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Worshiping in Spirit and Truth

Mark Allen’s brain is nothing short of a storehouse of creativity. As an award-winning art director and designer, he’s worked for clients like the New York Yankees, History Channel, HBO, and the Smithsonian. As a senior lecturer and director of the Temerlin Creative Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, he’s helped many of his students go on to produce award-winning designs and work for well-known brands and agencies.

But while Mark is deeply creative, he’s also deeply spiritual. So today, we’re asking him all about his favorite ways to find renewal and rest.

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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 worshiping 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 (and 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.

—Mark Allen, senior lecturer at Southern Methodist University, as told to Rapt Interviews