Opening
As Jennie Allen closes the book, she calls readers to a freedom that comes from God and radiates outward. Chapter 16 weaves redemption stories, Scripture, and personal testimony into a final charge: fix your mind on Christ, live “dangerous” to darkness, and multiply freedom in others.
What Happens
Allen begins with a friend’s father, a recovering alcoholic, who turns his lowest point into ministry. After rehab, he returns to the same facility—not as a patient but as a leader—hosting Bible studies, inviting his “rehab buddies” to dinner, and building a community of hope. What he once hid becomes the very place God displays power. The message is unmistakable: God redeems what feels irredeemable.
She then anchors the chapter in Matthew 14, where Peter (the Apostle) steps onto the water to walk toward Jesus. Peter stands firm while his gaze is set on Christ; he sinks the moment he gives his attention to the wind and waves. Allen frames this as the battle for the mind. The Enemy / Satan aims to fracture focus with distraction, while believers wield the decisive weapon of a single-minded gaze. This is the heart of The Power of Choice: choose where to look, and you choose whether you sink or stand. Peter’s eventual leadership in the early church proves what happens when that focus holds—believers become “dangerous” to the enemy.
Finally, Allen turns inward. The 3 a.m. anxiety spirals that once unraveled her become quiet, sacred hours—where she writes most of this book. She counters fear with truth statements: “I am known. I am chosen. I am safe.” From there she introduces the “contagious mind,” illustrated by her daughter, Kate Allen, discipling a new believer. A renewed mind isn’t just for inner calm; it’s meant to spread. The aim of Transformation Through Renewing the Mind is to be set free so you can set others free. The chapter closes with a prayer commissioning readers into that mission.
Character Development
Allen frames the conclusion as lived truth: redemption is personal, communal, and missional. Peter embodies the path from distraction to devotion; Kate models multiplication.
- Jennie Allen: Moves from 3 a.m. dread to peaceful, productive communion with God; applies her own tools, shifting from self-protection to mission.
- Peter (the Apostle): Reveals the sink-or-stand dynamic of focus; becomes a “dangerous” leader once his gaze stays fixed on Christ.
- Kate Allen: Steps into discipleship, showing how a renewed mind multiplies freedom in others.
Themes & Symbols
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Spiritual Warfare for the Mind: The chapter culminates in the image of believers as “dangerous”—not through force but through unwavering focus on Christ. Distraction is the enemy’s tactic; a fixed gaze is the believer’s defense and offense. The mental battlefield is where freedom is won and shared.
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Walking on Water: The stormy sea embodies anxiety, fear, and circumstances that threaten to pull us under. Peter’s success depends entirely on his focus, not his skill. The scene dramatizes The Power of Choice: what you look at forms your future. It also supports the “contagious mind” vision—transformed focus births transformed lives, which ripple outward through communities, fulfilling Transformation Through Renewing the Mind.
Key Quotes
“I am known. I am chosen. I am safe.”
- These truths replace fearful spirals with a stable identity rooted in God. Allen models how rehearsing truth re-trains the mind, creating an “upward spiral” that reshapes emotion, behavior, and habit.
“Set free in order to set others free.”
- Freedom isn’t a finish line; it’s a starting line. The chapter reframes personal healing as a calling to multiply hope, pushing readers from private victory into public mission.
“Contagious mind.”
- Allen’s phrase captures the book’s outward arc: renewed thinking spills into relationships, households, and communities. It’s a vision for discipleship that begins in the mind and expands into everyday life.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
This capstone chapter shifts the book from “how to change your thoughts” to “why your changed thoughts matter.” By tying Peter’s focus to our daily mental battles, Allen elevates mindset work into spiritual resistance and kingdom impact. The closing stories and prayer commission readers to live as agents of freedom—people whose steady gaze on Jesus turns weaknesses into ministry, makes their lives “dangerous” to darkness, and spreads hope from one renewed mind to the next.