The Performance Illusion
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
In 'The Performance Illusion', Chap Clark exposes our desire for acceptance as the driving force that leads us to perform. He takes an honest look at how performance theology affects our faith and our most precious relationships - with our friends, our spouse, our children, and our God.
Rather than settling for easy answers, Chap challenges us to start from the ground up. For only when we build our faith on the biblical foundation of God's love are we able to leave our patterns of performance behind.
Chap Clark is Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture as well as the Director of Youth Ministry Programs at Fuller Theological Seminary.
"'The Performance Illusion' is a truly delightful book. It is a personal, practical, and liberating guide for those who want to live their lives in the spirit of Jesus."
Henri J.M. Nouwen, author of 'The Wounded Healer', 'Reaching Out', and 'Lifesigns'
"While this is in the best sense a biblically oriented handbook on sanctification, it is far removed from stodgy theologizing. Devoid of cliches and shibboleths, it speaks with compelling helpfulness to the needs of contemporary believers."
Vernon Grounds, Chancellor, Denver Seminary
"'The Performance Illusion' is packed with liberating truth. In its pages you will find hope for living with a new kind of freedom."
Ken Davis, author of 'How to Speak to Youth...And Keep Them Awake at the Same Time'
"Most Christians believe that we start the Christian life by grace and ultimately make it home to heaven by grace, but in between it's up to us. For those who have accepted that heresy, this book will sound like heresy. But those willing to believe the unbelievable truth Chap Clark presents can cast their 'deadly doing down.' What a relief!"
Haddon Robinson, The Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
"Chap Clark has not written a book; he has taken us on an adventure. First, he brings us face-to-face with our most common terror - that of feeling we are not performing well enough for our parents, our spouse, our children, our employer, and sadly, even our God. Chap exposes the tyranny of expectation that prompts us to spend our lives exhausted by our dizzying activity, paralyzed by our fear of a poor performance. Then, he shatters this 'illusion of performance' by bringing us face-to-face with God's staggering love - a love that transcends our expectations and frees us from everyone else's."
Mike Yaconelli, founder of 'The Door'