October 28, 2002
Youth leader: 'Wake up, churches'
___By Leann Callaway
___Special to the Standard
___When national polls show one-third of evangelical Christian teens don't believe Satan is real, church leaders should recognize a problem, according to Irving youth evangelist Mark Matlock.
___"That is a huge problem," declared Matlock, who speaks widely and recently was featured at the Texas Baptist Youth Ministry Conclave. "They do not recognize they have an adversary."
___The answer, he believes, is to "help them realize the supernatural world as Scripture presents it." Thus, the theme of his youth conferences this year is "Invisible Reality."
Mark Matlock
___Matlock and the Skit Guys and the musical group Timber are gearing up for a nationwide series of student conferences from November to May.
___"Every time I teach, I realize a few of the students present may not be here in a week's time," he said. "I am motivated by this to offer the best to them and to the Lord."
___Despite the challenges found in the beliefs of some of today's youth, Matlock looks on the student population with hope.
___"I call this generation 'Generation Hope,' because I believe they will see the Great Commission fulfilled in their lifetime," he said.
___That belief also adds a sense of urgency to his work.
___"Research we have conducted with Barna Research Group shows only 4 percent of teenagers possess a biblical worldview," he said. "That's not much when you consider that 32 percent of teens can be considered 'born again.' We have to be full Great Commission enthusiasts, not just making converts, but disciples, teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded."
___Matlock, who incorporates illusion, humor and audience participation in his presentations, was recruited by nationally known youth speaker Dawson McAllister.
___"I was mentored by Dawson, and I've adopted many of his values regarding the word of God and teens, but stylistically we are very different," Matlock explained. "It is important when working with teens to simply be who you are."
___Matlock also believes music prevents most youth from worship of God. "Worship happens all around us in life, the object of worship not being God in most cases. Because we have improperly linked music and worship together, we fail to realize what we truly worship in life," he said. "Response to God in music is just an aspect of true worship, but it is not the totality of the worship experience.
___"After completing these research projects with Barna over the last year, I've come to realize that we cannot measure what students believe simply by what they do. We have to engage their minds and find out what they believe. If worship is a response to who God is and what he has done, then most students and adults are ill-equipped to worship, because the renewing of their minds is not complete."
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