Chasing Francis

I was recently given Chasing Francis by Ian Cron to review. When reading that it was about St Francis of Assisi, I figured it might be interesting. And I was not disappointed. This is novel meets history. And I enjoyed both aspects greatly. Here was the description;

In his debut work, Cron shares a Franciscan vision for the postmodern church. The book is a story about a disillusioned pastor whose faith is restored by the
teachings of St. Francis during a pilgrimage to Italy.

“St. Francis is the consummate saint for the times we live in,” claims Cron, who came to know about St. Francis’s life at the height of a spiritual crisis. “He was the first environmentalist whose theology of creation is still unparalleled, a Christian
activist who radically identified with the poor and oppressed. He led the first
transcontinental peace delegation to make peace with Muslims during the
Crusades.

He worshiped with all the abandon of a Pentecostal, saw the world through the eyes of a mystic, prayed like a contemplative, possessed the sacramental sensibility of a Catholic, and focused on saving souls like a passionate Evangelical. He embodies all the practices and values found in almost every theological stream. Is sit any wonder he’s been called 'the last Christian'?”

The story involves Chase Falson, a mega-church pastor, who has a crisis of faith, in front of his congregation in mid-sermon. This causes concern from the elders who give him an extended vacation. Invited by his uncle, a friar, he flies to Italy to visit the ghost of St. Francist.

The story is simple and believable. Church crises abound. As a youth pastor myself, the one part that left me wondering was how Ian painted the youth pastor at the mega-church as a political player. Let the record state that I love my senior pastor and would never angle for his job. (Someone should really pass this along to him, as it would be awkward coming straight from me.)

You'll have to read it yourself to see how the novel plays out, but Ian does a great job of weaving historical fact of St. Francis into the story. We find out much of the way Francis lived and what he taught. We even get a fairly in-depth look at how he viewed the purpose of the Church.

Ian Cron is a pastor himself, but he may also be a prophet. It is interesting how the Church in the 13th century and the Church today are all too similar, and not in a good way. Through great story-telling, Ian paints a picture of what the Church is, but also of what it could be.

I was given Chasing Francis for the sake of review by the good people at SpeakEasy.

Ian Cron’s blog: http://www.iancron.com/

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