The Narrative of Good Friday

Good Friday is often described as paradoxical—a day of deep
sorrow somehow called “good.” In this moving episode of the
Allender Center Podcast, Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton
Chen invite us into that paradox, not just as observers of the
crucifixion story, but as participants—people whose own stories
of betrayal, abandonment, and suffering echo the narrative of
Jesus’ final hours.


Together, they explore what it means to enter into Good Friday by
entering into our own “Fridays”—those dark and disorienting
moments of our lives when we've not only been betrayed, but also
betrayed others. The conversation invites us to reflect on the
intersection between personal pain and collective suffering, and
to consider how our experiences of humiliation, violence, and
even despair connect us to the story of the cross.


But this episode is not one of despair alone. It’s an invitation
to sit honestly in the tension of a day when evil seems to win,
and yet—somehow—we dare to believe redemption is being forged in
the depths of that agony. As Rachael says, it’s a time when we’re
forced to confront the death of a dream, the silence between what
is and what is promised. And yet, even in the sorrow, there is a
movement toward hope.


This topic is not easy—but it is so important to engage. We hope
today’s conversation offers space to weep, to name, and to
consider how our own stories might be met and transformed by the
suffering and love of Christ.