The Allender Center Podcast
The Allender Center
The Allender Center Podcast features Dr. Dan Allender and his team engaging topics on healing and restoration through the unique intersection of theology and psychology. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join us to gain refreshing insight into understanding your story, handling relational struggles, recovering from trauma and abuse, and more.
The mission of The Allender Center is to help people tell their stories with awareness and integrity, and to train them to listen to the stories of others with care, artistry, and skill so that they may foster redemption and healing in their lives. The Allender Center is a pioneering organization committed to boldly engaging the impact of trauma and abuse, providing healing and teaching to individuals, couples, and communities, and training professionals to listen and enter into stories in a way that facilitates transformation and hope. For information on all our programs and live events, visit theallendercenter.org
The mission of The Allender Center is to help people tell their stories with awareness and integrity, and to train them to listen to the stories of others with care, artistry, and skill so that they may foster redemption and healing in their lives. The Allender Center is a pioneering organization committed to boldly engaging the impact of trauma and abuse, providing healing and teaching to individuals, couples, and communities, and training professionals to listen and enter into stories in a way that facilitates transformation and hope. For information on all our programs and live events, visit theallendercenter.org
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 1, 2022 • 44min
The Narratives of Marginalization
Our guest this week is Pastor James White, longtime friend of co-host Linda Royster. James is a highly sought out consultant, speaker and facilitator for several organizations and companies on issues relating to inclusion, equity and diversity. James White, Linda Royster, and Dan Allender discuss the distinct narratives in scripture of the so-called "marginalized," the narratives of race that have been created and embedded into our Western culture to dehumanize the "other," and the opportunities we have to experience shalom when we truly listen to one another's narratives."Whenever we talk about doing this work of diversity, equity, inclusion, we make it seem like it's just for marginalized people to gain power. I would say it's so that we all can become the humans that God designed us to be," says James White.
Sep 24, 2022 • 51min
Systems of Separation
This week, we're joined by Rev. Michael S. Chen, with Linda Royster co-hosting alongside Dr. Dan Allender. As we lean in to listening to one another's voices, we're examining the impact of the oppressive systems on our individual and collective stories, and naming the more subtle systems of division, comparison, stereotypes, fear, and distrust that may impact our ability to truly listen. Why are these conversations so important? As Michaen Chen points out, without the perspectives of others who also bear the image of God, we will have an impoverished view of who God is.
Sep 17, 2022 • 24min
Nuanced Identities
This week, we're revisiting a conversation from 2018 between Dr. Dan Allender and Dr. Angela Parker, Professor at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, as they explore the passage of 1 Corinthians 4:8-13. Dr. Parker starts by offering some context about the port city of Corinth and the people who make up the church Paul is writing to. It's a divided city, concerned with hierarchy and proximity to power. Dr. Parker challenges us to consider Paul's ethnicity, gender, and position as we wonder about "what might be going on underneath the text," which also invites us to wrestle with our own nuanced identities as readers of the text.
Sep 10, 2022 • 45min
The Violence of Marginalization
"Marginalization is profoundly violent," states Linda Royster in this week's conversation with Dan Allender. Linda is the Strategic Alliances Manager, Lead Instructor, and Co-Facilitator of the Story Workshop for Racial Trauma and Healing at The Allender Center. From the very beginning, this conversation challenges the use of the term "marginalized." As we engage topics such as race, gender, and cultural norms, this conversation sets the stage and reminds us to enter the conversation with the desire to listen - really listen - to voices that are often dismissed or diminished. Linda reminds us that listening well "requires a willingness to mature, to go beyond being the center of your own world and to actually take into consideration that there is value outside of yourself."
Sep 3, 2022 • 33min
Desire and Disappointment
As we transition into the fall season, Dan and Becky Allender take a moment to reflect on their summer: the desires they had, the disappointments they felt, and the surprising lessons learned when things didn't go as planned.
Aug 27, 2022 • 37min
Resilient Spirit: A Conversation with John Eldredge
We're joined again by author John Eldredge to talk about the hope that we can hold onto as we work through the collective and personal trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not accomplished through a to-do list, but rather through small practices that gently guide us deeper into the hope and restoration that God offers. John's latest book, "Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul in These Turbulent Times," identifies the warning signs of post-pandemic weariness while also pointing to the resilient human spirit and the hope we have in God.
Aug 20, 2022 • 37min
Rushing for Relief: A Conversation with John Eldredge
A lost train of thought, a lost sense of motivation, a lost temper… these are just some of the things we may have lost as a result of the personal and global trauma of the pandemic. As restrictions have lifted, many of us are rushing for relief, finding comfort in the things we lost like dining out, going to concerts, and taking vacations. While there's nothing wrong with enjoying these activities, we may be using them as quick fixes to soothe the pain and isolation experienced over the past two years. Our guest this week, John Eldredge, has written about the need for acknowledging the trauma from the COVID-19 pandemic in his latest book, "Resilient: Restoring Your Weary Soul in These Turbulent Times." In this conversation with Dr. Dan Allender, John points out the warning signs of post-pandemic weariness while also pointing to the resilient human spirit and the hope we have in God. We invite you to slow your pace for the next half hour or so to thoughtfully consider this conversation with us.
Aug 13, 2022 • 38min
Anchoring Rituals, Part 2 with Dr. Chelle Stearns and Matthias Roberts
This week, Dr. Dan Allender, Dr. Chelle Stearns, and Matthias Roberts, MA, reconvene to continue their conversation about being "lost at sea." Their conversation centers around the watery ritual of baptism: the terrifying acts of faith as we enter the murky waters and the renewal and redemption that God has for us. With deeply personal stories and compelling theological perspectives, we hope this conversation invites you to consider this ritual of renewal in new ways.
Aug 6, 2022 • 35min
Anchoring Rituals, Part 1 with Dr. Chelle Stearns and Matthias Roberts
When we are rocked by trauma, loss, chaos, and uncertainty, it can feel like we are "lost at sea" without an anchor or clear direction. How do we begin to make sense of our lives and what we hold as true when we have left a familiar land? Join Dr. Dan Allender for part one of this two-part conversation with Dr. Chelle Stearns and Matthias Roberts as they reflect on their recent class at The Seattle School for Theology and Psychology called, "Lost at Sea." Next week, we'll continue the discussion around rituals that can anchor us in hope and help us make sense of our lives in the midst of ambiguous waters.
Aug 5, 2022 • 22min
Replay and Rest: Imagination and Hope
In the third and final episode in our "Replay and Rest" series, we'll revisit a conversation between Dan and Becky Allender as they reflect on the profound depths of rest we are invited to in Psalm 131. We know that rest is of the utmost importance in order to recover from the toll that stress takes on our bodies, our minds, and our hearts. Here at The Allender Center, we are practicing what we teach and many of our team members are taking reduced work hours and vacation time during the month of July. In that spirit, we are choosing to re-air three popular past episodes that center around the theme of rest this month. Even if you have heard these before, we hope that you will take the time to listen, reflect, and purposely make space for rest in your own life.
