The Allender Center

12/24/2025

“What the mind cannot comprehend, the heart receives with wonder.”
-Dr. Dan Allender

At Christmas, we are invited beyond tidy explanations and into wonder.
May your heart receive what your mind cannot hold, and may you encounter the love of a God who comes close.

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Allender Center.

12/23/2025

Trauma and Spiritual Abuse: A Panel Discussion w/Dan Allender and Friends

The Allender Center is excited to join with Fuller Seminary for lunch and a panel discussion on Trauma and Spiritual Abuse.
🔹 Jan 7 from 11:30am to 1pm PST
🔹 Payton Hall 101 at Fuller Theological Seminary
🔹 CEU's available
🔹 Live stream also available

Register Here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trauma-and-spiritual-abuse-a-panel-discussion-wdan-allender-and-friends-tickets-1977675763446?aff=oddtdtcreator

12/22/2025

“Joy is not just about our anticipation of heaven; it is also meant to change us. It is meant to make us want to be about joy on behalf of others.”
-Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv

12/19/2025

"It feels like there's a cost either way." — Rebekah Vickery, LMHC

Many of us live in the tension between the faith we were given and the faith we’re growing into—and there can be real loss on both sides.

If this resonates and you’d like help discerning how to navigate these realities with care, particularly as the holidays approach, the full recording of last week's live webinar with Rebekah Vickery and Rachael Clinton Chen is available now.

You can check out "Holidays in the In-Between" at:
https://online.theallendercenter.org/courses/holidays-fundamentalism-loss

12/18/2025

“There’s something even in the concept of the incarnation that should be so shocking and offensive that it reorients us to what is true power.”
-Dr. Dan Allender

12/15/2025

Spiritual abuse often leaves debris that surfaces in unexpected ways—making us doubt our instincts, question our belovedness, struggle with trust, or feel disconnected from our communities and from God.

Healing can begin when we face these impacts and reclaim the parts of ourselves that have been diminished or overlooked.

If you’re looking for a place to begin, we’ve carefully curated a bundle of four resources to guide you through understanding spiritual abuse and moving toward healing, all at your own pace.

Explore the Spiritual Abuse & Healing Deep Dive Collection at:

🔗https://online.theallendercenter.org/bundles/spiritual-abuse-and-healing-collection

12/12/2025

This Advent season, Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen are joined by Rev. Dr. Michael Chen for a rich and deeply human conversation about the Trinity and what it reveals to us about God, ourselves, and our relationships with others.

Together, they explore how the mystery of one God in three persons shapes our understanding of love, relationality, and beauty—particularly in the context of Advent, when we reflect on God’s incarnation and presence in the world.

This episode is an invitation to pause, wonder, and engage your heart with the presence of God in this season of anticipation.

The podcast will take a short break next week for the holiday, but we’ll be back on December 26 with an end-of-year reflection from Dan and Becky Allender.

🎧 You can listen find the Allender Center Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or stream each episode at:

This Advent season, Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen are joined by Rev. Dr. Michael Chen for a rich and deeply human conversation about the...

12/09/2025

Gather your friends, colleagues, or faith community and journey through an Allender Center online course together. When we learn in community, reflection deepens, courage grows, and connection flourishes.

Sign up 5 or more participants by 12/31 to get our biggest group discount: 30% off, plus a free Leader Guide and a 30-minute consultation with Clay Clayton from the Allender Center to help you lead your group with confidence.

Start your group today and create a space for growth and healing in 2026.
Visit: 🔗 online.theallendercenter.org

Need help picking out a course? Email us at support@theallendercenter.org

12/05/2025

As we begin the Advent season, Dan and Rachael welcome writer and theologian Blaine Eldredge back to the podcast for a sweeping, story-rich journey into history, theology, and the fierce hope of the incarnation.

If you love church history or the nuance of theological debate, this episode is a feast. And if you don’t consider yourself a scholar, you’re still fully invited in, because the questions raised here reach all of us who long for God-with-us in turbulent times.

They approach Advent by way of one of the most compelling figures of the early church: Athanasius, the fourth-century bishop whose devotion to the incarnation shaped Christian belief for generations.

This episode invites you to consider what it means that God took on flesh amid conflict, upheaval, and hope that refuses to be extinguished. It’s a rich, timely conversation for this season of waiting and wonder.

🎧 Listen to The Story of God With Us: Advent and the Early Church with Blaine Eldredge, this week on the Allender Center Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. You can also stream each episode, find additional resources and transcripts at:

As we begin the Advent season, Dan and Rachael welcome writer and theologian Blaine Eldredge back to the podcast for a sweeping, story-rich journey into...

11/28/2025

Loneliness is a human experience, but it’s one we don’t always acknowledge honestly. In this deeply personal conversation, Dan and Rachael open up about the moments when loneliness and suffering make us unsure of what we need, what we want, or how to ask for help.

They also zoom out: why loneliness is rising, how our culture quietly reinforces isolation, and why recognizing our ache for connection is a sign of our humanity, not our failure.

You probably won’t find quick fixes or step-by-step solutions in this conversation. Rather, consider this episode an invitation to reflect on your own ambivalence, your desire for connection, and the quiet, messy courage it takes to reach out—both when you feel lonely and when you sense someone else might be, too.

🎧 You can find the Allender Center Podcast anywhere you get your podcasts, or stream each episode at:

Loneliness is a human experience, but it’s one we don’t always acknowledge honestly. In this deeply personal conversation, Dan and Rachael open up about the...

11/24/2025

🌟 Our biggest sale of the year starts today! 🌟

Now through December 1, save 30% off ALL of our signature online courses and webinar recordings with code SAVE30.

Each course and webinar recording comes with lifetime access, so you can enroll now at our lowest prices and then start whenever you're ready.

Here’s what’s on sale:
📖 To Be Told Online Course
🌿 Story Sage Frameworks & Tools and Family of Origin Courses
💍 Marriage Online Course
💞 Mini Marriage Online Course
❤️‍🩹 Healing the Wounded Heart Online Course
🧠 Effective Trauma Care Online Course
🕊️ Spiritual Abuse & Healing Online Course
.. plus save 30% on all recorded webinars featuring teachings from Dan Allender, Steve Call, Rachael Clinton Chen, John Eldredge, Lisa Sharon Harper, Aundi Kolber, Wendell Moss, Linda Royster, Matthias Roberts, Lauren D. Sawyer, Jay Stringer, Curt Thompson, and Adam Young.

Need help picking the right course? We’re here to help you; just send us a message!

This is the biggest sitewide sale we offer all year and our gift to you.
Save 30% with code SAVE30 at:
🔗 online.theallendercenter.org

11/21/2025

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It can be a day of tradition, family, and connection. It can also bring tension, exhaustion, grief, or trigger old wounds.

Today, Dan and Rachael reflect on the complex reality of the holiday: the joy, the nostalgia, the chaos, and the moments that can leave us feeling overwhelmed or even “devoured” by family dynamics.

Drawing on their own stories and looking ahead to this year’s holiday, they explore how to hold gratitude alongside grief, and how to create meaningful connection without losing yourself.

Whether you’re hosting, traveling, or creating a quiet space for yourself, this conversation offers gentle guidance and practical tools. You’ll learn how to approach Thanksgiving with intention, better honor your boundaries, and participate with a heart that’s more open to the day, however it unfolds.

🎧 Listen to "How to Not Be Consumed at Thanksgiving" today on the Allender Center Podcast at:

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It can be a day of tradition, family, and connection. It can also bring tension, exhaustion, grief, or even...