Drew Brown is an award-winning singer-songwriter, music producer and a friend of mine from way back. We have a shared history of being involved in contemporary Christian music, or CCM for short.

In this interview Drew and I sit down in his kitchen to talk about music and being a musician. We talk about how writing, playing, performing and producing honest music tells the story of our lives and gives expression to shared experiences. Including the experience of a disillusioned and deconstructed Christian faith.

What do we do when we no longer experience God the way we once did? Or when God is silent? When faith becomes riddled by questions and doubts, when we find ourselves in the wilderness?

We keep telling our story, we keep making music, that’s what.

And we start to notice that love isn’t confined to one book of scriptures, one story, one man, one experience. It’s everywhere, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. And we realize that music, especially our Christian music, won’t have all the answers if it’s going to be an honest telling of that story.

It’s ok to live in the tension, and the best music will hold space for this tension.

In this interview we also talk about investing in community and being a good neighbour, even if we’re hard-core introverts.

What does it look like to be a good neighbour in your context? How can we make a difference in the world right where we live? Drew explores these questions with me, sharing stories from his own community.

Join me for this interview with Drew Brown where we talk about the power of music to express the deepest human experiences of great love and great suffering (those portals of the Divine), the potential for new life that springs from the shaking of our faith foundations, and how we can create spaces for connection and community with music and neighbourhood-relationships.

Drew’s Music:

• Hymns for the Architect

Liturgical songs and prayers for the church and songs for people that need a song while in their “night season”. Songs of hope while doubting hope, of faith while seeking faith, of love while rediscovering love, and prayers for mercy that acknowledges mercy as undeserved.

• Drew Brown Music
• Drew Brown on Spotify

Other musicians and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Andrew Peterson
• Audrey Assad
• Parish Collective

All the music in this episode by Drew Brown.

See more at Brad Toews.