The Pursuit of Holiness
He's written some of the best-known songs in contemporary worship, yet most people still don't recognize Brian Doerksen's name—and that's just the way this family man likes it.
by Andree Farias | posted 4/02/2007
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He's one of the founding fathers of what we call "modern worship," but don't tell Brian Doerksen that. He prefers to keep a low profile, which isn't always easy after writing worship standards like "Refiner's Fire" and "Come Now Is the Time to Worship," as well as mentoring and producing at least 25 worship albums. But celebrity doesn't faze him. In fact, his fourth solo album, Holy God (Integrity), is a case study of God's holiness and humanity's nothingness—something he believes much of modern worship is uncomfortable addressing. His own frailty came into sharper focus when he learned that two of his sons had fragile X syndrome, a hereditary mental disorder. In this wide-ranging conversation, Doerksen talks about—among other things—how he and his wife processed their sons' plight, and how they were able to realize God's faithfulness even in the midst of unfulfilled parental expectations.
You have 25 albums to your credit as a worship leader or producer, and thousands sing your songs every week. So why do so few people know your name?
Brian Doerksen When I first felt called to do this over twenty years ago, I wanted to perform music on big stages. But God quickly called me to be all about worship, which is really "Notice God, don't notice me." I feel incredibly comfortable in my own way trying to live out the whole John the Baptist thing ("He must become greater, I must become less") especially when I look at what it means to be a worship leader—an artist who creates a "window" for people to look through and see someone greater.
That explains why you'd rather lead at your local church than getting your name out there or going on a high-profile tour.
Doerksen It is connected. To me, if I'm going to write worship music, inspiring others and putting songs in the mouths of the local church, if I'm not anchored in the local church and finding my primary identity there, it's going to feel false.
I hear people say, "My goal is to write a song that the whole world will sing." I kinda look at them sideways and ask, "Why don't you try and write a song you want to sing in your prayers to God? Or a song that your local church wants to sing, where you're serving, where you're known and loved." Let God worry about the rest of the world.
American worshippers are enamored with celebrity, hence the popularity of artist-based CDs and "special event" albums. Why is that?
Doerksen I think that's related to American culture. More than anywhere else in the world, there's a fascination with stars, with the platform. So I'm not at all surprised that, even in worship music, the artists who tour more and the ones who have more visibility are accepted more in that context. I do quite a bit of work in Europe, and it's not quite that way there, or in Canada [where I live]. It's more organic—[people] are more concerned with the song and what it wants to say rather than who created it.
Is radio airplay ever a factor in your music-making process?
Doerksen When I'm writing or arranging or whatever stage I'm in, I don't have radio or Christian bookstore sales as my goal. I feel God has given me a trust and a calling to call people to worship in a way that's biblical, that's intimate. Everything else is a bonus, but not the focus of what I do.
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