Why, Why, Why???

The question, “Why am I doing this?” is one that is too easily left unanswered as we church music directors go about selecting pieces for our choirs to sing. I am a big fan of Simon Sinek’s book, Start With Why. The premise of the book is that as leaders, we get caught up in “how” and “what” questions and don’t take the time to understand why we’re doing many of the things that we routinely do.

Like a lot of us, I took some time during the slower summer months and began to prepare the choral year for our church’s primary choir – the Chancel Choir. I went through the music library and selected songs for several reasons, but made sure that as I went through the process I kept asking, “Why should I program this piece?”

There are lots of answers to that question, some good and some bad. Sometimes our choirs need a “teaching piece” to help them learn techniques that will help them with another piece that is the ultimate goal that we want for them. Some pieces help them walk before they can run, and others can elevate them past running to being elite choral athletes. Sometimes the answer to that question is, “Because the pastor asked for it.” That’s a good reason. Another good answer could be, “Because this pieces of music aligns very well with the theme of the entire worship service.”

There are two horrible answers to the question of why we program a piece of music, but they are answers that pop up annoyingly often: “Because I like this piece of music,” and “I don’t know.” There’s nothing wrong with being in love with a piece of music, but if that’s the sole reason you’re programming it, you may want to double-check and make sure you’re not just being self-indulgent. If you love a piece and also realize that it fits the service or serves a purpose for your choir, then congratulations! But we always have to be mindful of keeping our egos and personal preferences in a healthy place. To say, “I don’t know why I’m programming this piece,” is, to put it bluntly, an indication that you’re being lazy. Your time and your choir’s time deserve more effort and respect than that.

I recently cancelled a piece that I had planned for my choir because I asked the question of “Why,” and could only come up with “I don’t know.” It was a lovely piece, but I had no real reason other than that I needed an anthem to fill a slot, so I pulled it and made other plans. The answer to my “Why” wasn’t strong enough. It gave no reason for the choir or me as a conductor to push toward a worthy musical goal. It wasn’t fair to the commitment that my choir members offer to treat their work lightly and ask them to do something without a clear purpose.

I have found that asking “Why?” is one of the most important things we can do; not only as leaders and ministers, but as humans. Why am I engaged in music ministry? Why do I believe what I believe? Why have I stopped learning new things? Why am I not regularly checking the health of my home life, my relationships, my friendships, or my actual health? Why is music important? Why is choir important? Why is church important? Why is Jesus important? Yes, it can seem childish, and people around you may get a little annoyed. But their annoyance is usually because they haven’t been willing to confront these types of questions, and don’t like being held accountable. I urge you to take some time, answer the questions I asked above and come up with some of your own. With apologies to Plato for a possible misquotation, “The life that is not well-examined is not worth living.” To truly examine our ministry, our music programs, and ourselves we have to start and continue asking, “Why?”