There is absolutely no shame in borrowing ideas. Everybody does it. Solomon said so. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) Many people experience a stone wall of creativity (aka writer’s block) because they feel they need to be completely 100% original. The ironic thing is… no one … I mean NO ONE ANYWHERE, EVER is 100% original. We are all borrowing, editing, re-making, splicing, re-inventing, altering, upgrading, re-writing and updating. You will be more creative when you give yourself permission to borrow other creative people’s ideas.
Camps & Conferences are excellent places to find borrow-able ideas. I work for a youth ministry. Youth ministry people take their kids to camp. Those camps are bound to have ideas. (I know… cause I’m one of the guys who comes up with those ideas)
Allow me to speak for camp-staff everywhere and tell you that one of the many reasons why we do this is to give you material to use. We select music that we think you might not have heard, but could totally pull and use in your group. We make videos, invent games, write dramas and plan events with the expectation… no with the HOPE that you will benefit from our efforts. Borrowing ideas is not stealing, it’s creativity. (You didn’t think that WE created all of that stuff from scratch without borrowing… did you…!? )
Of course, we’d love it if you remembered your sources and gave credit… but we, like you, aren’t in this for the fame or the fortune. We’re in it because we love doing it, so if our work sparks an idea in you… or if our work can be copy/pasted into another context… Great! Go for it.
But take note: the best creativity is when an idea is borrowed and re-formed to fit a new context. When you borrow an idea, think through how it can be changed to match your setting. Copy/Paste usually falls flat because the idea you are borrowing was created with a specific context in mind. A change of context should result in a modified idea. Look to make alterations that will make the idea you are borrowing connect more directly with your audience.
When you can identify a good idea, modify it to fit a new context you have become a creative person. Welcome to the club… we’ve been expecting you.
