The Allender Center Podcast

This week, Dan continues with the third part of our Advent series as he explores the ways in which the Christmas story unfolds in the midst of shame and disruption. He explores passages about the Holy Family, the Shepherds, and King Herod, and discusses the interplay between God's sovereignty and the schemes of evil. What parts of our heart need to be captured and disrupted by honor of the coming...

This week, Dan continues the Advent series. He asks listeners to consider how or when this holiday season has made them dazed or confused. He explores the ways in which Mary, Zechariah, and Joseph were each dazed and confused, and how each responded differently. The question we are left with is this: How we are allowing our own lives to be impacted by the invasion of Christ coming to earth. Have w...

This week, Dan begins an Advent series. He outlines the many facets of the Christmas season, reviewing a study by the American Psychological Association about the conflict the season brings. He then discusses the places where we get held up by many distractions, believing our war is against culture and the way Christmas is celebrated. He invites us to instead recognize that Christ's coming to eart...

This week, Dan is joined by a longtime friend, Cary Umhau. Cary is the author of Burning Down the Fireproof Hotel, and her work has focused around connecting communities. In sharing her own story, she encourages listeners to remember the importance of seeing another and being seen by another. In this season of thanksgiving, Cary and Dan also discuss practical ways we can all give to those around u...

This week, Dan, along with friends and colleagues — Susan Kim, Abby Wong-Heffter, and Wendell Moss — conclude their conversation around race and trauma. Susan, Abby, and Wendell take time to discuss the obstacles and the cost they have faced in stepping into honest conversation around race. The four together name the ways in which The Allender Center is only beginning to step into this conversatio...

This week, Dan, Susan, Abby, and Wendell continue their conversation around race and trauma. The three guests provide details of their stories, revealing ways in which they have been dismissed or threatened by the majority around them. They go on to review the ways in which the often well-meaning believing community has hurt them through words and assumptions.

This week, Dan is joined by three friends: Wendell Moss, Susan Kim, and Abby Wong-Heffter. Together, they begin a conversation around race and trauma, inviting listeners to engage as learners. The episode includes an honest conversation about race in light of the Allender Center's history. Finally, the four address a few of the common myths around racial trauma.

This week, Dan concludes his series on dealing with difficult people. He turns to the text of Romans 12 as he explores the ways in which forgiveness can be a means to love and reconciliation. He explains that to offer forgiveness is to offer the gift of strength and kindness that cannot be dismissed by the other.

This week, Dan continues his series on dealing with difficult people. He provides three questions to consider about the nature of these relationships. He then explains that your ability to know your yes from your no, your willingness to address confrontation, and your readiness for reconciliation are all central to working within and out of these relationships.

This week, Dan begins a series on the subject of dealing with difficult people. He first outlines the four major categories of difficult people in our lives. He then reviews contexts in which we will need to deal with such people and suggests that we should reach for a better goal than simply boiling over in confrontation or escaping a difficult person altogether.

This week, Dan is joined again by Cathy Loerzel and Rachael Clinton to further discuss our Healing the Wounded Heart online course. They particularly review the benefit of a closed Facebook group created for tribe members. The ultimate goal in creating the tribe option was to ensure that participants would not have to move through the course alone and would benefit from processing with others alon...

This week, Dan is joined by Cathy Loerzel and Rachael Clinton. The three discuss the importance of community in the healing process and reflect upon ways in which community has benefited past "semester tribe" participants in our Healing the Wounded Heart online course. They take time to review three specific groups of people who would benefit from this kind of community experience and outline what...

This week, Dan and his wife, Becky Allender, conclude their series on Story. Dan introduces Becky's new book, and she reads an excerpt from it, recounting a painful story of loss. Through the conversation that follows, we learn how writing our stories and sharing them with a caring community can truly transform our lives. The episode concludes with an invitation to discover the power of writing an...

This week, Dan and his wife, Becky Allender, continue a series on Story. They dialogue about how their own particular upbringings and life events formed distinct themes in their lives. The episode presents a challenge to us: Have we taken time to consider the themes of our own stories? And have we considered how these themes affect those around us?

This week, Dan and his wife, Becky Allender, think back to the way in which one of their brief interactions led not only to confusion but to a deeper sense of irritation toward each other's stories. As they recognized and named their everyday stories, those that too often get overlooked, they were able to move past avoidance and gain understanding and empathy. The episode ends with this encouragem...

This week, Dan focuses on the catastrophic nature of the flooding in Houston. How do people respond when a catastrophe like this invades their lives? How can we respond in a meaningful way to those who are experiencing catastrophe? Dan explores these questions and more as he begins a series of podcast episodes that focus on our response to difficult stories.   To our many friends in Houston, our h...

This week, Dan and his wife, Becky Allender, reflect on their summer experiences to glean wisdom as they prepare to move into the fall. During their conversation, they ponder some helpful questions. How should we approach transition? Why does God invite us to reinvent our plans? What have we gained from our last season that we can bring to the next?

This week, Dr. Dan Allender concludes his four-part conversation with Lauren Bethell of the International Christian Alliance on Prostitution. As Dan and Lauren respond to audience questions, they reflect on the nature of calling, and they talk once again about the invitation to live as people who are open to beauty.

This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues a four-part conversation with Lauren Bethell of the International Christian Alliance on Prostitution. As Dan and Lauren engage questions from the audience, Dan is invited to reflect on the theology of beauty, and on how our own stories of brokenness and harm become our greatest gift in sitting with the stories of others.

This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues a four-part conversation with Lauren Bethell of the International Christian Alliance on Prostitution. Lauren shares how the fight against sex trafficking has grown exponentially in recent years, and she and Dan talk about what it means to step into your true calling, in a way that shapes the rest of your life.

This week, Dr. Dan Allender launches a four-part conversation with Lauren Bethell, Coordinator and Leadership Team Chair for the International Christian Alliance on Prostitution. Lauren shares how she came to the work of advocating for women in prostitution, and she and Dan reflect on the beauty that can be found in even our deepest scars.

This week, Dr. Dan Allender concludes his three-part conversation with Laurie Proctor, who has completed the Training Certificate and the Externship program with The Allender Center. Dan and Laurie are joined by Emma, Laura's 14-year-old daughter, who reflects on an experience of trauma and what it was like for her mom to respond to that experience with wisdom and care.

This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues his conversation with Laurie Proctor and her business partner, Jean Masukevich. Laurie and Jean have both completed The Allender Center's Training Certificate, and they talk with Dan about how that experience was part of their ongoing journey of restoration—a journey that has equipped them to step into their calling and pursue their passions in deeper, more tr...

This week, Dr. Dan Allender is joined by Laurie Proctor, who has completed the Training Certificate and Externship Program with The Allender Center, and is the co-founder of SowThat—an organization that helps others find hope and freedom in the personal and professional lives. Dan and Laurie talk about her journey with The Allender Center, and about how it sparked a new vision for what it means to...

This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues his conversation about essential oils with his long-time friend Jeanette White, Program Director at The Allender Center. Jeanette and Dan reflect on how the body responds to stress and trauma, and they share how essential oils can be a powerful tool both for the discrete, daily stresses, and for deep persistent patterns that are rooted in our memories of traum...