The Allender Center

02/03/2026

In a country that is hurting and fractured by deep division, many of us are wondering how to remain rooted in love. As followers of Jesus, the question before us is not simply "what do we think," but "how do we stay human, attentive, and faithful in such a time as this?"

In the latest episode of the Allender Center Podcast, Rachael welcomes theologian and author Kat Armas into a much-needed dialogue about power, imagination, and what it means to remain grounded and joined together in the way of Jesus.

Drawing from her newest book, “Liturgies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World,” Kat invites listeners beyond political binaries and party lines into a deeper reckoning with how power has shaped our stories.

🎧 We invite you to listen in to "Liturgies for Resisting Empire" with Kat Armas on the Allender Center Podcast. Find us on your favorite streaming platform, or tune in at:

In a country that is hurting and fractured by deep division, many of us are wondering how to remain rooted in love. As followers of...

01/23/2026

Faith, hope, and love are beautiful words—but for many of us, they don’t feel simple or safe. When they’ve been wielded to control, silence, or shame, these core concepts can carry weight, confusion, and even fear. In the wake of spiritual abuse, what once promised life can feel distorted or out of reach.

Today, Dan and Rachael step tenderly and courageously into what it means to reclaim faith, hope, and love after harm. Together, they name how spiritual abuse exploits fear and shame to protect power—fracturing our ability to trust ourselves, others, and even God.

Healing doesn’t begin with forcing a set of dogmatic beliefs, but with safety: learning to listen to our bodies, recover discernment, and engage relationships where difference and nuance are welcomed.

This conversation is for anyone longing to rediscover a faith that makes room for personhood, courage, and love that does not demand fear in return.

🎧Listen to "Reclaiming Faith, Hope, and Love After Spiritual Abuse" today on the Allender Center Podcast. You can find us on your favorite listening service, or stream each episode and find show notes at:

Faith, hope, and love are beautiful words—but for many of us, they don’t feel simple or safe. When they’ve been wielded to control, silence, or...

01/16/2026

Most of us say we value the truth—until it unsettles us, costs us something, or asks us to change. Truth has a way of disrupting the stories we use to survive.

That’s exactly what we’re talking about on the podcast today. Dr. Monique Gadson from joins Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen to explore why truth-telling feels so threatening.

Drawing from systems theory, theology, and her lived experience, Dr. Gadson names anxiety as the central force that keeps us from truth. When we lack the capacity to tolerate the discomfort truth brings, we turn to projection, delusion, scapegoating, and certainty as coping mechanisms.

Truth, Dr. Gadson reminds us, is not about annihilating one another, but about creating the conditions where real relationship, responsibility, and repair are possible.

Ultimately, this episode invites us to ask not only what is true, but what does truth stir in us—and can we bear it?

Listen to: "Why Is It So Hard to Tell the Truth?" with Dr. Monique Gadson this week on the Allender Center Podcast. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts, or stream each episode and find show notes at:

Most of us say we value the truth—until it unsettles us, costs us something, or asks us to change. Dr. Monique Gadson joins Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen to explore why truth-telling feels so threatening. Listen in:

01/09/2026

“What if the sacred is not somewhere else? What if it’s right here and right now?”

In this week's episode of the Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Rachael welcome theologian, author, beloved mentor, and previous President of Dr. Keith Anderson.

Drawing from his book, “On Holy Ground: Your Story of Identity, Belonging, and Sacred Purpose,” Keith invites us to reconsider vocation not as a role, title, or single decision made when you’re young, but as a lifelong relationship with Jesus. It’s one shaped by seasons, suffering, questions, and ordinary faithfulness.

Together, they explore how calling is formed not in abstraction, but in the particularity of our stories: our bodies, our sufferings, our relationships, and our hope.

If you are asking questions about purpose, identity, belonging, or how to remain open-hearted amid suffering and uncertainty, this episode is a gift. It’s a reminder that vocation is not about getting it right once, but about learning, again and again, how to live your life with God.

🎧 We invite you to listen to this week's episode, "'Oh Holy Ground' with Dr. Keith Anderson" wherever you get your podcasts, or stream it at:

“What if the sacred is not somewhere else? What if it’s right here and right now?” In this rich and reflective episode of the Allender...

01/08/2026

Our team had the privilege of spending time at Fuller Seminary this week. Yesterday, Dan Allender spoke at their chapel service; you can catch some of his message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d4Ppg6Qyvc

01/08/2026

✨ Applications are now open ✨

Women’s Recovery Week with a Focus on Racial Trauma & Healing is a three-and-a-half-day, immersive experience designed to create a relational, healing space for women who have survived sexual abuse and racialized trauma before the age of 18.

Led by Linda Royster, LCMHC, alongside Allender Center Facilitators—and designed for and by Black, Indigenous, Latina, and Asian/Pacific Islander women—this Recovery Week invites deep engagement with the psychological, spiritual, embodied, and communal impact of trauma.

📍 June 14–17, 2026 in Bethany, PA
🗓️ Applications are open now through January 26, 2026

If you’re discerning whether this healing space may be right for you—or for someone you care about—learn more and apply at:

🔗 https://theallendercenter.org/offerings/workshops/recovery-week-racial-trauma-healing/

Questions? Reach out to our Programs Team at programs@theallendercenter.org

01/07/2026

📣 Now Enrolling: Allender Center Story Groups 📣

If you’ve been exploring your story on your own, now is the perfect time to take the next step and experience the power of engaging your story in community.

Story Groups with the Allender Center are led by NFTC Level III student facilitators under the direct supervision of the Allender Center Training Team. Together, you’ll gain insights into how your unique story impacts your current way of understanding and relating to yourself, others, and God.

Here’s what you’ll experience when you join a Story Group:
✏️ Seven weekly 2-hour sessions with a small group of no more than 5 people.
✏️ Guided discussions and reflections to help you delve into your story.
✏️ Access to an exclusive version of the popular “To Be Told” self-paced online course from the Allender Center. This course offers video lessons that will enrich your learning throughout your 7-week Story Group journey.

Story Groups are filling up fast and begin in late January or early February 2026.

Check out our latest blog post for details about joining one of these groups:
👉 https://theallendercenter.org/2025/12/allender-center-story-groups-2026/

01/05/2026

📣 Now Enrolling: Allender Center Story Groups 📣

If you’ve been exploring your story on your own, now is the perfect time to take the next step and experience the power of engaging your story in community.

Story Groups with the Allender Center are led by Narrative Focused Trauma Care® Level III student facilitators under the direct supervision of the Allender Center Training Team. Together, you’ll gain insights into how your unique story impacts your current way of understanding and relating to yourself, others, and God.

Here’s what you’ll experience when you join a Story Group:
✏️ Seven weekly 2-hour sessions with a small group of no more than 5 people.
✏️ Guided discussions and reflections to help you delve into your story.
✏️ Access to an exclusive version of the popular “To Be Told” self-paced online course from the Allender Center. This course offers video lessons that will enrich your learning throughout your 7-week Story Group journey.

Story Groups are filling up fast and begin in late January or early February 2026.

Check out our latest blog post for details about joining one of these groups:
👉 https://theallendercenter.org/2025/12/allender-center-story-groups-2026/

01/02/2026

The new year can bring the hope of a fresh start… or the dread of more of the same.

In this first Allender Center Podcast episode of the year, Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen name what many of us are already feeling: life feels heavy, noisy, and hard to keep up with.

At the heart of the conversation is a simple but challenging invitation: to stay awake to suffering without losing hope, and to let love, humility, and courage shape how we live.

Listen to today's episode, "Living in a Distracted World and Following Jesus Into a New Year" wherever you get your podcasts, or stream it at:

12/30/2025

“When we gloss over the real story, we miss out on the character we have become in God’s greater story.”
-Becky Allender, MA

12/26/2025

As the year comes to a close, Dan and Becky Allender continue their annual podcast tradition: pausing to reflect on the year that has passed. They share a bit about their own experiences—what they’ve learned, what they’re grieving, and what they’re celebrating—as they prepare to enter a new season.

Together, they invite you to also pause and reflect: What moments from your year need remembering? What relationships could use repair or deeper care? What desires and hopes might God be stirring in your heart for the year ahead?

We are deeply grateful for your presence and support of the Allender Center Podcast in 2025. As we step into 2026, we look forward to continuing this journey together!

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

As the year comes to a close, Dan and Becky Allender continue their annual podcast tradition: pausing to reflect on the year that has passed....

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.