In this brief episode, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen take an intentional pause from our regular rhythms on the podcast. We hope that for each of our listeners this holiday weekend holds moments of not only rest, but also reflection on our collective story as a nation. Stay tuned as we pick back up next week for a conversation with a very special guest and dive deeper into what it means to have a well-lived story throughout the summer. 

Resources:

• Explore our brand-new online course, To Be Told
• Learn more about Virtual Story Workshop

Learn more about our Certificate in Narrative Focused Trauma Care Level I

In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen continue to address themes and topics related to listener questions. Today, Dan and Rachael take on the question: How do I engage the relational debris of trauma? Whether you are on a healing journey yourself or are supporting a spouse, family, or friends, our hosts talk about how you can engage both the beauty and brokenness of stories of harm when you are not sure either how to receive or be a good support. Throughout their conversation, you’ll also hear Rachael and Dan address the obstacles to and cost of healing from trauma and how to love well in the midst of trauma. 

Resources:

• Read “Honoring Our Embodied Trauma in the Midst of a Pandemic” by Rebekah Vickery
• Read “Racial Trauma: The Marks We Bear” by Wendell Moss

Watch a video from The Allender Center about Obstacles to Healing

A few months ago, we sent out a call for topics or questions our listeners would like to hear our hosts, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, cover on the podcast. We were overwhelmed with gratitude at the number of responses received, and are privileged to be able to hold the vulnerable, honest questions that have been entrusted to us. Due to the volume of questions, we looked for patterns and themes in the questions. Today, Dan and Rachael take on a topic brought to us by many of our listeners: bad theology.

Resources

• Read The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

Rachael Cinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender are joined by Jimmy McGee, President and CEO of The Impact Movement, and Dr. J. Derek McNeil, President of The Seattle School, to talk about the partnership between The Impact Movement and The Allender Center. The mission of The Impact Movement is “to impact spiritual leaders who impact the world, to engage college students and marketplace professionals [...] and to serve and work in cooperation with and in support of the African American church.” Questions you’ll hear during this conversation include: How do we proceed in the process of dealing with racial trauma and injustice with people who will help us grow, and how do we do it well with the conversations that are difficult to enter?

Resources:

• Learn more about The Impact Movement
• Read The Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy

Join The Impact Movement and members of The Allender Center for a Facebook Live event on Monday, June 15

“It matters who gets to tell the story. If it's only left to one person, one group of people, it will be a biased telling—whether intentionally or unintentionally.”

Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen have an honest conversation with Wendell Moss, a Teaching Staff member,  and Linda Royster, a Core Facilitator, about the current and generational impact of racial trauma, and the infectious nature of white supremacy within the United States, organizations and teams such as our own, and the Church. Some difficult truths are named in this episode, and we invite you, with open hearts, to be part of this journey of learning and repentance with us. 

Resources:

• Read The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby 
• Read White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
• Read Stand Your Ground: Black bodies and the Justice of God by Kelly Brown Douglas 
• Read Race: A Theological Account by J. Kameron Carter 
• Read works by the theologian and author James Cone

Read works by the theologian and author Richard Twiss

Continuing to talk about the impact of the pandemic on relationships, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen invite Dr. Steve Call into a conversation about the impact of covid-19 on marriage. We do not approach this topic lightly—we know there is much heartache and brokenness in many homes. Marriage itself is full of complexity and possibility. We hope you hear encouragement, vulnerability, and playfulness as Steve invites us to hear how tension and conflict is created, how increased exposure can lead to shame, and the beauty couples can offer one another when they remind each other what is true. 

Resources:

• Listen to a podcast series featuring Steve on Reconnection in Marriage

Read Steve’s book, reconnect: insights and tools for cultivating meaningful connection in your marriage

“There are broken parts in every one of us that need a good parent.” Dr. Dan Allender 

Rachael Clinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender have a conversation with Meredith Dancause—a pastor, writer, and parenting expert—about the complexity of being a parent during a pandemic. Not only parenting young children, but how to be a good parent to ourselves. With both humor and honesty, Meredith speaks to positive discipline and grace, the unique opportunity this season affords us, and the need to pause and be curious about our children’s behavior. 

Resources:

• Learn more about Meredith by visiting her website. 

Read a blog post “Good Enough Parenting in a Time of Crisis” by Jay Stringer

In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen talk with Heather Stringer about her creative process of stepping into a moment in someone’s story in order to create a ritual. Heather invites us to pause, gather a few items, and participate in a special ritual to account for the past few days and to ask: How do I need to move toward myself during this time?

Resources:

Visit Heather Stringer’s website to learn more about her practice of ritual-making.

Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen invite Heather Stringer, a facilitator at The Allender Center, therapist, and ritual-maker, to begin a conversation about the importance of ritual and routine in a season of traumatic disruption. What does the loss of our previously held routines mean for each of us, and how can creating rituals become life-giving during this time?

Resources:

• Read a blog post by Heather Stringer about tuning into our bodies. 
• Listen to an episode of Makers and Mystics: Ritual Making and Performance Art

Watch a presentation Heather gave at The Seattle School titled “Breaking Frozen Seas: How Rituals of the Body Transform Clients and Communities”

In their final conversation, Dr. Dan Allender, Diane Summers, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD, and Matt Tiemeyer, LHMC, explore ways we can heal our relationship with food and our bodies. No matter where we are in our journey with food or disordered eating, it is never too late to “turn back to kindness.”

Resources:

• Matt Tiemeyer practices at Blue Harbor Counseling
• Diane Summers practices at Hope Nutrition Therapy Center
• Follow Covid19 Eating Support on Instagram for around the clock community care meal support

Read more about Elly Satter’s division of responsibility in feeding.