Mark Allen
14 min read ⭑
“The spiritual practice I’m very much enjoying right now (and from now on) is a form of worship that’s consistent but not monotonous, repetition that’s not repetitive, order that’s not restricting, structure that’s not inflexible, and tradition that’s alive.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
I grew up in Texas City, a small blue-collar refinery town on the Texas Gulf Coast. Whenever I visit, I always make a trip to my favorite hole-in-the-wall taquería. The place is always busy and the patronage is multicultural. It’s a microcosm of the surrounding town—a place where everyone is different but the same. In fact, I laugh when I think back to who I thought the “rich” families were when I was a kid because now I can see that there was very little that separated us. Unlike where I live now, there was no rich or super-rich class.
My go-to meal at Taqueria is the Jalisco Burrito, which is also representative of the local people and culture—that is, very simple ingredients, but authentic and unpretentious. The Jalisco is a humble masterpiece: grilled steak wrapped in a queso-covered cocoon accompanied by beans, rice, chips, and salsa—washed down with a cold glass of horchata (or Dr. Pepper, depending on what I’m thirsty for that day).
Like many young people who move away from the place they were born and raised, (in my youthful ignorance/arrogance) I came to look down on my hometown for a short time as if everyone who had stayed was somehow missing out.
But it wasn’t long before I started looking back on my roots with much greater appreciation—especially for the people (my parents in particular) who worked so long and hard to make a good life for their families.
Quite ironically, the beauty, goodness, and dignity of the ordinary have become very important to me and have become a major focus of my work in recent years.
Markus Spiske; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
The great outdoors is a sanctuary for me. Whether I’m hiking, rafting, or camping, there’s something about being surrounded by nature that calms my nerves and clears my mind. As often as I can, I like to put myself into wild and unfamiliar settings that remind me of how small I am. It’s a practice that cultivates humility, but the not-so-obvious benefit is that it also inspires gratitude and joy in the knowledge that—despite our insignificance—God sees us and took a personal interest. We are not alone in the expanse. We are loved.
But it’s not as if I have the time or resources to backpack around the world in search of natural wonders every week. Most of my days are spent sitting in an office chair—reading, writing, editing, designing, or meeting with students. I also have a wife and daughter who need my time and attention, and there are no mountains where I live. So most times, I have to take what I get: walking the shady lakeside trails near my house or simply taking the scenic route through some nearby horse ranches on the drive home.
I once heard it said that people who work with their minds rest with their hands. This is certainly true of me. I actually look forward to working in my backyard—building, planting, trimming, mowing, fixing. And sometimes it’s the most repetitive tasks that become the most invigorating, even prayerful. The simple, repeated action of watering plants or raking leaves activates my lethargic, hunched-over body without increasing the load on my overtaxed mind. Inevitably my thoughts turn to God, to confession, to intercession.
Physical labor is a reset button for me—a way to cleanse my soul’s palate so that it becomes sensitive again to stimuli that I’ve grown calloused toward. It’s also a way to practice (or enter into) God’s immanence and transcendence. Sometimes it’s the earthiest of practices that can take us somewhere higher.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
How about a complex web of interrelated weaknesses? I’m full of them. For starters, I have to remind myself that thinking about God doesn’t necessarily translate into communion with God. Sometimes my thought-life is deep, active, prayerful contemplation—meditating on the attributes of God: his omnipresence, his infinitude, and so on. Other times, I’m just rifling through propositions about God—which is not the same. But it’s not always easy to notice the difference. Sometimes I’m just not paying close enough attention as I go through my day on autopilot.
I’m also a covert overachiever in that most people don’t think of me this way, but I have too many of the telltale symptoms to deny it. I tend to be a perfectionist, and failure is really hard on me—especially when I’ve really given myself over to something that didn’t work out.
It’s not that I’m a sore loser, but far too often, I view my failures as wasted time and effort rather than opportunities to learn and grow (even though I should know better by now and preach the exact opposite to my students). I also have a really hard time unplugging from work—especially when I’m in the zone.
Overthinker. Overachiever. Perfectionist. Workaholic. Author Jerry Bridges coined a great name for these types of vices: respectable sins. Of course “respectable” here comes with a major asterisk—these are the sins we openly tolerate or even tacitly celebrate, which makes them just as sinister as they are subtle. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
I’m a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where I lead a program for art directors, designers, and copywriters in the Meadows School of the Arts. I teach courses in creativity theory, aesthetics, advertising, design, and portfolio development. I love teaching. For me, it’s one of those rare jobs that I’d keep doing even if I won the lottery (after an extended beach sabbatical in Seychelles, of course). There are two busy seasons for me when I guess you could say that I become a little “obsessed”—at the end of the fall and spring semesters.
In the spring, we take our students to New York City for a whole week. We visit the best ad agencies and design studios in the world as well as art museums, the theater, and other cultural sites. We organize Q&A panels with top creative professionals and host an alumni networking event that typically ends with some pretty epic late-night karaoke.
Many of our students point back to this experience as the time when their confidence began to soar and their plans for the future finally crystallized.
At the end of the fall semester, we put on a big exhibition to highlight all the best student work done in our program over the past year. As a teacher, it’s a joy to see my students as they walk into the crowded exhibition area on opening night and start glowing as they see their work proudly displayed on the wall for the first time. You can see examples of my students’ work on my website organized under three categories: Advertising, Design, and Miscellaneous.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
It’s not as if the clouds part and golden rays of inspiration descend in the form of a dove. I certainly welcome Damascus Road experiences, but I’m not sure it’s helpful to give advice or build a way of life based on such rare and unpredictable interventions of the divine. I’ve had precious few moments when I’ve had a dream or experienced things that were way too weird to be a coincidence. But most times, I struggle just to hear the Spirit’s still, small voice in this big, noisy world. So how do I know when the Holy Spirit is invigorating my work?
Not to be glib, but am I working on something? Anything? Is it worthwhile? Well, then, “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24, ESV).
I don’t mean to oversimplify it or to steal the magic out of the rare moments when the clouds really do seem to open up in dramatic ways. But I guess I’ve always viewed my work as an opportunity to display Paul’s admonition to the Colossians above or, put another way, the maxim popularly attributed to Saint Francis: “Preach the gospel, and if you must, use words.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean there aren’t times when we absolutely must speak up, but unless you are a street preacher, I think most of us live in a world where actions speak louder than words. And so if you make crappy art or do shoddy plumbing or post tons of fluff and garbage on social media—that says something about you and what you believe about God, faith, truth, and your relationship with your neighbor.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
I often describe myself as a church mutt because, at various stages in my life, I’ve been a part of so many different denominations, para-church organizations, study groups, etc. When I moved out of Texas for the first time to attend seminary, my wife and I attended a small Anglican church for the three years that we were there. It was a new experience for us and the first time I was introduced to a form of liturgical worship that wasn’t rote, dead ritual “having the appearance of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5, ESV). I mean, this church said and did many of the same things I had seen other churches do, but it was clear that these people were there to have church. It was clear that the congregation really believed the things they were saying because they weren’t just repeating words, they were proclaiming, affirming, confessing, and worshipping with great gusto and conviction.
After we moved back to Dallas, we started attending the same church that we had been a part of previously. It was a good church (still is), and we thoroughly enjoyed being there for nearly a decade. But when the pandemic forced our services online, the new format gave us time and space to reflect on what we wanted to do if and when the pandemic came to an end. After several months of dilly-dallying, we finally began attending another Anglican church.
So to answer the question more directly, the spiritual practice I’m very much enjoying right now (and from now on) is a form of worship that’s consistent but not monotonous, repetition that’s not repetitive, order that’s not restricting, structure that’s not inflexible, and tradition that’s alive.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
C.S. Lewis has been a constant companion and inspiration to me. His essay “Man or Rabbit?” is one that I have revisited recently. Here he addresses the question: Can we live a good (moral) life without being a Christian? Lewis undercuts the rhetorical power of the question with the so-simple-you-almost-miss-it proposition—“But what if Christianity is true and is thus worth believing, regardless of how it may or may not make our lives better?” It’s not just an apologetic addressed to non-Christians; it’s a reminder for believers who often forget that the Christian faith is not (first and foremost) about good behavior. As with all of Lewis’s work, it’s masterfully written—concise with helpful illustrations and metaphors. But what I love most is that Lewis is so charitable and kind toward the skeptic and the doubter, and he treats their questions with such dignity.
“Man or Rabbit?” is widely available for free online in text or audio/video form, or as part of the book God in the Dock. Also recommended: Mere Christianity, The Weight of Glory, Letters to Malcolm, A Grief Observed, The Screwtape Letters, and Till We Have Faces.
Thomas Aquinas has also had a profound impact on me. I often recite his “Prayer Before Study“ during times of intense work or preparation. His massively influential Summa Theologiae has also shaped and reshaped my faith in many ways, especially concerning the attributes of God. Aquinas bolsters some of our most common beliefs about God but in a way that’s very important in our day and age.
Oftentimes our good and right beliefs about God are based on bad reasons, and this can lead to big problems. Aquinas likes to start by affirming many of our most basic intuitions but then systematically roots out and dismantles the faulty reasoning we use to support those beliefs—only to build back the original belief even stronger—supported by good reasons and nuanced thinking. So it’s not deconstruction for deconstruction’s sake. For Thomas, all truth is God’s truth. He isn’t shy about calling out error, but he also values the common ground he shares with his those who differ from him. Wherever he finds truth, he affirms it. It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from Greek, Muslim, or Jewish sources—if there’s truth in it, Aquinas responds to that part with a hearty “Amen!” And then he incorporates the truth into his own thinking to advance and defend the faith. Eat the fish, spit out the bones.
I also have to mention Peter Kreeft, who talks a lot about both Aquinas and Lewis. Kreeft is a deep thinker, but he has the special gift of translating lofty concepts to the layman. If the thought of tackling Aquinas’s 3,000-page Summa Theologiae scares you, check out Kreeft’s Summa of the Summa—the abridged and accessible version with helpful commentary sprinkled in. His work on the three Transcendentals—Truth, Goodness, and Beauty—is very good (especially on Beauty). And if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, Kreeft is your man. Peter Kreeft has written dozens of books and is easy to find online and on various podcast channels. He has lots of resources available on his website—some free, some paid. It will put you on the right path to discovering more.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it’s done for you.
For me this one is simple. Psalm 11 was recommended to me by someone who went out of their way to help me as I was entering one of the most difficult seasons of my life, and I’ve never forgotten it. I’ve lived long enough to resonate with the first three verses (see below) as I’ve seen the foundations of various parts of my life crumble: friendships, relationships, my best-laid plans—entire decades marked by loss.
At certain points, I brought the destruction down upon myself. And I’ve certainly had experience with running and hiding. But regardless of the circumstances, verse 4 has always been the mother of all mic-drop Scriptures for me—a reminder that no matter how bad the situation is, God is unflinching, unmoved, unchanged—where he’s always been, on his throne.
But none of this means he is inactive or aloof, for “his eyes behold, his gaze examines” (verse 4). To gaze is to look upon intentionally and steadily. We are not invisible to him. And yes, there is judgment for the wicked enemy (verses 5-6), but justice is overshadowed in the beautiful resolution at the end of the psalm when the sufferer (the upright) comes to gaze upon the face of God.
Once again, we see divine transcendence and immanence carried out in a way that meets us where we are but takes us to a place we could not reach on our own.
Here's the full psalm:
“In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?’
“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
“For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face” (Psalm 11, ESV).
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
While I haven’t stopped making art, the last decade of my life has been more focused on the philosophical underpinnings of my discipline. But as much as I love to write and think about art, drawing and painting have always been my first love and things that I hope to fully resume soon.
Many years ago, I stretched and hung a big blank canvas on a prominent wall in our home as an ever-present reminder that calls out to me: “Don’t forget about your roots, Mark!” My wife actually made me move it to a less conspicuous place several years ago because it’s kind of ominous the way it just hangs there in silent judgment—primed in black, like something out of the Rothko Chapel. But it’s a metaphor that all creative people can identify with: There’s nothing scarier—or more thrilling—than a blank canvas staring back at you.
In the meantime, I’m working on a book project with a good friend, Hannah Venable. We did our doctoral studies in the same philosophy program at the University of Dallas, but Hannah is also a trained musician. So in addition to her specialized area of philosophical expertise (phenomenology), she adds valuable perspective when it comes to the performing arts that I wouldn’t have as someone who was trained in the visual arts.
The book is called Art and the Flourishing of the Ordinary, and we’re trying to answer two perennial questions: What is art and why is it good for us? The whole project is motivated by a major shift that occurred early in the 20th century when the modern art world began minimizing traditional artistic values like craftsmanship and beauty in favor of qualities like meaning, progress, and originality. As art became more and more conceptual(ist), the connection between art and everyday living was also diminished.
It’s a big part of why the general public (understandably) tends to dismiss modern art as an abstract, high-brow enterprise even though they maintain a high regard for art in general.
Of course, good art can be and often is difficult—to make and to make sense of—but far too often work that is hailed as “complex” or “deep” is merely opaque and front-loaded with philosophical assumptions and foreign grammar administered by artworld elites. In general, our project attempts to bridge the divide between the modern art world and ordinary people by narrowing the definition of art on the one hand yet expanding it on the other.
Do you have a life verse? Or a specific passage in Scripture that just always seems to speak to you—no matter what season of life you’re facing? We love how Mark goes back to Psalm 11 again and again to be encouraged or refreshed.
Often, the Scriptures that minister most to us tend to remind us of important, unchanging truths—that God is good and faithful, that he loves us, that he is sovereign, or that we will enjoy him forever in heaven one day.
Biblical truths like those can carry us through the toughest and most uncertain times. So why not take a moment today to write down your “life verse”—or a whole list of Scriptures that are near to your heart—so you can go back to those words again and again? After all, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Proverbs 30:5, ESV).
Mark Allen is a senior lecturer and director of the Temerlin Creative Program in the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy with a concentration in the philosophy of art, aesthetics, and modern art history. He also holds a seminary degree in philosophical theology and a B.F.A. in Communication Design and Art Direction. In addition to teaching, he is a practicing art director and designer for clients like the New York Yankees, History Channel, Martha Stewart, The Walking Dead, HBO, The Smithsonian, and the U.S. National Parks Service.
