Brian Spahr
Making connections
Singer-songwriter proclaims the Good News with music
       by Rob Blezard

Twenty years ago Brian Spahr made a deal with God. He was 14 years old, had just received his first guitar, and he prayed:

“God, if you help me to learn to play this guitar, I promise I will use it to help bring people to you.” Now a second-year student at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Brian says the prayer marked a kairos moment. An accomplished singer-songwriter with a number of CD projects, a music website (www.livingroomtunes.com) and a long resume of performing at both worship and non-church venues, Brian says he’s pretty much kept his promise.

“I’ve never strayed away from the idea that music opens doors for conversation about Jesus, which is a ministry in itself,” says Brian. Music moves people differently than a sermon or prayers. In speaking the Word of God, a song can awaken and strengthen faith in those who hear it.

“It’s a different kind of proclamation,” says Brian. “There’s something about a song …A good song can connect with people.” As a complement to traditional hymns, contemporary songs of faith speak the Gospel in today’s language and idiom. It’s one tool that congregations can use to reach the unchurched in their midst, or to form new connections with youth, or people less rooted in the church culture.

“I take the Great Commandment very seriously,” says Brian, who describes music is the gift he uses to fulfill Jesus’ instructions to make disciples of all nations.

Brian sees his work in two distinct realms – worship and church gatherings on the one hand, and secular venues on the other. When leading worship, Brian feels free to use overtly religious material, such as praise music and worship songs. For non-religious settings he emphasizes his songs that are more introspective and speak of his life, of which his faith is a strong part.

“Because I’m a Christian, because I’m a songwriter, everything I do is a reflection of my faith,” says Brian. “It’s really a reflection of who I am as a child of God. From the stage, I don’t talk about my faith, but I sing about my journey.”

The subtle approach works well in non-religious venues, where he is often surrounded by people who have no relationship with God, or whose faith has waned. Not infrequently the songs arouse something in the souls of those who hear them.

For instance, right after a recent gig at Gettysburg’s popular hangout the Ragged Edge Coffee House, Brian was approached by a man who wanted to talk about God. It’s the kind of thing Brian has come to expect whenever he plays.

“The connection was made not because I said ‘Jesus loves me, this I know,’ but because I shared my own ups and downs of my journey in which Jesus walks with me,” says Brian. “The center of my life is my relationship with God.”

People who hunger for a relationship with God relate to the honesty and sincerity of Brian’s songs.

Though he grew up in a traditional church, Brian admits hymns do not do much for him. And while he respects the music of faith handed down over the generations, Brian knows from his own experience that other varieties of worship music opens the church experience to people like him, who do not relate well to hymns. Different music can also give fresh experiences to those who are raised in the church and love the old hymns.

Simply presenting worship music -- even traditional hymns -- on a guitar provides a change many in church welcome. Whereas organ accompaniment provides a melody line to follow, guitars do not.

“So there’s an openness about a guitar that allows the voices to be leading, not the instrument,” says Brian.

As Christian contemporary music has gained widespread popularity in the culture, more and more congregations are using it for worship, yet many church leaders view the trend as anathema. Some churches resist contemporary music because they erroneously believe doing so means they have to forego the traditional order of worship.

Among Lutheran churches that have adopted contemporary worship, the most successful ones have introduced new music styles while retaining the liturgical structure, thus blending the best of the old and the new.

Brian cheers the growing acceptance of contemporary music in worship, but he acknowledges that congregations have good reason to be cautious. Many churches have adapted new worship models poorly, half-heartedly, or simply as a gimmick to increase church attendance – then condemned the worship style when their efforts failed. Other church leaders entertain unrealistic expectations.

“Having guitars and contemporary music is not a magic wand,” says Brian. Regardless of the variety of music used, church services must be prayerfully planned, theologically approached and professionally led. “Worship should be worship, and we can talk about the styles.”

Some churches lose perspective that music is only one aspect of the worship experience, and the whole point of church is not to entertain or perform, but rather to deepen our relationships with God and with one another as Christian brothers and sisters.

“Music is a tool, but it’s no replacement for connection with people,” says Brian. It’s this connection with people that underscores Brian’s ministry approach. Friendly in the extreme, Brian exudes a calmness that disarms defenses, builds trust and draws people to him – like the stranger who talked with him about God after the gig at the Ragged Edge.

“It’s the connections that happen in people that make it worthwhile to play three hours in a coffeehouse for $40,” Brian says.