The Allender Center

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

03/23/2026

“We can’t resolve shame alone. We need the presence of someone not caught in our mire to sn**ch us out of the flood.”

-Becky Allender MA

03/20/2026

Many of our podcast listeners have asked us to explore neurodivergence, especially what it means to parent neurodivergent children or to make sense of a diagnosis in adulthood.

We’re pleased to welcome therapist Stephanie Isbell, a Narrative Focused Trauma Care®–trained clinician who works with neurodivergent adults and families. In conversation with Dan and Rachael, she leads us through the complex intersection of neurodivergence, trauma, identity, and story.

Neurodivergence—which can include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and more—points to the many ways human brains process the world differently. For many people, these differences have been misunderstood or pathologized, often leading to experiences of shame, isolation, and relational misunderstanding from early childhood.

Throughout the conversation, we are invited to cultivate deeper curiosity—about ourselves and about the people we love. For parents, partners, and communities, this means moving beyond forcing conformity and instead learning to ask better questions, listen more carefully, and honor the unique ways each person experiences the world.

🎧 You can listen to this week's episode of the Allender Center Podcast wherever you find your podcasts, or stream it at:

Therapist Stephanie Isbell leads us through the complex intersection of neurodivergence, trauma, identity, and story. Listen to the full episode:

03/18/2026

“I am afraid of the past and what I don’t know. I am afraid of what’s going to happen as I engage that... It’s a huge risk. But I think the real issue is: Do I really want the stories I’m engaging to break my heart, to make my heart more tender, to receive from the Lord God more comfort, therefore, more confidence, therefore more freedom—to be free not from, but far more free for the sake of bringing goodness to others?”

-Dr. Dan Allender

03/16/2026

Heartache and trauma are inevitable parts of life, yet we believe redemption is possible. ⁠
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The Narrative Focused Trauma Care® (NFTC) training program is designed to equip you to support others by first exploring your own story, grounded in the belief that we cannot guide others beyond where we’ve been ourselves. ⁠
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Becoming Level I trained marks the start of a transformative journey, where you’ll uncover the profound narrative of God and gain essential psychological and theological frameworks for personal and collective trauma recovery.⁠
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☕ Curious to learn more? ⁠
Join us for a free informational Coffee Hour Tuesday, March 17, or Thursday, April 16. RSVP at: ⁠
🔗 theallendercenter.org/events⁠
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📅 Already planning to apply?⁠
Submit your application by March 31 to be considered during Application Round 1. Learn more and apply at:⁠
🔗 https://theallendercenter.org/offerings/trainings/nftc-level-one/
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⁠Now more than ever, the world needs people who are grounded in truth, shaped by healing, and ready to walk with others in the darkest places.⁠
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If that’s you, we’d love to walk with you.

03/13/2026

Have you been living within a role for years—only to wonder if there is more of you still waiting to be known?

For decades, Becky Allender stood faithfully behind the scenes, supporting Dan’s work, praying as an intercessor, helping build what would become the Allender Center. Yet she also carried the ache of being “in the room” without fully feeling she had a seat at the table. In today’s conversation, she names the cost of that tension, and the courage it took to step forward.

When Becky chose to participate in Narrative Focused Trauma Care® training—the very framework her husband helped create—something began to shift. Through the steady presence of skilled facilitators and courageous companions, she encountered grief she hadn’t fully named and discovered a growing kindness toward parts of herself long defended or hidden.

What followed was not only personal healing, but relational transformation. Through the language she gained and interactions she experienced, her relationship with Dan deepened. Repair with her daughters became possible. Her love for her parents softened and expanded. And from that engagement with her story emerged a clearer sense of calling—expressed in her teaching, leadership, and her memoir, "Hidden in Plain Sight."

Perhaps most compelling is this: Becky began this work after decades of marriage, motherhood, and ministry. It was not too late. And it is not too late for you.

What might you be missing by staying in the role you’ve always carried? And what new life could unfold if you trusted that your story is still being written?

🎧 You can find today's episode of the Allender Center Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or stream it at:

Have you been living within a role for years—only to wonder if there is more of you still waiting to be known? For decades, Becky...

03/12/2026

Join us April 10-12 for the Story Workshop for Racial Trauma & Healing—an immersive, online experience for Black, Indigenous, Latino/a, and Asian/Pacific Islander participants seeking a sacred space to engage stories of identity, harm, and resilience through the lens of racial trauma.⁠
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The wounds of racism are real—woven into our bodies, our families, and our stories. Healing begins when we tell the truth. When we name our experiences. When we share our stories in community.⁠
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Over three days, you’ll experience:⁠
✨ Live teaching from Linda Royster, Wendell Moss, and the Allender Center team⁠
✨ Small story groups led by facilitators trained in Narrative Focused Trauma Care®⁠
✨ Guided reflection to help you connect, grieve, and move toward healing⁠
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We want this workshop to be accessible to all who’d like to participate. Need-based scholarships are available to self-select at registration and payment plans are available.⁠
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🔗 To register, visit: theallendercenter.org/workshops⁠
or visit the link in our bio.