Why Asking Why Is So Important

Herman Baker, 1929

In 1939 Herman Baker was twenty-eight years old. He had a young family and a steady job working for his uncle, Louis Kregel. Everyone would have expected him to continue in that job, providing for his family and moving up the company ranks.

It was, after all, the Great Depression. Herman was lucky to have a job at all, let alone one in the sweet spot of his passion—books. If I was his friend back then, I would have told him to relax, to enjoy his work and his family.

And what Herman Baker actually did would have floored me.

He quit his job, loaded two hundred books from his own library into a storefront, and placed a sign in the window: “Baker’s Book Store.”

The original 1939 store

The rest is history. Seventy-some years later the company Herman founded is called Baker Publishing Group, and it is one of the largest Christian publishers in the world.

As grateful as I am for Herman’s bold move, I’m haunted by this question: Why?

That question sent me on a quest. I talked to people in the know, namely his son, his grandsons, and employees who worked with him.

Here’s what I learned: Herman founded this company because he saw a need that wasn’t being met. Seminary students and others did not have access, either because of price or availability, to the books they needed to be educated and nurtured in the faith.

This was Herman’s driving concern: to cultivate believers in the faith.

And his passion lives on in our mission statement:

Baker Publishing Group publishes high-quality writings that represent historic Christianity and serve the diverse interests and concerns of evangelical readers.

I can testify that this mission statement is near and dear to the heart of our current president, Dwight Baker (Herman’s grandson). He regularly quizzes us about it in staff meetings.

I love telling this story not least because my colleagues and I are now characters in it. Every day we invest our lives into its continuation, and may it live long into the future.

But the other reason I tell this story is to challenge you to ask this question: When it comes to your work, why?

What need are you meeting? What pain are you helping to heal? What itch are you scratching? What concern are you engaging?

A strong answer to why will take you a long, long way.

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Categories: Goals, Inspirations, Life, Publishing, Work Habits

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17 thoughts on “Why Asking Why Is So Important”

  1. Pingback: On Answering Why? | Josh Mosey | Writer
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  4. I love asking other people the “Why?” question. I need to ask myself the question more often.

  5. Thanks for sharing this story of encouragement, Chad! Isn’t it blow-your-socks-off-awesome how God brings His will to fruition?!

    I pray the desire of my heart will always align with Christ’s will for my life.

    Think I’ll do some goal-reassessment today.

  6. I like that because I shop at Baker, I become a part of helping that story to continue. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Such a story of faith and courage. I live in West Michigan and I’ve never heard it. That journey inspires me. I want to offer others hope and the knowledge that whenever they place themselves in the proximity of renewal their lives are full meaning for Christ.

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