Chasing Francis: A Review

I recently read Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale by Ian Morgan Cron, which was provided to me by BookSneeze for the purposes of this review.

After losing faith and experiencing a spiritual breakdown right in the middle of preaching at the mega-church he founded, Pastor Chase Falson sets off on a pilgrimage of sorts.  His uncle, a Franciscan priest, leads him across Italy, where he encounters the teachings of Francis of Assisi.  With Chase's future in the ministry and even his Christian faith in doubt, he discovers anew what it means to be a follower of Christ.

This book is of the genre of wisdom literature, which means it uses a fictional story to teach the reader about a topic.  This, my friends, is how I like my non-fiction: disguised in a story.  I've shared before how difficult it is for me to read non-fiction, and believe me, I would not have sat down to read a biography of Francis of Assisi or a book about his teachings.  But after reading this book, I would love to learn more about Francis--his life and teachings are fascinating.

Here's what one of the characters says about Francis:

There is a law in physics that applies to the soul.  No two objects can occupy the same space at the same time; one thing must displace another.  If your heart's crammed tight with material things and a thirst for wealth, there's no space left for God.  Francis wanted a void in his life that could only be filled with Jesus.  Poverty wasn't a burden for him--it was a pathway to spiritual freedom.

Love that.

The wording is a little stilted at times, the author trying to pack as much information as possible into this short novel.  In fact, in the included study guide, he mentions that he had to leave out much of the information he wanted to include.  But all in all, I found the book to be interesting and informative.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about the teachings of Francis of Assisi, and those seeking to fall in love again with a Christ-centered life. 


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.