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tommulhern's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing journey through the life of St Francis and the search for authentic faith
liann24's review against another edition
5.0
It's like a great travel book on the Jesus Journey. It's like the Lonely Planet guide to God, as opposed to the World Book Encyclopedia God entry.
liz_morgan73's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book and kept hoping it would get better as I read but just became more and more disappointed as I got to the end. The information on Saint Francis was good and I enjoyed reading about his story, everything else though felt very cliche and fluffy/unreal - especially the dialogue throughout the book. The dislike how Maggie was described and that she was an "ex-con" and had done a whole SIX MONTHS in "the slammer" kept getting put on her. I live and work in the inner city (at a health center) and that is not how one describes people who have served sentences in jail/prison nor how they describe themselves. Also, I REALLY, really disliked how the author described people with AIDS, I understand it was supposed to be Chase's limited viewpoint but there was never anything that pointed to it being more than "gay men and needle addicts."
arlowisaghost's review against another edition
5.0
I always seem to come back to this book, not to read it but to reflect on it. I am dazzled by the reverence the characters exhibit in their religious and spiritual life. And this book inspired a long lasting interest and respect for St. Francis of Assisi. I'm looking forward to rereading this book very soon!
beyondevak's review against another edition
4.0
When I learned about this book, I knew I had to read it. The description pulled me in even before I opened the book. Knowing a bit about Francis of Assisi, it was interesting to me that the author desired to fictionalize his story.
From the start, I appreciated the plight of the main character. Sadly, his predicament is not so uncommon. To question. To wonder. To doubt. Seeking. Searching. For truth. For clarity. Purity and authenticity versus a watered down religious formula.
This book did a great job of offering up the pilgrimage perspective. With that said, while some of the content was familiar, other aspects were foreign to me. Nevertheless, I was able to walk away with a degree of understanding.
I received a copy of this title from the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review. The words I have expressed are my own.
From the start, I appreciated the plight of the main character. Sadly, his predicament is not so uncommon. To question. To wonder. To doubt. Seeking. Searching. For truth. For clarity. Purity and authenticity versus a watered down religious formula.
This book did a great job of offering up the pilgrimage perspective. With that said, while some of the content was familiar, other aspects were foreign to me. Nevertheless, I was able to walk away with a degree of understanding.
I received a copy of this title from the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review. The words I have expressed are my own.
serenitylive's review against another edition
3.0
This book is filled with meaningful thoughts on the Christian faith and the American church. Just as the author sets up in the intro, the book is a bit of a research paper masquerading as fiction, but the story worked very well. The characters are powerfully real; I believed every one of them. The details about St. Francis are valuable, and the evangelical setting, extremely relatable.
jfkaess's review against another edition
5.0
This is an incredible book. In fact, it's so good that for the first time ever, i bought both the kindle and the audible versions AFTER listening the it on CDs from the library. It's fiction, but it feels so real that you want it to BE real. A megachurch pastor has a meltdown and begins to question his faith and everything he has based his ministry on for the past 15 years. He calls his uncle, who he's always had a deep connection with, and who is a Franciscan friar living in Italy. His uncle invites him to come visit and he spends a few months with the Franciscan learning about St. Francis and visiting the key places in St. Francis' life while reading about him and interacting with his uncle and other Franciscans. His faith is not only rekindled, but revitalized and his whole perspective on ministry is changed. This is a great book for anyone in ministry, but also for anyone who struggles with faith and purpose, and isn't that all of us? Get the book, the audiobook or the ebook, or like me, get them all. There is also a study guide for leading a small group.
adamrshields's review against another edition
4.0
I like the concept of this book, introduce a saint to modern Christians through story and not just biography. Saint Francis, was a transitional Christian and is very relevant to today's Christians, maybe especially to evangelicals.
The weakness is that it isn't great literature. At one point it talks about the purpose of great art to be the great art and not propaganda and occasionally this seems to dip to propaganda instead of focusing on the art.
The positive is that it does what I perceive as its purpose, it makes you reconsider your understanding of the church, your role as a Christian, Christ and especially Francis.
I would recommend it. I have been reading a lot of heavier works on the spiritual disciplines and this was a good contribution as well as balance.
http://bookwi.se/chasing-francis-by-ian-morgan-cron/
The weakness is that it isn't great literature. At one point it talks about the purpose of great art to be the great art and not propaganda and occasionally this seems to dip to propaganda instead of focusing on the art.
The positive is that it does what I perceive as its purpose, it makes you reconsider your understanding of the church, your role as a Christian, Christ and especially Francis.
I would recommend it. I have been reading a lot of heavier works on the spiritual disciplines and this was a good contribution as well as balance.
http://bookwi.se/chasing-francis-by-ian-morgan-cron/
pattydsf's review
3.0
“First, if Francis were around today, he'd say our church community relies too much on words to tell others about our faith. For Francis, the gathered community was as potent a form of witness as words. He was convinced that how we live together is what attracts people to faith.”
I read this book quickly because it was the right book at the right time. I needed something about faith, love and hope and so I fell into this and didn’t come up for air until I was finished. At the time, this was a good thing. Unfortunately, I did not write my review when I finished. That was not so good.
It has been more than a month since I finished Cron’s book. The glow that it created for me has subsided a bit, but I am still glad I read this story. It took me awhile to understand how this tale was put together. I am enough of a librarian to rely on the library cataloging to help me pigeon hole a book. So, since this had a Dewey number (271.302) I expected the book to be fact. I started reading it as if it was fact, which was not what the author intended. Chase Falson is not a real person. Cron, the author, considers his book to be wisdom literature, “a delicate balance of fiction and nonfiction, pilgrimage and teaching.” Once, I figured this out, I understood the story and what the author envisioned a little better.
This is not great literature. This is a heartfelt, earnest attempt to introduce modern people to St. Francis of Assisi. It is clear to me that Cron fell in love with St. Francis and wanted other Christians to do the same. I already knew a lot about St. Francis and St. Clare (who worked with St. Francis), but I enjoyed seeing these saints through Cron’s eyes. While I was reading, I was entranced by the story that Cron was telling.
If you are interested in knowing exactly who St. Francis was and what he did, there are probably better books on the subject. However, if you want to read about a man who discovers that there is more to faith and life than following the rules, if you want to meet someone who discovers how important love and community are to religious beliefs, then you might want to try this book.
I read this book quickly because it was the right book at the right time. I needed something about faith, love and hope and so I fell into this and didn’t come up for air until I was finished. At the time, this was a good thing. Unfortunately, I did not write my review when I finished. That was not so good.
It has been more than a month since I finished Cron’s book. The glow that it created for me has subsided a bit, but I am still glad I read this story. It took me awhile to understand how this tale was put together. I am enough of a librarian to rely on the library cataloging to help me pigeon hole a book. So, since this had a Dewey number (271.302) I expected the book to be fact. I started reading it as if it was fact, which was not what the author intended. Chase Falson is not a real person. Cron, the author, considers his book to be wisdom literature, “a delicate balance of fiction and nonfiction, pilgrimage and teaching.” Once, I figured this out, I understood the story and what the author envisioned a little better.
This is not great literature. This is a heartfelt, earnest attempt to introduce modern people to St. Francis of Assisi. It is clear to me that Cron fell in love with St. Francis and wanted other Christians to do the same. I already knew a lot about St. Francis and St. Clare (who worked with St. Francis), but I enjoyed seeing these saints through Cron’s eyes. While I was reading, I was entranced by the story that Cron was telling.
If you are interested in knowing exactly who St. Francis was and what he did, there are probably better books on the subject. However, if you want to read about a man who discovers that there is more to faith and life than following the rules, if you want to meet someone who discovers how important love and community are to religious beliefs, then you might want to try this book.
makenziewho's review against another edition
2.0
This is a novel that would have worked better as non-fiction. The message of the book is good, and important for the American church to hear. St. Francis brought a lot of wisdom to the church that we could all benefit from applying to our lives. But the author's opinions and criticisms about the evangelical movement came through too harshly. The dialogue and narration was not believable and felt very clunky. Even the names he chose were disappointing; "Chase Falson" is the man on the pilgrimage. For me, this comes as a close second for worst name in fiction (after Bella Swan). "Maggie" is the former addict and ex-con who is obviously modeled after Mary Magdalen. "Carla" forms an unlikely platonic friendship with Chase in Rome and is directly compared to St. Clare. I feel like the author didn't trust the reader enough to let us come to our own conclusions, both with the poor namesakes and the overall lesson of he book- which ends in a long sermon specifically outlining everything the church should be doing better.
Basically, I would have respected this book more if it would have been laid out as a guide book for ways the church can implement Francis' teachings. But it ended up reading like a manifesto wrapped in a contrived story. It does get two stars from me for making me want to learn more about Francis.
Basically, I would have respected this book more if it would have been laid out as a guide book for ways the church can implement Francis' teachings. But it ended up reading like a manifesto wrapped in a contrived story. It does get two stars from me for making me want to learn more about Francis.