Phil Allen
9 min read ⭑
“An integrated gospel does not ignore social issues that touch people’s lives. It includes them because they matter to Jesus.”
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?
Growing up in Georgetown, South Carolina, and the Gullah/Geechee culture of the Lowcountry of South Carolina, my go-to meal to this day is shrimp and grits with gravy. My grandmothers used to make this all the time, and no one has made it like they do. In fact, whenever I came home from college or from whatever city I was living in at the time, my maternal grandmother always made it for me. The family assumed I came home at the very mention of her making shrimp and grits.
In general, seafood reminds me of home. I was close to my grandparents while growing up, so it’s more than food for me. It’s about relationships, conversations, and the memories of growing up on the South Carolina coast, where seafood is what we’re known for.
LexScope; 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?
To be honest, I don’t separate the sacred from the secular. I learned a long time ago to remove that dividing line. One activity I used to hate but now love is running. I connect with God during my runs. I’ve learned how to breathe since I started running in 2019 because it forces me to be mindful of my breathing.
When I’m running, I’m present not only with my breathing but also with my body. I’m paying attention to how my joints and muscles feel as well as to my heart rate and blood pressure. Because we live in a culture that prizes productivity, we can easily forget to be present in our own bodies until it’s too late. Often, I’m able to meditate, pray, listen to worship music or hip hop and R&B (I can connect with God in any genre of musical storytelling), or just enjoy a sense of gratitude simply because I have the ability to run. Running allows me to disconnect from work, issues, and other distractions and just trust that God is present. This is especially true in the long, hard runs — because that’s when I need God with me the most!
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?
Aside from my unapologetic weakness for dark chocolate, my greatest weakness is my tendency to be self-sufficient. Many people may find that to be a strength given we live in a very individualistic society. But it is a weakness because of my difficulty trusting people.
I’ve experienced betrayal from people close to me who should have been there to protect me, and it left an indelible mark on me. My lack of trust isn’t due to betrayal from deceit or manipulation (although that’s been part of my experience, too) but rather due to needing to depend on people who turned out to be completely unreliable when I was a kid.
After so much disappointment, I learned to be hyper-cautious and “do it myself” when it comes to tasks or projects. It’s impacted how I do relationships, whether work-related or romantic.
I’ve continued to experience those disappointments even today, which only reaffirms my suspicions. I’ve had to learn to silence the narrative in my head that says, They’ll disappoint me, just wait.
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?
My overall passion or obsession is to bring the issue of race and racism from the margins of theological conversation and show how an integrated gospel is inherently a gospel of justice.
I was a pastor at a megachurch in the Los Angeles area for seven years and then planted a church that lasted about five and a half years. I was immersed in a conservative evangelical context that presented a gospel that was only concerned about the salvation of individual souls. Justice was secondary, and issues of racism were not discussed at all.
I believe that race has been the preeminent organizing principle in the U.S. from its inception and is central to most of the injustice and inequities in our society. Now, as a theologian, ethicist and author, I write about how racism (that is, white supremacy) has impacted my family historically, as it has affected virtually all African American families, in my book “Open Wounds: A Story of Racial Tragedy, Trauma, and Redemption.” My second book, “The Prophetic Lens: The Camera and Black Moral Agency from MLK to Darnella Frazier,” continues the conversation with the video camera as the central character or tool that’s been critical to social movements emerging from the African American community.
An integrated gospel does not ignore social issues that touch people’s lives. It includes them because they matter to Jesus (see Matthew 23:23).
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?
Usually, when I begin to write or prepare a sermon or lecture, there’s an idea that I can’t shake. It not only excites me, but it also causes me to feel. I feel a sense of grief, joy, or indignation, depending on the topic or idea.
I then sit with it in prayer, meditate on it, or run the idea by friends whose wisdom and discernment I trust. I get feedback and trust that God is in it. I’ve also learned to pay attention as I move through a project and trust that when I need to pivot or change altogether, God will reveal that to me in real-time.
When I sense God is present, the message comes together. Pieces are woven together, ideas expand, and most importantly, the ideas and insights move me. I believe wholeheartedly that if I’m going to speak or write to educate, inspire, or challenge others, then the message needs to be for me or at least move me before I present it to others and expect them to be moved to action.
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 center my life around the Sabbath principle. I don’t limit myself to just a day of Sabbath rest. Instead, I build my daily life around rest. I split my day into two parts with rest and a pause of at least 15 to 20 minutes to fuel the second half of my day.
I rest not only to recover and restore but also to reflect on the first part of the day or week. This pause has become a sacred rhythm that keeps me from reaching near burnout or exhaustion. It allows my rest to be more than merely recovering and getting back to ground zero.
Rather than fitting rest into my days and weeks, I order my life around rest. This then expands to other practices of wellness. I run, lift weights, walk, stretch, practice breathing exercises, eat healthy (pescatarian/vegan) and engage in community. All of these practices stem from a focus on Sabbath rest as a primary principle in organizing my life. Wellness is sacred work and, like justice and race, has been pushed to the margins in Christian circles. If I’m not well, how can I operate in my calling or be available to serve and love others? If I’m not well, how am I healthy enough to even receive love?
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?
The first resource I would suggest is something everyone can create and is unique and relevant for each person — create a soundtrack of praise and worship. I created a playlist of songs that I listened to or sang in worship services years ago. When I play that playlist, no matter my mood, it does something to my soul. It brings me to tears and a sense of gratitude because I remember where I used to be, how far I’ve come, and how much I’ve grown.
Second, I highly recommend “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.” W. Phillip Keller presents the popular passage of Psalm 23 through the lens of a real-life shepherd. This book helped me understand what it meant for me to pastor and shepherd people. It also helped me understand what to look for in a pastor-shepherd.
My third recommended resource is the book “Quiet” by Susan Cain. As a highly introverted person who doesn’t always want to talk or be social, this book helped me understand myself, gave me language for how I’m wired, and helped me be comfortable with who I am. We’re not all made the same, nor are we a monolith, and that’s okay. There’s still a place for me.
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.
In this current season, there’s not really a technological resource that I use to survive or thrive. Instead, my top resource would be running.
I’ve consistently told people that running has saved me. When I started my Ph.D. program at Fuller Theological Seminary, I was still pastoring, and my blood pressure became elevated. For the first time in my life, I had blood pressure concerns (pre-hypertension).
Given that this medical issue runs in my family and in the African American community at large, I knew I needed to make more changes in my life. I started running and focusing on Sabbath rest and other wellness practices. My blood pressure is regulated now. But just a couple of years ago, the weeks when I didn’t run, I would feel my blood pressure rise.
I believe running, walking, or just moving in some way can make a big difference for people. I’ve even seen wheelchair-bound people wheeling around the Rose Bowl for their exercise. If I had to name a technology to complement this idea, it would be the Calm app, which I use mostly at night after or before prayer.
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?
God has been showing me how he’s integrating many of my experiences and areas of expertise into my theology and ethics. I was a personal trainer for 10 years prior to my call to ministry and, more specifically, pastoring. I’m very passionate about wellness and life-giving rhythms. I don’t see them as separate from my expression of faith but rather integrated with my faith.
Once I complete my doctoral program, I expect to write a book on a theology of wellness and how it’s critical to our faith and calling. I also sense God is stirring within me ideas for future films I hope to write and produce. My book Open Wounds was partnered with a documentary short film of the same title. I hope to continue this work.
Just as my work as a fitness professional is not excluded from my calling, neither is the artist in me. I sense God is leading me into modeling a more holistic approach to my faith as opposed to living in a sacred vs. secular binary. I left behind many areas of my life thinking they had no relevance in my faith journey and didn’t matter to God. But now, I’m nurturing those areas, and they’re reemerging as important reflections of God, particularly God in me.
Many Christians today divide their lives between sacred and secular. But you’ll have a tough time finding that binary in Scripture. Instead, you’ll see people like Moses, David, Ruth, Daniel, Mary and Jesus, whose relationships with God influenced every aspect of their lives, including their daily work and responsibilities.
Do you have areas of your life that you unwittingly put into the “secular” category — areas or mindsets you might feel God doesn’t need (or want) access to? If so, you may find it helpful to write down those things in your journal and ask God how he feels about them, how he wants to move through you, and how you can rely on him in those areas.
Did God show you a new insight or truth from this exercise? Why not share it with a friend who might need some encouragement today?
Phil Allen is a Ph.D. candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary. His research integrates Black Christian experiences and perspectives with theologies and ethics of justice, wellness, healing racial trauma and fostering racial solidarity. He’s the founder of the nonprofit Racial Solidarity Project in Pasadena, California, and the author of Open Wounds (Fortress Press, 2021) and The Prophetic Lens (Fortress Press, 2022). He’s also a speaker, poet and documentary film producer. As a former Division 1 college basketball player, he’s enjoyed being a guest chaplain for college and professional sports teams.
