The Allender Center

04/24/2026

Technology isn’t just a tool; it’s shaping our attention, our relationships, and even our capacity for connection.

This week on the Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Rachael sit down with Dawn Wible, founder of Talk More. Tech Less., to name what many of us are wrestling with.

You’ll hear about how to approach some of the harder truths many families are facing today, including online exploitation risks, and why open, shame-free conversations at home matter more than ever.

If you’ve ever felt the pull of your phone, the frustration of setting boundaries, or the ache of disconnection with your loved ones, you’re not alone.

We invite you to listen to the full episode to hear practical insights for you and your family. And be sure to check the show notes or visit the Talk More. Tech Less. website for resources, including their free guides to help you take small, meaningful steps toward healthier tech use.

🎧 You can stream today's episode on your favorite podcast streaming platform, or find each episode plus show notes and full transcripts on our website at theallendercenter.org.

Listen to this week's episode here: https://theallendercenter.org/2026/04/how-to-build-a-healthier-relationship-with-technology-with-dawn-wible

How do you and your family form a healthy relationship with tech in the age of social media, AI, and advancing technology that's designed to keep you hooked? Founder of Talk More. Tech Less., Dawn Wible, joins us to provide practical tips.

04/23/2026

Shame is one of the most powerful forces shaping our stories.
When it surfaces, we tend to move away.
But what would it look like to stay?

Learning to recognize shame more clearly can shape not only how we understand our own story, but also how we respond when shame shows up in the stories of those around us.

When we can stay present to it instead of turning away, we begin to hear more accurately what is being said—and respond with greater clarity and care.

Join Dan on May 9 to witness how a real story of shame is entered with attentiveness and wisdom, and how that changes what becomes possible in the story.

The Art of Story Engagement
Saturday, May 9 | 9 AM – 1 PM PT
Live online session + recorded access included
🔗 Register at:
https://online.theallendercenter.org/pages/art-of-story-engagement-training-series-spring-2026

04/20/2026

What does it look like to stay present to a story that feels hard to enter?

This spring, join two live online sessions in The Art of Story Engagement to witness real stories as they are engaged in real time.

May 9 — Engaging Stories of Shame with Dr. Dan Allender
June 13 — Engaging Stories of Contempt with Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv

Each session offers a rare window into how stories are held with care and wisdom, with an invitation to grow in how you listen and respond in your own life.

You’re welcome to join one session or both.

Learn more + register at:
🔗 https://online.theallendercenter.org/pages/art-of-story-engagement-training-series-spring-2026

04/17/2026

Nearly everyone has a story of medical trauma, whether it’s a surgery, a frightening diagnosis, chronic pain, a difficult birth, a long wait for answers, or even the seemingly-subtle experience of being dismissed in a clinical setting.
These moments may not always be labeled as “trauma,” but they often leave a mark on our bodies, our relationships, and our sense of safety.

In this episode of the Allender Center podcast, Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen sit down with Dr. James “Jim” Jackson, a leading expert in neuropsychology, long COVID, and survivorship care, to explore what it means to recognize and heal from medical trauma in all its forms.

The conversation opens up the often-overlooked reality that medical experiences don’t just end when treatment ends. They can shape anxiety, trust, avoidance of care, and the emotional lives of entire families.

🎧 Check out "Reclaiming Your Life From Medical Trauma" with Dr. James "Jim" Jackson today on the Allender Center Podcast. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts, or stream each episode on our website.

Dr. James “Jim” Jackson, a leading expert in neuropsychology and survivorship care, explores what it means to recognize and heal from medical trauma in all its forms.

04/13/2026

“We are far more broken than we can confess and far more beautiful than we can embrace. We often hover in the middle attempting to escape the extremity of our existence—yet both our capacity for darkness and our hunger for the light give depth and complexity to our existence.”

-Dr. Dan Allender

04/10/2026

This week on the Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Rachael sit down with therapist, trauma care specialist, and NFTC® Alumni Tabitha Westbrook for a tender and important conversation on healthy sexuality after abuse.

In a space where many questions remain unspoken, this episode brings language to the shame, confusion, and longing so many carry in silence. With honesty and depth, their conversation offers a grounded invitation toward healing, one that honors the complexity of your story and the goodness of your body.

This episode does engage sensitive topics; listener discretion is advised.

🎧 You can check out this week's episode wherever you get your podcasts, or listen on our website:

This week, Dan and Rachael sit down with therapist, trauma care specialist, and NFTC® Alumni Tabitha Westbrook for a tender and important conversation on healthy...

04/07/2026

Are you curious about training in Narrative Focused Trauma Care® Level I? Wondering about the application process, time commitment, and the value it can bring to your life and your community?

Join us in this interactive hour to meet with the Allender Center Programs Team and NFTC training alumni and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what it’s like to be a part of this transformative program. You’ll also get clear answers about the application process, time commitment, and how to make it financially accessible with scholarships and payment plans.

Whether you’re still discerning or already preparing to apply, this is your space to get all of your questions answered. Come with your questions, your hopes, and your curiosity. We’d love to meet you!

📅 Thurs, April 16 at 4:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM ET via Zoom

RSVP at:
🔗 theallendercenter.org/events

04/05/2026

“If the resurrection is true, then we who believe Jesus was truly raised from the dead— to walk, talk, and eat again with a body that did not hide his scars — ought to be able to bless our wounds that reveal his death and invite others to touch and see the possibility of his resurrection.”

-Dr. Dan Allender

04/03/2026

We all know what it feels like to scapegoat... or to be scapegoated. To shift blame, protect ourselves, and make someone else carry what feels too heavy to hold.

So what does that have to do with Good Friday?

In this episode of the Allender Center Podcast, theologian Mako Nagasawa helps us see that what we call “scapegoating” today is actually a distortion of its original biblical meaning.

Looking at Leviticus 16, he explains that the scapegoat was never about blaming or punishing a substitute, but about removing what didn’t belong. A way of naming that the problem isn’t who we are, but what has taken hold within us.

But over time, we’ve changed that meaning, looking for others to carry the blame instead of facing what’s broken in us.

This episode invites us to see the cross differently.

Rather than reinforcing blame and punishment, Jesus steps into our cycle of scapegoating to break it, revealing a God who is not looking for someone to punish, but is committed to restoring what’s broken.

This is the hope of Good Friday: not a story of blame, but the beginning of restoration.

🎧 We invite you to listen to "Reframing Good Friday: From Scapegoating to Restoration" with Mako Nagasawa today on the Allender Center Podcast. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts, or stream each episode and find show notes at:

Theologian Mako Nagasawa helps draw an important connection: what we call “scapegoating” today is actually a distortion of how it’s used in the biblical story.

03/31/2026

“Working with my shame has been allowing myself to feel well with being vulnerable, to own that, oh, this hurts, and that I’m not superwoman, I’m actually human, and it is profoundly holy to be human.”

-Linda Royster, LCMHC

03/27/2026

For decades, Rev. Rob Schenck was a leading voice in the religious right, shaping policy and influencing power from the halls of Washington, D.C. But over time, he began to see that the gospel he was serving had become entangled with politics, ambition, and illusion.

In this episode, Rob reflects on the experiences that cracked his assumptions: moments of human suffering he couldn’t ignore, the limits of religious influence, and the moral compromises he witnessed in powerful circles. He shares how these experiences—and encounters with people whose realities he had once dismissed—led him to reimagine faith as a call to truth, compassion, and reality rather than fantasy or control.

This conversation isn’t really about politics. It’s about confronting hard truths, facing the realities of the world and ourselves, and rediscovering the gospel in a society where our imaginations, privileges, and systems often distort it.

🎧 We invite you to listen to "Rediscovering the Gospel" with Rev. Rob Schenck this week on the Allender Center Podcast. Find us wherever you get your podcasts, or stream each episode at:

This conversation isn’t really about politics. It’s about confronting hard truths, facing the realities of the world and ourselves, and rediscovering the gospel in a society where our imaginations, privileges, and systems often distort it.

03/25/2026

“Trauma shuts down our capacity to imagine, to stay present. A pull to want to numb and isolate. Our call is to do the good, courageous work to lean into an invitation to love boldly.”

-Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv