Shadowing St. Francis: A Pilgrimage of sacred emergence in the age of AI

By Jonathan Bentley

#1 Bestseller - Christian Mysticism & Process Theology

What if orthodoxy is dead and AI knows why? A barefoot monk, a broken church, and an open future.

A retired tech entrepreneur. Fifty years as a committed evangelical. A decade of faith deconstruction he couldn't outrun. And a 120-mile pilgrimage through Italy that changed everything.

Shadowing St. Francis follows Jonathan Bentley from Florence to Assisi to Rome, walking the ancient path of a man who stripped naked in the town square, handed his clothes to his father, and walked into the woods to find God.

Eight hundred years later, Francis of Assisi still has something to say-to those exhausted by certainty, wounded by the church, and wondering what faith looks like in a world of algorithms and anxiety.

Perfect for readers of Rob Bell, Barbara Brown Taylor, Richard Rohr, Brian McLaren, Rachel Held Evans, and Henri Nouwen-anyone asking bigger questions about faith after certainty has failed them.

This book is for you if you:

You're navigating faith deconstruction or spiritual reconstructionYou've been hurt by weaponized religion or toxic theologyYou've given up on church but not on JesusYou want to understand what Saint Francis says to our anxious, algorithmic ageYou're curious about AI and what it means for human flourishing and faith

What you'll find inside:

A spiritual memoir of deconstruction and reconstruction-not based on creeds and doctrineAn introduction to Open and Relational Theology and process theology-a God who walks with us rather than scripting our livesReflections on St. Francis as a guide for post-evangelical and progressive Christian faithAn unexpected conversation between ancient mysticism and artificial intelligence

Praise for Shadowing St. Francis:

"Profoundly hopeful... Bentley's storytelling gives theology a human face." -Thomas Jay Oord, author of Open and Relational Theology

"This is a book for question-askers and those who suspect that the gospel might be wider and wilder than we've been told." -Keri Ladouceur, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Post Evangelical Collective

"You cannot think your way to God. In this pilgrimage, ideas are not argued but lived-textured with doubt, humor, longing, and faith." -Samantha Beach Kiley, co-author of Next Sunday

"What happens when theology steps out of abstraction and onto the road-faith moving beyond rivalry into something freer." -Jonathan Foster, author of Theology of Consent

Shadowing St. Francis is published by SacraSage Press

Topics and themes explored in this book:

Faith deconstruction, spiritual reconstruction, post-evangelical faith, progressive Christianity, exvangelical journey, leaving evangelicalism, church hurt, religious trauma recovery, toxic theology, spiritual but not religious, contemplative Christianity, Christian mysticism, contemplative prayer, centering prayer, spiritual formation, dark night of the soul, faith crisis, faith transition, doubting faith, questioning Christianity, reconstructing faith, emergent Christianity, Open and Relational Theology, process theology, relational theology, panentheism, Franciscan spirituality, Christian pilgrimage, walking pilgrimage, Way of St. Francis, spiritual memoir, spiritual journey, mystical theology, contemplative spirituality, non-dual Christianity, divine love, post-church faith, faith after certainty, spiritual awakening

For readers who enjoy:

Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Brian McLaren, Rachel Held Evans, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Diana Butler Bass, John Philip Newell, Marcus Borg, John Shelby Spong, Anne Lamott, Brennan Manning, Frederick Buechner, Parker Palmer, Joan Chittister, James Martin, Kathleen Norris, Phyllis Tickle, Peter Rollins.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1968136371
• ISBN13: 9781968136376
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Sacrasage Press
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"