The Allender Center Podcast

On this week’s podcast, Dr. Dan Allender reflects on 2015 and the nature of ending a year. How do we mark the culmination of everything that the year held, both the good and the bad, when most of us are so exhausted by the time the holidays come around that we spend the last few days of the year in a kind of haze, already fretting about what’s to come in the new year?

Direct download: TAC059-Ending-the-year-well.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am PDT

Last week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Becky Allender discussed their experiences of welcoming guests into their home. This week, as we continue our series about all of the complexity of the holidays, Dan is joined by his daughter-in-law Sassy to talk about the other side of that interaction: how to hold and offer goodness when you are a guest entering someone else’s home.

 

Direct download: TAC058-Home-for-the-Holidays--Part-3.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Becky Allender continue our series about engaging the holiday season in all of its beauty and complexity (you can listen to part one here). Dan and Becky reflect on their experiences of welcoming guests into their home, exploring what it looks like to receive others in hospitality and kindness, in a manner that is life-giving to the guests and the hosts.

Direct download: TAC057-Home-for-the-Holidays--Part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:28am PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Becky Allender launch a new series reflecting on the holiday season—and all of the complexity it brings.

Direct download: TAC056-Home-for-the-Holidays.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Last week on The Allender Center Podcast, we shared a conversation with Dan Allender and his daughter, Amanda, and son-in-law, Jeff, as they welcomed their newborn daughter. (Listen here: Grace Is in the World.) This week, Dan and his wife, Becky Allender, reflect on the glory of a new life in the world and the experience of becoming grandparents again.

Direct download: TAC055-Grandparenting.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

It seems appropriate that, on the heels of our six-part Marriage series, Dan and Becky flew to New York to welcome their new granddaughter into the world. This week on the podcast, Dan is joined by his daughter Amanda, his son-in-law Jeff, and their cooing, hiccuping baby, Grace Harper.

Direct download: TAC054-Grace-is-in-the-world.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This episode marks the conclusion of our six-part Marriage series, a conversation between Dan and Becky Allender. In case you missed any of it, you can still catch up on past episodes, including Leaving (Part One, Part Two), Cleaving (Part One, Part Two), and Part One of Weaving.

Direct download: TAC053-Marriage--Becoming-One-Flesh--Part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan and Becky Allender continue our six-part Marriage series, which began with Leaving (Part One, Part Two), moved to Cleaving (Part One, Part Two), and ends with Weaving—what it means for a couple to weave together as one flesh. To put it another way, we’re talking about sex.

Direct download: TAC052-Marriage--Becoming-One-Flesh--Part-1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, the fourth part of our ongoing Marriage series, Dan and Becky Allender continue talking about the idea of a couple cleaving together, by looking at the contempt and bitterness that can take root and create so much division in a relationship.

Direct download: TAC051-Marriage--Cleaving-and-Soul-Connecting-part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan and Becky Allender continue our series on Marriage: Leaving, Cleaving, and Weaving. In Part One and Part Two of this series, Dan and Becky reflected on the difficulties they encountered in leaving their families of origin and growing in love and loyalty toward each other. Here, they discuss the idea of cleaving together, being bonded to each other in the sort of one-heartedness that marks a life-giving marriage.

 

Direct download: TAC050-Marriage--Cleaving-and-Soul-Connecting.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:25am PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, in part two of our Marriage series, Dan and his wife, Becky Allender, continue to talk about what it looks like to leave our families of origin and grow in love and loyalty for one another.

Direct download: TAC049-Marriage--The-Trials-of-Leaving--Part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:41am PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan’s wife, Becky Allender, joins him to launch a new series all about the beauty and brokenness that is part of a healthy, life-giving marriage. The themes at the heart of this conversation—leaving, cleaving, and weaving—are also a foundational part of the book Intimate Allies (which Dan co-wrote with Dr. Tremper Longman III) and The Allender Center’s Intimate Mystery Conference.

Direct download: TAC048-Marriage--The-Trials-of-Leaving.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:02pm PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan sits down with his long-time friend, John Eldredge, to share the story behind the upcoming Restoration of the Heart Conference, a joint offering from The Allender Center and Ransomed Heart.

Direct download: TAC047-Restoration-of-the-Heart-with-John-Eldredge.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan concludes our Design of Desire series by looking at the relationship between the desires of our hearts and our ability to delight in God. That can be an uncomfortable connection to make, since many of us are all too aware that the things we desire sometimes seem to be very far from the heart of God.

Direct download: TAC046-Design-of-Desire-The_Delight_of_Desire.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:13am PDT

So far in The Allender Center Podcast’s Design of Desire series, Dan has discussed the war against desire and the idea that God-given desire fosters creativity. On this week’s podcast, Dan continues the series by confronting the idea that not all of our desires are healthy. How does God deal with conflicted desires that are deeply legitimate at times and that, other times, swing into madness?

Direct download: TAC045-Design-of-Desire-Gods-engagement-with-desire.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan continues the Design of Desire series that opened last week with the idea that much of desire is opposed and that pursuing meaningful desire requires stepping into the war against desire. Here, Dan looks at Genesis 1 and 3 to discuss two categories—the so-called “cultural mandate”—that are at the heart of God’s intention for desire: fill and multiply, and subdue and rule. These categories refer to raising children and tending the earth, but also to so much more than that.

Direct download: TAC044-Design-of-Desire-Creational-Desires.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week on The Allender Center Podcast, Dan launches a new series, Design of Desire, all about the desire rooted deep in our humanity—where it comes from, how it manifests in our lives, and the war that is constantly waged against it.

Direct download: TAC043-Design-of-Desire-The-Struggle-with-Desire.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:44am PDT

Dan has returned from his 10 day motorcycle trip through the backcountry of Colorado and through story from his adventure invites us to consider how play begins to open the door to seeing the larger realities of life.
Direct download: TAC043-Play-Part-Four.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:57pm PDT

Dan continues our series on play by reflecting on the anticipation and preparation that are required for ventures of deep, meaningful play.

Direct download: TAC042-Play-Part-Three.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

This week, after opening with an excerpt from Diane Ackerman’s Deep Play, Dan discusses what is at stake. What is it that rich, meaningful play requires of us?

Direct download: TAC041-Play-Part-Two.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Dan begins a two-week series discussing the nature of play and the importance of embracing play in our lives.

Direct download: TAC040-Play-Part-One.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan sits down for a conversation with his long-time friend, John Eldredge.

Direct download: TAC039-Play-Story-and-Motorcycles--A-Converstation-with-John-Eldredge.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

Dan shares his post-reunion reflections, marveling about how returning to specific faces, names, and places of our lives can offer a taste of restoration.

Direct download: TAC038-High-School-Reunion-part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Dan and John discuss how delight in and desire for beauty can shape the way that we engage trauma and brokenness.

Direct download: TAC037-John-Cunningham-part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

John and Dan discuss the meaning and importance of beauty through the lens of the theology of Jonathan Edwards.

Direct download: TAC036-John-Cunningham-part-1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Dan wrestles with that ambivalence as he and his wife, Becky, prepare to return to Ohio for their 45th high school reunion.

 

Direct download: TAC035-High-school-reunion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan sits down for a conversation with Susan Cunningham, a therapist, poet, and facilitator with The Allender Center.

Direct download: TAC034-An-interview-with-Susan-Cunningham.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Dan engages four remaining questions that he often hears from people interested in working with their own stories, particularly through one of our Story Workshops.

Direct download: TAC033-Questions-of-engaging-my-story.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

This week, Dan discusses the fear that so many of us hold about confronting the stories of our past.

Direct download: TAC032-What-if-I-fear-my-story.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

How do I trust my memory? What if the way I remember an event is not what really happened? It’s a legitimate question, even a kind and righteous question, says Dan, rooted in a desire to know and tell the truth.

Direct download: TAC031-How-do-I-trust-my-memory.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan begins a new series about the beauty and power of living, telling, and hearing meaningful stories.

Direct download: TAC030-No-ones-story-is-normal.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week, Dan continues his disussion on endings by examining something most of us are all too familiar with: endings that have gone terribly wrong.

Direct download: TAC029-When-endings-dont-go-well.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Dan concludes this series on endings by inviting us beyond procrastination and sabotage in an effort to learn to end well. This is a process of acknowledging the sacrifices we have made and the work we have accomplished, as well as the grace and gifts that have allowed us to reach this point.

Direct download: TAC028-Ending-Well.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan continues a series on endings by discussing the role of sabotage—the moment when celebration gives way to indulgence and we sabotage our ability to enjoy our endings, potentially undoing everything we have just accomplished.

Direct download: TAC027-Endings--Sabotage.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Dan begins a new series about endings—how we handle them, avoid them, sabotage them, grieve them, and celebrate them.

Direct download: TAC026-Endings.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Direct download: TAC025-Owning-our-work.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:28pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan discusses how we are all invited to carry the burdens of others, even if we don’t feel like we have anything to offer.

Direct download: TAC024-Carrying-trauma-part-2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week, Dan continues the series on trauma care in Galatians 6 by addressing how we can help carry those who are harmed by the sins of others.

Direct download: TAC023-Carrying-trauma-part-1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

On this week’s podcast, Dan begins a new series, based on Galatians 6, about trauma care and the effect that it has on you, the person engaging the trauma. For the next three weeks, Dan will address how to help restore those who are struggling with the effects of their own sin, how to help carry those affected by the sins of others, and how to own your own life in the process of helping other people.

Direct download: TAC022-Trauma-care-in-Galations-6--Restoring.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

This week’s podcast marks the conclusion of a series on trauma care in the local church. In Part One, Dan discussed the crucial idea that we all—not just trained professionals—need to be aware of the reality and effects of trauma for people in our communities. In Part Two, he reflected on the particular types of trauma that form in the context of marriage. This week, Dan talks about the reality of vicarious traumatization that comes as we engage the crises, stresses, and heartaches of the people around us.

Direct download: TAC021-Vicarious-trauma-and-the-church.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

This week, Dan addresses the particular types of trauma that form in the context of marriage, including trauma that comes after death, divorce, and the betrayal of domestic violence.

Direct download: TAC020-Trauma-marriage-and-the-church.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

On this week’s podcast, Dan introduces a series on the role of trauma in the context of the local church. He offers three overall categories for trauma, arguing that it is far more widespread than many acknowledge, then discusses the body’s telltale responses to traumatic events. What would it look like for our churches to exist as communities of priests, prophets, kings, and queens who are aware of the pervasive, devastating nature of trauma and who offer hospitality, healing, and the possibility of redemption? “Hospitality is the core of what the community of God brings,” says Dan—“inviting people to goodness, to a feast, to sustenance, to solace, to healing.”

Direct download: TAC019-Trauma-and-the-church.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

Dan invites us to see and to name the beauty in our lives, the parts of our stories that reflect the light and goodness of God. Knowing and telling our stories means finding the beauty and inviting others to share it. And we cannot talk about this without talking about worship, which is our response—in awe and gratitude—to the beauty and goodness of God.

Direct download: TAC018-Naming-and-reflecting-the-beauty-of-God-in-our-stories.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

 

On this week’s podcast, we are continuing our preview of the material explored in our To Be Told conferences. Dan discusses the necessity of looking at the wounds in our lives—the places in which we have experienced shame, loneliness, and betrayal. Evil entices us and hardens our hearts, naming us as orphans, strangers, and widows. But we are called to so much more.

Direct download: TAC017-Naming-our-wounds.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

For the next three weeks on the podcast, while Dan is on the road, we are excited to offer a preview of the material explored in our To Be Told conferences. In this week’s audio, Dan discusses the idea that God is the author of your life’s story, and we are all called to enter our stories in a way that reflects the character of God and reveals the nature of the Gospel.

Direct download: TAC016-Learning-to-bless-our-stories.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm PDT

Direct download: TAC015-The_cost_of_rest.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:00pm PDT

Dr. Dan Allender talks about his hopes for his sabbatical and the imporatnace of Sabbath.

Direct download: TAC014-Sabbatical-Sabbath.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:37pm PDT

Direct download: TAC013-First-steps-in-helping-others.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:08pm PDT

Direct download: TAC012-Past-and-the-role-of-attachment.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:34pm PDT