Online interview with
singer/songwriter Matt Brouwer

(Deutsche Übersetzung hier...)

Monica: The main theme on UNLEARNING is for me "father" and "way back home". IMAGERICAL was more about God's attributes and our response to these in praise, whereas on UNLEARNING you sing a lot about your/our feelings, needs, questions and struggles. Is it more that you want to stress the need of conversion in a fallen world, or sort of personal fight? Or both? Or anything else?

MB: Making this CD and going through these experiences of "unlearning" in my life made me stop and evaluate what I'm doing. The songs that came out when I started writing were like pages straight out of my life. My family's struggle after the death of my Dad when I was a kid was a huge factor in how I relate to God. It's been an intense relationship and one that has not been easy all the time. I think UNFAMILIAR is the most personal song I've ever written and it's scary to share those details with people because the story in that song is the reality of it. November 7th, 1979 my Dad waved goodbye to us on his way to work not knowing that we'd never see him again. I wonder what He would think and feel if He could see all seven of us kids now. Death is something we all experience and so I hope that by sharing about my Dad's death, people can relate and be drawn to God because of all the healing I've experienced by knowing that this is not the end. That search for home and a Father is the theme of this CD for sure.

I think that all human beings go through the same core struggles, of searching for security and significance. In that way all people have common ground to relate to each other. It seems like Christian music no longer has a broad reach outside of the church because the subculture that nourishes it has isolated itself so much. I believe in praise and worship music, but I also think that there should be music that tells stories about how the gospel practically makes sense in the lives of people who have embraced Jesus. I just didn't have it in me to repeat my last CD. I believe that whatever we do, when we surrender it to the glory of God, that's worship.

Monica: The cover art and some of the lyrics talk about driving along. Are your songs sort of "car ride conversations" to God? Are you currently traveling a lot?

MB: That's a great way to describe it. I drove back and forth to California from my home in Houston, Texas while making this CD. It's a long drive through the desert. I wrote most of the words for the song "If You Stay" while driving there. It had a strange effect on me. Feelings of loneliness and yet hope. It made me think of heaven for some reason the way the desert meets the blue sky, anyway I drive a lot and it helps me clear my head.

Monica: Can you tell me anything about the producer?

MB: His name is Ian Nickus and he lives in Los Angeles, California. I met him through a friend and heard his CD "Cole Grey: songs for a weak moment" and it was exactly the kind of emotion and raw independent honesty that I wanted to capture in my music. He's an amazing talent, and one of the most honest and real people I've ever met. He really encouraged me to be myself in my music, even the parts of myself I'm embarrassed of.

Monica: Your mission statement - in your journal entry, the promo-video... - is important and so unusual in our star-struck CCM culture. There's really a need for word and action, too. Would you like to tell more about your ministry in church and mission?

MB: In 2002, God led me to a church in Houston, Texas to be a part time worship leader there. Being a Christian artist in Nashville in 2001 was a really confusing time in my life. I felt lost and was at a loss in terms of what I wanted to say in my music. I started to realize that I needed to start living and serving at a ground level for God to rebirth His message of love and hope in my heart. So I began to get involved in the ministries at the church and got to go on some mission's trips, I went to Venezuela, Guatemala, and Poland on separate trips and it changed my life. I met people in de-humanizing poverty who were so joyful and loved me so immediately and unconditionally I was forever changed. I used to dream about being a singer/songwriter in Nashville, making music videos, gold records, and touring the globe, but all that started to change when I got back from those trips. Not that there is anything wrong with commercial success, but it was no longer something I wanted to be driven by. That's where the process of "unlearning" really began in me. I had gone to Nashville in 2001 and it was not instant success for me, it was harsh and not what I had expected. The death of my self-focused dreams created a fertile ground for God to rebirth a new dream that has a lot more to do with His glory than mine.

Monica: What was your biggest lesson of unlearning the last months?

MB: A year ago I started reading through the Bible from cover to cover. What I discovered really amazed me. It's not that I had never read through the Bible before, but as I was reading I began to understand how radical Jesus' teaching is. Truths like, "The last will be first", and counting the cost of following Christ cut through to my heart.
I grew up thinking that when God blesses you things go great in life. You avoid sickness, you are given financial success, and you are generally happy. What I'm learning now is that the Bible talks so much about how suffering is a blessing. I've mostly been unlearning my ideals of what success is and what I should be living for. It's quite a journey to "unlearn" things that have been so in-grained in your up-bringing, so it's a continuous journey.

Monica: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us - and for taking time to write them down.

Get involved - go to www.nbri.net !

...and look for more about Matt's ministry at his official website.