Chase Falson has lost his faith so he crosses the Atlantic to visit his uncle, a Franciscan priest, where he encounters the teachings of Francis of Assisi and rediscovers his ancient faith. Follow Chase's spiritual journey in the footsteps of Francis, and then begin one of your own through the pilgrim's guide included in this book.
Chasing Francis
ISBN-13: 9781576838129
Trim Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
Cover: Paperback
256 Pages
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Downloadable
Part of a Series
Available in Spanish
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A great book!
I thought this was a delightful read! It's funny how God sends you books at just the right time spiritually when you need to be uplifted and encouraged! This book was a bit of grace for me.
The book is a fictional story centering upon an evangelical pastor named Chase Falson who kind of melts down in front of his church one Sunday morning. He realizes all the vagaries of his faith are built on a North American-Consumerist-Churchianity, which has left him hollow and asking, "Is this all there is?" Sent away on a leave of absence by the elders of the church after the breakdown so he can recuperate (while they deliberate on whether he can return as the pastor), Falson visits an uncle and Franciscan priest in Italy who quickly sets him on a path to spiritual recovery via pilgrimage. His pilgrimage centers upon the 13th-century Franciscan founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Chase's spiritual journey in Italy winds its way through the various geographical places that were important in the course of St. Francis' life. Along the way he discovers what true community can look like, the importance and practice of peace, what simple living through the embrace of poverty can do for the soul, and what it might take to reinvent himself in the faith. At first reluctant, Chase eventually embraces the wonder of pilgrimage with full gusto.
The book moves quickly - I read it in one sitting. The characters are formed well, and there are parts of the narrative that are very moving and emotional. There is a generous bibliography at the end of the book if one's curiosity is piqued and wants to learn more about Francis. An appendix contains a study guide with questions for every chapter, in case you would like to use the book for a book club or small group study.
Cron's underlying thesis in the book is that the Church is in a time of great change and foment as it grapples with the cusp of history between Modernism and Postmodernity. Those churches that are least rooted in the Christian Tradition are least prepared for the change. As Falson finds, St. Francis serves as a perfect foil for the modern church dealing with postmodernity because he lived in a great time of change himself - and rocked the Christian world in a way that it needed badly.
I won't divulge the ending, but it does end well. I wondered how Cron would end the narrative because it seemed like Falson would be content to enter this Roman Catholic Church with his uncle. The ending is realistic, and encouraging, for all those asking Falson's question, "Is this all there is?" I happily recommend this book for all those seekers out there.
Posted by Matt Dowling on 3/18/2010 2:07:03 PM
A Journey For Everyone
I have just finished reading Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron, and my jaw dropped with how much this book spoke to me. The story is simple, Chase has lost his faith and now he is on a pilgrim journey, following the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi. When he asks his uncle what he should bring on his getaway, he is asked to bring an open heart, an open mind and a journal.
Reading this, I decided to bring an open heart, an open mind and a journal through my voyage of this book. I took the time to journal after each chapter to keep track of my own pilgrim adventure of thoughts concerning religion, theology and faith.
I’m not including all of my entries because some of them got deep and personal but here are some highlights of what I got from the book.
…I have just finished reading chapter three. The first statement that really caught my eye was from page 51. “Looking up from my journal, I stared out at a group of old men feeding pigeons and thought about the condition of God’s house in the twenty-first century. As far as I could tell, it was the only think in the universe duct tape couldn’t fix.”
Naturally, this made me chuckle because my bible is currently being held together by duct tape. I have used duct tape for many things and really do have strong faith in the strength and endurance of duct tape. But it can’t hold me together, just like it can’t hold God’s house together. Which makes me rethink my own faith, and I can’t help but wonder if I am depending on duct tape instead of belief, trust and faith.
…Saint Francis said “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words.” Christianity is about our daily lives, our daily walks and how we treat others. People have been preaching this concept for ages yet humanity desires Christianity to be done on a time shift. We are the gospel. Our lives are the gospel. It is our best way to show Christ by allowing Christ to be in us at all times. So why is it so much easier said than done?
That is just a few of my personal thoughts that I encountered while reading this book. In the end, Chase life doesn’t turn out how he imagined and he is still happy. He has faith and is acting on it, without fear of burn out because his passion is awake and alive. Pilgrimages are worth taking, and he’s not afraid to stay on the long journey because in the end, he knows it’ll be worth it.
“People are meaning-seekers.” You know you want to….start Chasing Francis.
* Disclaimer * These opinions are my own and this book has a place on my book shelf for reading the book and writing a review. No other compensation was received.
Posted by Jennee Thompson on 3/18/2010 11:54:04 AM
The best kind of fiction
This is one of the best books I've read in quite a long time--especially because it's a fiction title. Oftentimes I feel that fiction titles are filled with fluff and a waste of time to read. Here, though the plot of this book is fictional, it is steeped in the historical and authentic--a genre called "wisdom literature." So while you get to read a beautifully, cleverly written and poignant plot, you actually end up learning a great deal about Francis.
Not only is it filled with rich storytelling that will teach you a thing or two about history, but this book will also make you think about what's next. The story is told through the eyes of a megachurch-pastor who is starting to wonder about the depth of the faith that he's grown up on--is there more to loving God and following Jesus than he's been fed?
As the pastor learns more about Francis (while visiting Assisi and living alongside Franciscan monks), Cron begins to unravel what we as modern-day Christians can learn from Francis, a man who cast off his riches, preached to crows, directed the first Christmas play and who revolutionized the floundering faith of his day. What might it look like if we loved God, loved people, like this man did?
Seriously. Read it. (It struck me as a fictional complement to Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution if you found that compelling.) Whether you like fiction or not, it is an incredible story that you can't help but find inspiring.
Posted by Elizabeth Carmen on 3/17/2010 8:43:20 AM
Book Review: Chasing Francis
Chasing Francis is a novel with an agenda. Every novelist has one but most don't thrust it in your face quite so blatantly. While the story is entertaining and thought-provoking, it is not a novel you want to take at face value, but rather to sift it through true Bible doctrine and theology and see what parts come out whole in the end. I enjoyed the quirky characters, humorous quips about the church and the world at large, and the description of Italian architecture and history, but...the author has an obvious bias against conservative evangelicals and apparently thinks a Catholic saint can "fix" them.
Chase Falson is the pastor of the largest contemporary "evangelical" church in New England. He's seeing a psychiatrist to help him understand why he feels he's losing his faith. His uncle, who just happens to be a former Baptist turned Franciscan priest, now living in Italy, invites him over to go on a spiritual pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi.
A third of the book is story, a third is the character's journal entries, which are mostly "Francis history," and a third is a question and answer guide in the back. If half the stories are true, Francis was truly a wondrous human being, but he is not Christ and should not be the example we follow. The Bible says there is only one way to heaven. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It doesn't mention Francis.
Using the Sermon on the Mount as basically the only scripture backup, Francis supposedly followed Christ's words literally. He gave everything he owned away, including the clothes on his back. He believed being a peacemaker meant war was always wrong and no argument was worth pursuing.
Francis was a Doctor Dolittle, talking and preaching to animals and birds. Here is a quote from one of the priest characters. "If we continue allowing the earth to be destroyed, we're actually working against the purposes of Jesus, who died for it." (Really?! Jesus died for trees and grass, and mountains? I don't think so.) The author quotes Mark 16:15 "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," as justification for Francis' strange behavior.
Francis was also into the "arts." One character said, "Our neglect of the power of beauty and the arts helps explain why so many people have lost interest in church. Our coming back to the arts will help renew that interest."
Feeding the poor, being peacemakers, laying up our treasure in heaven rather than on earth, etc. are certainly things we as Christians should be doing. But I don't recall any verses about having art festivals or supporting "save the whales" with our tithes as means to teaching Christ crucified and risen.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program . I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Posted by Barbara Brink on 3/15/2010 3:04:18 PM
Easy, Fun, Informative Read
In "Chasing Francis" we follow Chase Falson, a Protestant pastor, who is struggling through a religious crisis/meltdown. Desperate for answers, he visits his uncle, a Franciscan priest in Italy. There he rediscovers his faith by going to Catholic churches, shrines, attending a peace conference, volunteering in a soup kitchen and visiting the homeless.
It took me a while to get "into" the book, and it wasn't until about 100 pages in that I finally found myself engrossed in it. But my patience was rewarded. The book is a great introduction to the life and beliefs of St. Francis (or refresher, depending on your familiarity with him) and a nice reminder that faith is more communal than personal. Cron really emphasizes that being Christian is more about serving God by serving others than any self-focused, individual concerns. Oh and before I forget my "disclosure of material connection", I received this book free from NavPress as part of their Blogger review program. However these opinions are my own and I would of course not give this book as positive review if it sucked.
Come the end of the trip Chase clarifies the goal for his life: "serving Jesus completely and unreservedly." If all you take away from reading the book is that, it will be worth the time invested. Overall, Falson's rediscovered faith is energizing to read about, and I felt renewed and fired up after finishing the book. At the end there are discussion questions and many excerpts from other books written about St. Francis. Even if you're reading it by yourself and don't care about the discussion questions, the excerpts are very informative. Worth the read!
Posted by Denise Fath on 3/7/2010 10:48:40 AM
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