Of Mice and Men... and Football… and Music Ministry... and Stewardship.
Anyone who has been in charge of a group of people trying to do anything knows the importance of good planning. One must consider the task at hand, short-term and long-term goals, the people involved, their abilities and challenges, and the resources available. A good leader has a plan, but also has the ability to anticipate possible snags and has contingency plans for these pitfalls.
As a church music director, I plan the music for all our services, matching the congregational hymns and choral selections to the lectionary, holiday observances, and current events. Because I am a professional organist, I prepare new music and have a repertoire of music that I know that I can choose from when I decide what I will play each week. During choir rehearsals, we learn new music and review pieces that we have sung before so that we are also building a repertoire of music that we can choose from. As any choir member can tell you, we rehearse a lot of pieces each week! We have been rehearsing music for the upcoming Christmas season for several weeks already. But as the saying goes, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”
While I map out what I want the choir to sing for months at a time, it doesn’t always pan out the way I plan. Sometimes, our volunteer choir has several singers who are out of town for a few weeks. Some weeks, we take a hit from allergy or cold season, sometimes taking out the whole soprano section or making our numbers so low, that it is not feasible to sing what we had planned. A few weeks ago, you may have noticed that we did not sing what was listed in the bulletin. Like a football quarterback, I determined the plan was not going to work and had to call an audible and change the plan at the last minute on a Sunday.
Why call an audible? Why not just do what we planned and present the music, even if we were missing some parts or not confident with the whole song? Our volunteer singers rely on our practices to learn the music and receive guidance on how to practice. They are not professional musicians who have the skills and musical expertise to prepare music on their own. At the same time though, we are not preparing for a concert. We do love music and enjoy singing, but this is about more than just music. The music we share each week is not a performance, it is our offering to God. In this stewardship season, we often hear about tithing and giving of our time and talents. We are told to give and not just what is extra. Proverbs 3:9 says “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” We are told to give our best to the Lord, whether that is in our time, talents, or treasure. I don’t want to present any music that is just “ok” or “good enough.” When we present a musical offering, we should present the best we have to offer. Sometimes that means we need to change the plan at the last minute to ensure we give our best to our God.
Larissa Sanders
