Dan Allender on Why Getting Older Could Make You More Alive

Good Faith

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is Mortality the Enemy of a Meaningful Life?

Curtis Chang sits down with psychologist Dr. Dan Allender for a searching conversation about aging, mortality, Christian hope, and the surprising freedom of growing older. Together, they explore why getting older is not merely decline, but an invitation to deeper purpose, tenderness, grace, and wisdom—especially in a culture determined to deny death. From caring for aging parents to reimagining retirement, Dan and Curtis offer biblical insight and personal honesty for anyone seeking renewed purpose, peace, and courage as we grow older.

00:43 - Introduction to Aging Well Spiritually, Not Physically

03:25 - Psalm 90 and When to Start Thinking About Age?

05:40- Why Does Our Culture Avoid Aging?

09:52 - Are There Gifts in Getting Older?

19:10 - Counting Your Days: A Biblical Perspective

25:05- Psalm 92: The Righteous Stay Vital By Serving Others

29:14 - The Problem with Retirement Culture

34:32 - What About the "Sandwich Generation"?

40:55 - Our Inner Emotional Age

44:45 - The Power of Story From Lives Well Lived

50:20 - Tending to Your Past Selves

Please Enjoy the Reading Guide for This Episode: https://bit.ly/danallenderreadalong

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Scriptures Referenced:

Psalm 90:12 (all versions)
Psalm 92:14 (all versions)
Genesis 16 (ESV)
Hebrews 4:11 (all versions)

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dylan Thomas's Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
Good Faith podcast episode 211: Nancy French's Joyful Grandparenting Lessons & Living Like Tomorrow Isn't Guaranteed
Schindler's List scene: "I didn't do enough"

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think in some ways that the elderly bear the presence of stories that so few want to mine.
0:09.6	But when we begin to mind them, what we begin to have is a sense of what we are called to begin to prepare our own hearts for.
0:18.5	So the freedom to look at the past, I think, is preparatory for being able
0:23.5	to live much more virt make sense of the world.
0:49.4	I'm your host, Curtis Chang. This podcast is produced by a nonpartisan 501c3 organization.
0:56.5	As you make your way through our world today, there is a huge amount of unpredictability
1:03.3	in our politics, with AI, with our economy, and pretty much everything happening around
1:08.2	you feels unpredictable. But there is one absolute certainty about you
1:15.2	and your future, and that is, you will be aging. In the future, you will be older than you are now.
1:23.9	You can bet the farm on that prediction. How then do we age well? I'm not talking about diet or
1:31.5	exercise tips to stave off the bodily effects of age. I mean aging well spiritually. I am talking
1:39.6	about growing old with the kind of perspective you can only get from a wise follower of Jesus in the
1:47.0	midst of this very journey. And that's why in this episode you get to hear from my good friend
1:52.5	Dan Allender. Dan is a leading figure in the Christian world on integrating psychology with deep
1:59.1	spiritual wisdom. You'll learn how to begin embracing your inevitable future of aging in the way God intended.
2:08.7	Here's my conversation with Dan.
2:11.9	So Dan, welcome back to the Good Faith podcast.
2:15.6	Curtis, you know. I look to you and many of your guests as the basis of my, I'm not going to claim to be too sane.
2:25.1	But whatever sanity I bear, it's in large measure.
2:29.0	I am grateful to you.
2:31.4	Wow, that's a big burden for me to bear.
2:33.3	Like Dan Allender's very sanity is on my shoulders.
	...

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