Mark Matlock (born 1969) was the former executive director of youth specialties and the founder of WisdomWorks Ministries. He is an

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

minister and

youth pastor Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend th ...

who lives in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. He coauthored the book ''Dirty Faith'' with

Audio Adrenaline Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adr ...

. He also wrote ''Freshman: The College Student's Guide to Developing Wisdom''. In this book, Matlock gives the following definition for

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...

: "the human capacity to understand life from God's perspective"; in the book ''Lost in Transition: Becoming Spiritually Prepared for College'', Tommy McGregor praised Matlock's definition for recognizing that "true wisdom comes from God." Matlock spoke at the 2006

Creation Festival Creation Festival, commonly shortened to Creation, is an annual four-day Christian music festival in the United States. According to its organizers, it is the "Nation's Largest Christian Music Festival." Average attendance is between 50,000 an ...

, the world's biggest

Christian music festival A Christian music festival (also known as a Jesus music festival or simply a Jesus festival) is a music festival held by the Christian community, in support of performers of Christian music. The festivals are characterized by more than just music ...

. He also spoke to an audience of 11,000 Christian youth at DCLA that year. In 2011, he spoke at the Nazarene Youth Conference in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Kentucky. Mark is the main speaker and founder of Planet Wisdom, which has featured Chris Coleman, Mercy Me, The Digital Age, Addison Road The Swift, The Skit Guys (Eddie James & Tommy Woodard), Fred Lynch, Sean McDowell and Heather Flies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matlock, Mark 1969 births Living people Writers from Dallas American Christian clergy 21st-century Christian clergy American Christian writers Christian scholars American motivational writers American spiritual writers American religion academics 21st-century scholars Sociologists of religion American sociologists 21st-century American poets 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American clergy