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 earth was an invasion — the signaling of a war against darkness, in which we are invited to participate....
Dec 01, 2017•22 min
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 us. They invite listeners to learn more about an initiative called Breadcoin. Happy Thanksgiving from...
Nov 24, 2017•22 min
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 conversation and their desires for the future.
Nov 17, 2017•23 min
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.
Nov 10, 2017•23 min
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.
Nov 03, 2017•22 min
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.
Oct 27, 2017•23 min
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.
Oct 20, 2017•22 min
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.
Oct 13, 2017•22 min
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 along the way. This added option has truly brought increased engagement with the material, and we hope v...
Oct 06, 2017•23 min
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 participants gain as a result of hearing others' stories and letting their own stories be known....
Sep 29, 2017•23 min
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 and reading our own stories. If you feel a pull to know more about how your story, in all of its beaut...
Sep 23, 2017•22 min
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?
Sep 16, 2017•22 min
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 encouragement and challenge: we all have a choice to make in each of our relationships—to approach another's s...
Sep 09, 2017•23 min
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 hearts are with you.
Sep 02, 2017•24 min
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?
Aug 26, 2017•24 min
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.
Aug 19, 2017•19 min
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.
Aug 12, 2017•23 min
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.
Aug 05, 2017•20 min
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.
Jul 29, 2017•22 min
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.
Jul 22, 2017•24 min
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 transformative ways.
Jul 15, 2017•25 min
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 live into her calling.
Jul 08, 2017•24 min
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 trauma.
Jul 01, 2017•26 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender is joined by his long-time friend Jeanette White, Program Director at The Allender Center, to talk about the surprising and profound ways that essential oils can help in our journeys of healing and recovery. Jeanette shares about her own history of discovering essential oils, and about the ways they have helped her during a year marked by deep grief.
Jun 24, 2017•24 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender and his wife, Becky Allender, welcome summer by talking about a long road trip they are planning. As they share their hopes and expectations for the trip, they reflect on the thrill of planning, the joy of sharing new experiences, and the importance of remembering. In all of this, Dan shares his hope that a meaningful, memorable trip will always reveal a small taste of the coming Kingdom of God.
Jun 17, 2017•23 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues his conversation with Joel Murphy, a member of the Board of Trustees at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, about the mission of The Seattle School and the long, hard journey of turning a dream into a reality. The next chapter of that journey involves selecting a new President, so in this episode Dan and Joel invite you to help us spread the word. You can learn more at theseattleschool.edu/presidential-search.
Jun 10, 2017•21 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender is joined by Joel Murphy, a member of the Board of Trustees at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, to talk about the mission of The Seattle School and the long, hard journey of turning a dream into a reality. Dan and Joel reflect on the importance of transformative education, and they look toward The Seattle School's next chapter as Joel shares about leading the search for a new President.
Jun 03, 2017•21 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender concludes our series about the Marriage Quadrants by reflecting on core categories that he sees in strong, vibrant marriages: the presence of desire, conflict that is named and engaged well, the growth of curiosity, and commit and care that grow ever deeper over time. Dan is inviting couples to live for so much more than a nice, pleasant marriage; this is about a kingdom of God marriage. For a visual aid as you listen to Dan discussing these categories, look for this ...
May 27, 2017•22 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues our series about the Marriage Quadrants by looking at the dynamics in the fourth and final quadrant, which he describes as the most chaotic and volatile category—meaning marriages in Quadrant Four are easy to write off as hopeless. What does it look like to work with such a chaotic marriage in the hope of restoration? For a visual aid as you listen to Dan discussing these categories, look for this episode on our blog at theallendercenter.org.
May 20, 2017•23 min
This week, Dr. Dan Allender continues our series about the Marriage Quadrants by looking at the dynamics in Quadrant Three. Because of the deep levels of hurt, historic vows, and broken styles of relating that can be so entrenched, Dan admits that working with marriages in this category is perhaps the most difficult. As pastors, therapists, or friends, how can we begin to advocate for healing when there is so much loneliness and contempt? For a visual aid as you listen to Dan discussing these ca...
May 13, 2017•22 min
