Dream Big
Tina Seelig’s Insight Out helps dreams come alive. Focusing on imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurism she provides a step-by-step guidebook for dreamers who want to transform their ideas into a reality. Seelig uses a practical approach to help the reader advance their idea from imagination to implementation. This post will examine Seelig’s work and explore ways to enhance my dissertation research on resisting Satan and improve my armor of God coin artifact in ways that will help Evangelical congregants both understand and withstand the effects of spiritual warfare.
I used Bayard’s “non-read”[1] techniques and Dr. Clark’s “drill” deep[2] encouragement to find the ideas, data, and themes from Seelig’s book that resonate with me and my calling to be an armor of God bearer. Her experience in working with inmates gives her credibility and I value her principles, methods, and message about the creative impulse. Bigelow commends Seelig for her application of the “creative impulse” with both individuals and organizations and urges the inclusion of creativity as part of everyone’s “personal mindsets and values.”[3]
I suppose the Armor of God challenge coin serves as a type of artifact for my dissertation research and is an example of Seelig’s “Invention Cycle.”[4] In 2003 while serving in a warzone I was inspired to study 10 sermons by Ray Stedman on spiritual warfare.[5] I read Scripture, studied books, listened to audio recordings, talked to theologians, and prayed for wisdom and discernment. Somewhere during my imagination phase I got the idea, probably from my military experiences, to create a challenge coin that would embody, embrace, and connect people to Paul’s “whole armor of God” principles in Ephesians.[6] My idea, while original to the Holy Spirit, connects me to the supernatural creativity and metaphorical images of people wearing Christ, and Christ wearing people.
Putting on Christ metaphorically is a spiritual innovation that advances belief into faith. I believe that God’s Son is incarnate, sinless, miraculous, crucified for my sins, defeated death, ascended into Heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God. Therefore, I can faithfully imagine a supernatural dimension and state of being where I wear the whole armor of God. I put on the six pieces of Roman armor that symbolizes Christ’s belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, and shoes of peace. In addition, taking Paul’s doctrinal ideas, hopes, and prayers to stand firm I intentionally take the shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit. Now, I am prepared to understand and withstand any spiritual challenge of the day.
Military heritage and history notes that challenge coins were used for personal identification, unit membership, and an elite artifact that promoted allegiance, community, and patriotism. Seelig calls it entrepreneurship, but I say the imagination, creativity, and innovation of the armor of God coin was all of God and the Holy Spirit. In other words, I was personally compelled, urged, and so driven by the conviction that I took the armor of God idea and trusted God to design something tangible, reproducible, and transferable. The armor of God coin is not magic. It does not have any Jesus powder on it. You cannot rub it and make three wishes. It is not magical in the worldly sense but the message behind the coin has supernatural power in the Heavenly sense. The message behind the armor of God is Jesus Christ. When we wear Christ as our armor, we have power over death, over temptation, over addictions, over schemes, over the challenges that Christian’s face every day during their journey towards eternity.
I “get” Seelig and admire another dreamer whose passion, vision, and stick-to-itiveness inspires others toward action. I have not written a book, but I was determined to create an armor of God challenge coin, that turns out to be a vital and valuable artifact in my ministry and research on the problem of spiritual warfare. My step into entrepreneurship was to take Biblical truth and apply a form of Pink’s ethnography[7] into a tangible, visual, tactile three-dimensional artifact that acts as both a practical tool and a supernatural checklist on how to resist Satan, survive the attacks of spiritual warfare, and win the day because of Christ’s victory over death and sin on the cross.
Parker’s article on Seelig highlights a personal challenge that I agree with, “the biggest obstacle is always our own attitude.”[8] How true that is for me. I believe that having the right attitude coupled with a well-founded faith that God will accomplish what He said He will always wins the day. In summary, Seelig’s playbook and methodology is helpful and adaptable to my dissertation problem of understanding and withstanding the effects of spiritual warfare. For example, I can modify and apply her 5-step “observe-define-ideate-prototype-test” approach with the armor of God ministry. If I can integrate envisioning, experimenting, reframing and inspiration into my research I know my final outputs will glorify God and help Christian leaders train and equip their congregants to face the threat of spiritual warfare.
Stand firm,
M. Webb
[1] Pierre Bayard. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read. (Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2007) Kindle Edition, Location 247
[2]. Jason Clark. Face to Face, LGP-8, Zoom Video Conference, 9 October.
[3] Deborah Bigelow. “Self-Help.” Library Journal 137, no. 9 (2012): 92, N/a.
[4] Tina L. Seelig. Insight out: Get Ideas out of Your Head and into the World. First ed. (New York: HarperOne, 2015) 8.
[5] Ray C. Stedman. Spiritual Warfare: How to Stand Firm in the Faith. (Discovery House, Grand Rapids, MI, 2011).
[6] Eph. 6:10-18.
[7] Sarah Pink. Doing Visual Ethnography. (London: Sage Publications, 2013) 18.
[8] Clifford Parker. “ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS DEPENDS ON ACTIONS, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE, STANFORD EXPERT SAYS.” States News Service, 2015, 1.
About the Author
Mike
8 responses to “Dream Big”
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Good job Mike. Way to apply the topic to your dissertation lens. you are great at always making that connection. Looks like you are continually getting more and more insights from all our readings. I hope this helps you get them out! 🙂
Kyle,
Thanks for the review and comments. I always like reading your posts and like the way you think and critically analyze our readings.
Stand firm,
M. Webb
HI Mike. I love this: “My idea, while original to the Holy Spirit, connects me to the supernatural creativity and metaphorical images of people wearing Christ, and Christ wearing people.” I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a new creation in Christ, and I appreciate this tangible connection that you have given as a means of expressing that. I’m wondering how you are tracking the reslutls or outcomes of the challenge coins. Do you stay in touch with the people to whom you have given the coins?
Jennifer,
Thanks for your review and comments. I do not formally track the Armor of God coin recipients. It has been informal over the years and I am going to try and capture some survey data from them as part of my research. Since there are over 2000 out there I hope I can get 5% who respond back over time. God knows.
Stand firm,
M. Webb
Mike,
You could have written this book from your own perspective. You credit, rightfully so, the Holy Spirit with leading you to develop your own entrepreneurial strategy for the AoG coin but it seems you also took many of the same steps Seelig suggests in this book. I wonder how you think you might further utilize precepts from this text toward your own entrepreneurial efforts and the further development of your dissertation research.
Dan,
Thanks for the review and comments. I like Seelig but think she needs to apply a little Proverbs 3:5-6 to her themes to be complete. Stand firm,
M. Webb
Hi Mike,
I was first introduced to “challenge coins” through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. I teach hunter safety, and they give challenge coins to us instructors on occasion. Our director is former military, and he is the one who brought the idea to FWP.
Then you brought some to Cape Town, and I was immediately intrigued. Dr. Jason genuinely appreciated your gift, and others, including me, considered it an honor that you thought of us.
I for one, look forward to seeing more in Hong Kong, and I sincerely thank you for sharing with us.
Jay,
Thanks for your review and comments. YES, I have more Armor of God challenge coins “Hong Kong” contextualized for you to see. Greg helped me with some translation!
Stand firm,
M. Webb