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My guest today is Dr. Dan Allender. For over 30 years, his “Allender Theory” has brought healing and transformation to hundreds of thousands of lives by bridging the story of the gospel and the stories of trauma and abuse that mark so many. He’s written a bunch of life-changing books (e.g. The Wounded Heart, God Loves Sex) and is an incredible communicator. Most of all, he’s one of the most down to earth, Jesus-like, and delightful persons I’ve ever met. 

Dan will be speaking on healing from Sexual Trauma at Exiles in Babylon 2026! Part of our session titled Mental Health and the Gospel. Learn more here.

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*note: At 14:34 Daniel mentions that there were 900 in the apartment complex raided by ICE in Chicago. However after the recording he confirmed that 900 is the total number of people detained during Operation Midway Blitz at the time of the raid, and not the total number detained that day.

Register for the Exiles in Babylon conference! April 30-May 2, 2026.

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Daniel Yang serves as the Senior Director of Global Mission and Church Movements for World Relief. Prior to that he was the director of the Church Multiplication Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. Daniel has been a pastor, church planter, engineer and technology consultant. He has planted churches in Detroit, Dallas, Toronto, and Chicago, either as the lead planter or through recruiting, training, assessing, and mentoring church planters.

Daniel is a sought-after conference speaker, missional strategist, consultant, and co-author of Inalienable: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church (InterVarsity, May 2022) and Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders (Zondervan, October 2024).

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Today’s guest is my longtime friend Dr. Joel Willitts. On this episode, Joel shares his difficult journey navigating faith and life after being sexually abused by a family member in his youth. It’s an incredibly raw conversation —if you’re sensitive to these topics, please make sure to prepare yourself before listening.

Joel is a Professor in the Biblical and Theological Studies Department at North Park University in Chicago, IL, where he’s taught for over twenty years. His academic journey began at Liberty University (B.A. '92), followed by a Th.M. from Dallas Seminary ('00), and an M.Phil. (’02) and Ph.D. (’07) from Cambridge University. His intellectual curiosities are many, included the Jewish Context of the New Testament and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He enjoys travel, running marathons, watching baseball (especially the Yankees!), listening to U2, and reading. He live in the suburbs of Chicago and has boy-girl twins who are freshmen at North Park University. He’s been married to Karla for 33 years. 

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Join the Theology in the Raw Patreon community to watch our "Extra Innings" conversation where Kaitlyn shares some horror stories about the Christian dating scene and gives some much-needed advice for anyone trying to set up their friends.

Kaitlyn Schiess is a doctoral student in Christian ethics at Duke Divinity School. She has a ThM in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and is the author of The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture has been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here (Brazos, 2023) and The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor (IVP, 2020). Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The New York Times, RELEVANT, and Sojourners. Her work focuses on political theology, theological interpretation of the Old Testament prophets, and American religious history. Find more of her work at https://kaitlynschiess.com

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The Myth of Good Christian Parenting is available to pre-order now on Amazon, reserve your copy today! 

Join the Theology in the Raw community on Patreon to watch our "Extra Innings" conversation on whether parents should spank their kids. 

Marissa Franks Burt (MA in Theological Studies, Columbia International University) is a novelist, editor, teacher, and cohost of the At Home with the Lectionary and In the Church Library podcasts. She lives in a small town in Washington's Snoqualmie Valley with her husband, six children, and heaps of books. 

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis (PhD, University of Iowa) is a musicologist, educator, and correspondent for Christianity Today, writing on worship practices and Christian subculture. She is an adjunct professor at Grand View University in Des Moines and previously worked at the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights. Marissa & Kelsey cohost the podcast In The Church Library where they discuss print resources. And they coauthored the book The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families, which is the topic of our conversation. Link to pre-order bonuses. Link to download of the introduction and first chapter. Order from Baker for guaranteed release day delivery

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Dr. Juli Slattery is the president and co-founder of Authentic Intimacy. She is a clinical psychologist and hosts the weekly Java with Juli podcast. Juli has authored or co-authored 14 books, including her latest book: Surrendered Sexuality: How Knowing Jesus Changes…Everything. Join the Theology in the Raw community to get access to our "extra innings" conversation, where Juli counsels me on how to respond to slander and lies spread about me from Christian influencers.

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Dr. Julia Sadusky is a licensed clinical psychologist, author, and speaker who specializes in sexuality, gender, and faith and has written several books in this area, including Start Talking to Your Kids about Sex. Julia has submitted an Amicus Brief concerning the recent case against the ban on conversation therapy in the state of Colorado. Join the Theology in the Raw community for as little as $5/month to get access to premium content.

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Shoutout to our amazing sponsor, Wild Alaskan. Save $35 on your first box of delicious, sustainable seafood. Head to wildalaskan.com/titr to order.  

Also, be sure to grab a copy of God’s Colorful Kingdom, available now! 

Exiles in Babylon Conference 2026 Registration is open! Join us in Minneapolis, April 30-May 2. 

Esau McCaulley, PhD, is Pastor of All Saints Anglican Church in Naperville IL. He is also an author and The Jonathan Blanchard Associate Professor of New Testament and Public Theology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. His research and writing focus on New Testament Exegesis, African American Biblical Interpretation, and Public Theology. Esau's latest book is a children's Bible called God's Colorful Kingdom, which celebrates God's heart for diversity throughout scripture. 

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Join the Theology in the Raw community for as little as $5/month to get access to premium content! A. J. Swoboda (PhD, University of Birmingham) is an assistant professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University. He also leads a doctor of ministry program around Christian formation and soul care at Friends University. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including the award-winning Subversive Sabbath and After Doubt. Nijay K. Gupta (PhD, Durham University) is Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. Gupta is an award-winning author of numerous books, including Tell Her Story, Strange Religion, and commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He is also a senior translator for the New Living Translation. A.J. and Nijay cohost the Slow Theology podcast and co-authored the recent book Slow Theology, which is the topic of our conversation. 

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Steve Mwendia is a Kenyan Christian, who experiences same-sex attraction. Steve founded a ministry called “Found” that aims to walk alongside believers experiencing same-sex orientation and/or gender dysphoria, helping them flourish in their faith, identity, and community. See more at foundafric.org. Join the Theology in the Raw community for as little as $5/month to get access to premium content.

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