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Are You Sacrificing Effectiveness for Originality?

“I have met church leaders who refuse to use something that has been used somewhere else. They want to be the first to do something, try something, or preach something.

You can be innovative without being original. Sometimes, the most innovative idea for your church or your community is something that was borrowed from somewhere else. That is okay, because being original is overrated…

“Most of our ideas come from taking someone else’s idea and making it work for us. We Grangerize it. That is, we make it work for our culture, and that is okay with us. We truly do not care whether what we do is original or not–we just care if it works.”

I know, it’s lame to quote yourself. But I wrote those words in Pop Goes the Church three years ago and still believe them strongly. Many times, church leaders (usually from large churches) put an undue pressure on smaller churches by telling them they should only present original works. They say it is lazy to use something that was created by someone else.

I have no problem with original creations. But let’s stop with the guilt trips and just celebrate art wherever it is found. Let’s focus more on effectiveness than originality. Let’s be good stewards of kingdom resources and make good use of works created by another Jesus follower–even if we’ve never met them. Let’s drop our pride and be willing to utilize something that wasn’t our idea and doesn’t have our magic touch on it.

This weekend we presented a video called “Regrets” that was produced by Ignite Media and purchased from Worship House Media for $17.98. Then our team Grangerized it by integrating the video with a Linkin Park song performed by Kim Stewart. The results were amazing. 

What are your thoughts about reusing art created by someone else?

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Tim Stevens served as the executive pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, IN, for twenty years before joining Vanderbloemen Search Group as the Director of the Executive Search Consultant Team where he helps churches and ministries around the world find their key staff. Tim has a passion for the local church and equipping leaders with practical advice and tools about church staffing and church leadership. He has co-authored three books with Tony Morgan, including Simply Strategic Stuff, Simply Strategic Volunteers, and Simply Strategic Growth, and authored three books of his own, including Fairness Is Overrated: And 51 Other Leadership Principles To Revolutionize Your Workplace. Connect with Tim at LeadingSmart.com.