{"podcast":{"title":"The Allender Center Podcast","slug":"the-allender-center-podcast-1093683","podcast_index_feed_id":1093683,"rss_url":"https://theallendercenter.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://theallendercenter.org","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/e/8/f/f/e8ff350178e26c4c/TAC_Podcast_LogoBadge-UPLOAD-V2.jpg","author":"The Allender Center","episode_count":616,"summary":"The Allender Center Podcast features Dr. Dan Allender and his team engaging topics on healing and restoration through the unique intersection of theology and psychology. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join us to gain refreshing insight into understanding your story, handling relational struggles, recovering from trauma and abuse, and more. The mission of The Allender Center is to help people tell their stories with awareness and integrity, and to train them to listen to the stories of others with care, artistry, and skill so that they may foster redemption and healing in their lives. The Allender Center is a pioneering organization committed to boldly engaging the impact of trauma and abuse, providing healing and teaching to individuals, couples, and communities, and training professionals to listen and enter into stories in a way that facilitates transformation and hope. For information on all our programs and live events, visit theallendercenter.org","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T00:18:44.426745+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-allender-center-podcast-1093683"},"episode":{"title":"Living in a Distracted World and Following Jesus Into a New Year","slug":"living-in-a-distracted-world-and-following-jesus-into-a-new-year","published_at":"2026-01-02T14:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-allender-center-podcast-1093683/living-in-a-distracted-world-and-following-jesus-into-a-new-year","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-allender-center-podcast-1093683","url":"https://theallendercenter.libsyn.com/living-in-a-distracted-world-and-following-jesus-into-a-new-year","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/theallendercenter/TAC616-export.mp3?dest-id=214185","summary":"The new year can bring the hope of a fresh start… or the dread of more of the same. In this first 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. They talk about the \"stone in the shoe\" of modern life—how distraction, overwhelm, and unresolved trauma slowly wear us down—and share practical ways to respond. That might look like stepping back from constant media, creating gentle daily rhythms of prayer, worship, and Scripture, or using journaling and writing to slow your thoughts and reconnect with what matters most. 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. Reflecting on Romans 12, we're invited to resist chaos and despair and instead lean into the kind of formation that only comes from following Jesus. This episode is about 40 minutes long. After listening, consider taking a few extra minutes (maybe even more than a few) to reflect on how you want to enter the new year: more grounded, more aware, and more spiritually centered. As Dan says in closing, \"It would be great if it's a happy new Year… but may it be one in which our lives are more formed in Jesus.\" ===== About the Allender Center Podcast: For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this weekly podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache…","meta_description":"The new year can bring the hope of a fresh start… or the dread of more of the same. In this first episode of the year, Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Ch…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2668,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-allender-center-podcast-1093683/episodes/living-in-a-distracted-world-and-following-jesus-into-a-new-year/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-allender-center-podcast-1093683/living-in-a-distracted-world-and-following-jesus-into-a-new-year.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}