Best-Selling Author Jennie Allen Encourages Students During March 10 Chapel

Jennie Allen, New York Times bestselling author of “Get Out of Your Head,” spoke with students during chapel service March 10 in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium on the OBU campus in Shawnee. Allen came to campus as part of the University’s annual Women’s Missions and Ministry Day, promoting the profound impact women make in missions and ministry around the world every day.

In addition to the chapel service, Allen also spoke at two ticketed events, including a ladies breakfast and a luncheon, both held as fundraisers for student scholarships.

She shared from John 8 and talked about how the devil lies and seeks to destroy us as believers. She noted that Jesus is making one thing really clear in this passage, as He wants us to know that the devil is a liar.

“What do you hear about the enemy? He lies,” Allen said. “He doesn’t know the truth, he doesn’t say the truth, and…he’s a liar, he lies.”

She then emphasized that while we can’t decide to change the way we feel, we can choose the things we think about.

“There’s a choice. You can live two ways, every day of your life, Christians and unbelievers. There are two ways to live. One is for the flesh and your sin, and the other is for the Spirit. The defining characteristic he says in Romans 8 that is going to decide which one you live for is if you set your mind on this world and the flesh, then you will follow it. If you set your mind on the Spirit, then you’ll be full of life and peace.

“One road leads to sin and death. One road leads to life and peace. And what is the personal responsibility that we have in us for which road we end up on? What we set our minds on.”

She also discussed the three lies that we all believe, that we are worthless, helpless and unlovable.

“There is a war and the enemy likes to cut at our deepest places, at the things that will make us most fragile, at the things that will take away our confidence and our strong, firm stand on who we are, who God is and what He has called us to do. You take those three things out of a Christian’s life, and guess what, they are impotent or worse, they are a distraction to others for our God.”

Allen is a bestselling author of multiple books and Bible studies, including “Get Out of Your Head,” “Nothing to Prove,” “Anything,” “Restless,” “Chase” and “Stuck.” She is the founder and visionary of IF: Gathering. She is a passionate leader following God's call on her life to catalyze a generation of women to live what they believe. She earned a master’s degree in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Zac, and their four children.