After receiving his Master of Science in Counseling from Barry University and his Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, Dan earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University. Dan previously served on faculty at the Biblical Counseling Department of Grace Theological Seminary (1983-1989) and Colorado Christian University (1989-1997). In 1997, Dan and a cadre of others founded 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology, in order to train therapists, pastors, artists, and leaders to more effectively serve in the context of the 21st century. Dan served as President of 天美视频 from 2002-2009.

In 2011, The Allender Center was founded by Dr. Dan Allender and Rebecca Allender, MA, alongside Cathy Loerzel, MA, with the support of to cultivate healing and train leaders and mental health professionals to courageously engage others鈥� stories of harm.

Dan continues to serve as Professor of Counseling Psychology at 天美视频. He travels and speaks extensively鈥攔ecent engagements include , , , and the 鈥攖o present his unique perspective on sexual abuse recovery, love and forgiveness, intimacy and marriage, and other related topics. Dan is the author of The Wounded Heart, The Healing Path, To Be Told, and God Loves Sex, and he has co-authored several books with Dr. Tremper Longman, including Intimate Allies, The Cry of the Soul, Bold Love, Bold Purpose, and co-authored Redeeming Heartache: How Past Suffering Reveals True Calling with Cathy Loerzel. Most recently, he co-authored with Steve Call, PhD. Dan also co-hosts the Allender Center鈥檚 weekly with Rachael Clinton Chen, which has had more than 4 million downloads.

Dan and his wife Becky live on Bainbridge Island, where they enjoy time with their grandchildren and their three adult children, Annie, Amanda, and Andrew.

Dan specializes in speaking on:

• Sexual abuse recovery
• Trauma and abuse
• Marriage
• Intimacy
• Love and forgiveness

Dan Allender’s photo credit: Blake Foster Creative

The post Allender, Dan appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

While she has worked in a variety of mental health settings, engaging emerging adults in meaningful therapy and investing in the聽development, training, and mentoring of the next generation of deeply human and present clinicians have been her passions. Before joining the faculty of 天美视频 in 2024, Dr. Barton served in university counseling centers for 20+ years. She has taught undergraduate courses in psychology and world religions, directed the training program for masters and doctoral level counseling students at Pacific Lutheran University Counseling Services and served as the director of the Counseling Center at PLU.

Dr. Barton grew up in rural Washington State with a diverse denominational background and an appreciation for the joys, challenges, and opportunities for navigating the in-between鈥� spaces of identities, stories, and communities of belonging. In both her ongoing therapeutic practice and in walking alongside healers in training, Dr. Barton is interested in building capacity to be deeply present to self, other, and world; integrating head and heart knowledge in an embodied way; and facilitating enhanced agency and ownership of one鈥檚 own voice.

Beyond work, Dr. Barton believes in the importance of being engaged in community, family life, and connection with the natural world. She teaches courses in her faith community, serves on local neighborhood coalitions that support youth thriving, participates in her church worship band, enjoys board games and meaningful (and/or ridiculously fun) conversations with her partner and three children, and can regularly be found basking in God鈥檚 creation on local hikes or in National Parks.

The post Barton, Dr. Elizabeth appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Dr. Dwight J. Friesen [he/they] is passionate to embody faithful presence seeking to follow in the Way of Jesus鈥攑ersonally, communally, and contextually. Dwight鈥檚 scholarly work explores how people convene in local communities to cultivate imagination, practices, postures, and narratives that embody God鈥檚 shalom. Rooted in real places and real relationships, their work seeks to center shalomic love in ways that can鈥檛 help but subvert dominant systems of nationalism, classism, sexism, racism, naturism, and any system or structure that oppresses or divides.

As a practical and public theologian Dwight describes his vocation as 鈥渟earching for, learning with, and training leaders for the church emerging after Western whiteness Christianity.鈥� Known for beginning his classes with the resonance of a singing bowl and the light of a peace candle, he brings decades of contextual pastoral leadership to 天美视频. He has served as Pastor of St. Luke鈥檚 Lutheran Church in Bellevue, as community curate of an Eastside emerging simple church for more than a decade, and was formerly ordained by the Christian & Missionary Alliance鈥攃redentials he surrendered in solidarity with women pursuing ordination. A liturgical Anabaptist with progressive and emergent sensibilities, Dwight seeks to root his faith in place while linking globally with others embodying faith within their own contexts. Dwight鈥檚 theological life invites apophatic and cataphatic traditions to dance together in everyday practice.

Professor Friesen earned his Doctor of Ministry from George Fox University, where his dissertation developed a relational hermeneutic for connective leadership and ecclesial structures. They hold a Master鈥檚 degree from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, where his thesis examined biblical metaphors of community, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Ambrose University College in Calgary, Alberta.

In addition to their leadership development work at 天美视频, Dwight consults with local faith communities and missional organizations seeking a more faithful presence within their neighborhoods. He specializes in helping congregations from diverse traditions reimagine asset stewardship in the development of more sustainable funding models for ministry while serving the common good. Dwight co-founded the Inhabit Conference, serves as a founding board member of Parish Collective, and contributes internationally through Faith for Cities and the Urban Shalom Society in partnership with UN-Habitat. Dwight鈥檚 current projects intersect most directly with the United Nations鈥� Sustainable Development Goals #11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities),#16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and the Inner Development Goals.

Dwight has served on the National Council of Churches鈥� Faith and Order Commission, and continues to teach and speak across North America and beyond, engaging leaders in theological education at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.

He and his partner, Lynette, live in the Lake Hills neighborhood of Bellevue, Washington, where they are joyfully adjusting to life as empty nesters. Learn more at .

Courses in Dr. Friesen鈥檚 Regular Teaching Rotation

• Intersections 2: Biblical Traditions & Theological Formations
• Intersections 3: Textual Integrations
• Critical Reading Lab
• Gathering & Becoming: Convening Communities of Faith & Practice
• Listening & Leading: Spiritual Leadership within Communities of Faith & Practice
• Contextual Learning Lab
• Mission & Faithful Presence
• Triune G-d & Creation: Ecotheology

Books

• , co-authored with Tom Sine
• , co-authored with Paul Sparks and Tim Soerens
• , co-authored with Mark Russell, Allen Yeh, Michelle Sanchez, and Chelle Stearns

Published Chapters in Edited Books

• 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Going on Here? Trusting God鈥檚 Story in Your Own鈥� in
• 鈥淔ormation in the Post-Christendom Era: Exilic Practices and Missional Identity鈥� in
• Orthoparadoxy: Emerging Hope for Embracing Difference鈥� in

Dwight regularly publishes articles, posts, and book reviews, is available for interviews and podcasts, and is open to speaking or facilitating formational learning at conferences, schools, or public events.

25 Books that Shaped Professor Friesen

1. , Hans Urs von Balthasar
2. , Dietrich Bonhoeffer
3. , & , Walter Brueggemann
4. , Martin Buber
5. , Sarah Coakley
6. , James H. Cone
7. , Eleazar S. Fernandez
8. , Ren茅 Girard
9. , Stanley J. Grenz
10. , bell hooks
11. , Jane Jacobs
12. , Eberhard J眉ngel
13. , Catherine Keller
14. , Martin Luther King, Jr.
15. , J眉rgen Moltmann
16. , Leslie Newbigin
17. , Henri J. M. Nouwen
18. , Mary Oliver
19. Michael Polanyi
20. , John C. Polkinghorne
21. , Linn Marie Tonstad
22. , Evelyn Underhill
23. , Miroslav Volf
24. Margeret J. Wheatley
25. , Randy S. Woodley

The post Friesen, Dwight J. appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Dr. Gadson served on the staff of a church for 16 years as the clinical mental health counselor. She also has served as an expert contributor to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs for a video-based training series for chaplain services, and as a consulting therapist for several churches and organizations. She has taught several courses in psychology, counseling, leadership development, legal and ethical professional development in marriage and family therapy, systematic evaluation and case management, and human development. Presentations at professional conferences include the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, and the American Association of Christian Counselors. Passionate about individual development and relationship education, considering these as means of discipleship, she believes the cornerstone for a healthy society is the love for one鈥檚 self and others fueled by a love of God.

Dr. Gadson is married and has two daughters. Her hobbies include Alabama football, writing spoken word pieces, reading, listening to great music, exercising, journaling, photography, scrapbooking, gardening, and hanging out with her family and friends. She loves long walks, preferably on the beach, sunsets and sunrises, and time outside enjoying nature.

The post Gadson Monique appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Prior to joining the faculty at 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology, Dr. Hoard taught at MidAmerica Nazarene University in the Master of Arts in Counseling program. He has also taught courses overseas at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey.

Dr. Hoard is a member of the American Counseling Association, the Christian Association of Psychological Studies, and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

Publications

• Hoard, P., & Hoard, W., (2020). Eu-contamination: A Christian study in the logic of disgust and contamination, The Other Journal (32)
• Ma, J.S., & Hoard, P.R., (2020). A tale of two fears: Negotiating trust and neighborly relations in urbanizing Turkey, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2020.1730161
• Demirtas-Zorbaz, S., & Hoard, P., (2019). Adaptation and preliminary validation for the Turkish context of the school climate and school identification measure-student (TSCASIM- St). International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 5(1), 323-330.
• Ozturk, M., & Hoard, P., (Eds.). (2019). Examining the teacher induction process in contemporary education systems. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
• Ergene, T., Ozer, A., Genctanirim Kurt, D., Arici, F., Demirtas Zorbaz, S., Kizildag, S., Acar, T., & Hoard, P., (2018) The risk behaviors of high school students and causes thereof: A qualitative study. H.U. Journal of Education. doi: 10.16986/HUJE.2018037862
• Hoard, P., Underwood, L., Dailey, F., Williams, C., Etienne, R., (2017) Preliminary results of social climate鈥檚 impact on treatment progress of juveniles with sexual behavior problems. Journal of Behavior 2(3): 1014

The post Hoard, Paul appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Dr. McNeil has a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to his tenure at 天美视频, Dr. McNeil served as faculty in the PsyD program at Wheaton College Graduate School for over 15 years.

Dr. McNeil has worked as a clinician in private practice, a diversity advisor, an organizational consultant, and an administrator. His research, writing, and speaking have focused on issues of ethnic and racial socialization, the role of forgiveness in peacemaking, the identity development of African-American males, leadership in living systems, and resilience. He has written chapters in The Black Family: Past, Present, and Future (1991), Men to Men: Voices of African American Males (1996), Why Psychology Needs Theology (2005), This Side of Heaven: Race Ethnicity and Christian Faith (2007), Reluctant Integration (2010), and Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness and Justice (2016). His teaching has also included coursework on Social, Cultural, and Spiritual Foundations of Mental Health; Family Systems Therapy; Group Theory; Therapy; and Leadership.

The post McNeil, Derek appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Ron鈥檚 education is an eclectic blend of social work, counseling, and theological studies. Ron holds a BA from Western Washington University, an MS from Pepperdine University, and a Doctorate of Ministry in Complex Urban Settings from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. His dissertation title, Welcoming Kids to the Table of Community: New Horizons Ministries as a Model of Service to Homeless Runaway Adolescents, addresses the psycho-social and spiritual issues surrounding homeless adolescents and describes a relationally based and theologically supported service delivery strategy to serve these marginalized young people.

Ron is an associate with the Center for Transforming Mission, providing training and support for grassroots urban leaders serving youth and families in hard places around the world. Closer to home, Ron is on a regular preaching schedule at several local churches. Ron lives in the Rainier Valley, a multicultural neighborhood in the south end of Seattle with his wife, Linda, with whom he has served for nearly 30 years. His two adult sons, Ben and Clayton, live close by.

The post Ruthruff, Ron appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.

Doug has taught at Temple University, and Argosy University, and 天美视频. He was hired as Core Faculty at 天美视频 after completing his doctoral dissertation in 2016. His doctoral studies focused on masculinity and the emotional impact of shame.

Doug and his wife, Laura Wade Shirley, have three boys: Noah, Luke, and Eli. Doug describes his calling in life as “to be full and receptive.”

The post Shirley, Doug appeared first on 天美视频 of Theology & Psychology.