Chap Clark (Ph.D., University of Denver) is the Vice Provost and professor of Youth, Family, and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, the senior editor of YouthWorker Journal, a Sojourner contributing writer and “Red Letter Communicator,” and president of ParenTeen™ and HURT seminars. He is a speaker, trainer and consultant, as well as the author of 18 books, including When Kids Hurt: Helping Adults Navigate the Adolescent Maze (Baker, 2009), Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers (Baker Academic, 2004, CBA Silver Medalist for Book of the Year), Disconnected: Parenting Teens in a MySpace World, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World and the recent Deep Justice in a Broken World. Chap has served in many diverse settings throughout his career in churches and parachurch ministries. He was on the Young Life staff for 15 years as an area and regional director. For the past 18 while a seminary professor, Chap has served as an executive pastor, a senior pastor and a consulting producer for a New Line television reality show. He is a highly acclaimed resource for community, adult, youth and family conferences, as well as media, board, corporate, and educational consulting and training. 33+ years youth ministry experience

YWJ: What do young leaders most need in order to succeed as they start out in youth ministry?
Chap Clark: They need at least four things:
1. Education that will prepare them for the rest of their ministries and an education that will stretch and move them beyond their current/historical experiences and convictions. Education is frightening, because by its very nature it is challenging to assumptions and the status quo; but it is also essential, because history has a way of reminding us that we never know all that we think we do.

2. A posture of asking questions instead of providing answers. Being a teachable sponge will go a long, long way in providing the data grounding you will need for your ministry and to give others the confidence that you want to grow.

3. A few mentors who will tell you the truth—and will be who you trust enough to listen to, even when you don’t agree or don’t want to hear what he or she has to say.

4. A disciplined commitment to Christ that spills over into a disciplined life. If in a parachurch organization, being active in a church where you are known and serve is essential; and if in a church, walking with people outside of your ministry is right up there (being in a small group with older folks and families that do not contribute to or even care about your ministry) and will help develop you as a follower of Christ first and a minister/youth worker second. Then sleeping, working and playing according to an adult schedule—such as getting up before 7 a.m., having regular time with the Lord, meeting people for breakfast at least two or three times a week, playing video games no more than an hour or two a week, working out and keeping up with bills (and parking tickets!) is all an expression of a disciplined, adult life.

YWJ: What makes for long-term service and success?
Chap: The above, for starters. Over the long haul, committing to seeing life as preparation until you’re about 40, then letting that define and organize your life. Take classes in management, read, volunteer; and make friends outside of your ministry and work. Have a life that’s centered on Christ, takes care of primary relationships and sees the whole world through the eyes of God’s kingdom. Get to know Jesus and people who are different, and seek His heart toward them. Give generously, starting with your church (and it’s to God, not your church, by the way), and then to the poor and needy; and don’t forget to tip (and live) generously—20 to 30 percent.

YWJ: What’s one perennial problem all youth workers face, and how can they address it?
Chap Clark: Arrogance and a lack of teachability. Again, see above. Life is about humble preparation and learning. Ministry is an expression of what God’s doing inside of you and allowing that to spill over onto others. The worst youth ministers do some of the best youth ministry because they rely on their energy, skill and passion to do their work. While those are good things, they can overshadow a recognition that all ministry belongs to Jesus Christ; and the body is called to be the people of God before we do the work of God.

YWJ: What developments in youth ministry have encouraged/concerned you?
Chap Clark: Encouraged me: In church youth ministry there was a long run there where youth ministry as a field was interested in deepening an understanding not only of kids and culture, but of theology and the church. (In Young Life for decades, a staff person could not stay on staff unless he or she was on track to get a master’s in theology). This commitment to the most rigorous and vibrant training and conversations about our calling helped many of us go far deeper not only with our kids, but with our churches and leaders and parents and ourselves as Christ’s servants.

Concerns for the future: I see this trend beginning to reverse itself, where many of the leaders being given voice and influence are less concerned with study, conversations and theology and more bent on pragmatism and bumper-sticker/get-it-done strategies that are measured by numbers and hype. Numbers can mean a lot of things, but as we now live in a highly fragmented and deeply wounded world, where we all live on two planes (what we show others and what is truly going on inside of us) we are desperate for thoughtful and respectful integration of church and culture, life and faith—all grounded in sound and engaged theology. I pray often that tomorrow’s ministry leaders will do the hard work it takes to be equipped to tell a generation of kids and families, “Thus saith the Lord…”

YWJ: How has your approach to teaching youth ministry students changed through time?
Chap: The first few years, I relied on my own experience with Young Life and the history and perspectives of my friends and mentors (many during the early years of Youth Specialties) to provide the content and curriculum for my students. After Denver Seminary made me go back to school—kicking and screaming, mind you—to get a Ph.D., I discovered how little I actually knew about life and even about the historic Christian faith. Soon after my [earning my doctorate], I spent lots of time working through practical theology. Since then, I have been teaching people not how to do youth ministry, but how to think theologically about the Scriptures’ call to pass on the faith to following generations. (We even changed our program’s name from “youth and family ministry” to “youth, family and culture”). Teaching men and women to understand today’s world and how it impacts kids, development, families and marriage; how our society shapes us through film and music and narrative; and connecting and integrating that with a careful ecclesiology (theology of the church) and missional understanding of faith. This switch from teaching small groups, camps and programming, to framing a way of thinking and processing our calling is the biggest shift.