Underneath Are the Everlasting Arms: An Unpublished Conversation with Brian Doerksen
In remembrance of Brian Doerksen, Worship Live shares a previously unpublished conversation about songwriting, family, changing faith, and finding peace in uncertain seasons.
Interview conducted November 2, 2020
Interview by Lisa Fetty for Worship Live
Some conversations remain with us even when they are left unfinished.
In November 2020, I had the privilege of conducting a written interview with Canadian worship leader and songwriter Brian Doerksen. We spoke following the release of his Everlasting Arms EP, a collection of songs shaped by suffering, uncertainty, peace, and hope during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For reasons that are difficult to explain now, the interview was never published.
After learning of Brian’s passing, I returned to our conversation. Reading his words again, I was struck by their honesty, tenderness, and weight. He spoke openly about the vulnerability of sharing a song, the unpredictability of the creative life, the influence of his family, his changing understanding of faith, and the quiet ways he listened for the voice of God.
Brian’s music holds a special place in my own journey. I came to the Lord in my mid-twenties, and songs such as “Refiner’s Fire,” “Light the Fire Again,” “Isn’t He,” “Remember Mercy,” and “Creation Calls” accompanied me as I fell in love with Jesus.
My husband, Vin, also carried a personal memory of Brian’s ministry. At a worship symposium in Florida in 2006, Brian began singing a song Vin had never heard before. Vin remembers initially wishing Brian would sing one of the familiar songs everyone knew. But as Brian sang, the beauty and presence of God in that unreleased song nearly brought him to his knees.
That was part of Brian’s gift. His songs did more than fill rooms. They met people in places that words alone could not always reach.
What follows is our original written conversation. It is not a complete account of Brian’s life or ministry. It is one conversation preserved from one particular season, shared now with gratitude for his life, his honesty, and the songs through which he helped so many people worship.
Editor’s note: This written interview was completed on November 2, 2020, following the release of Brian Doerksen’s Everlasting Arms EP. It remained unpublished in the Worship Live archives. We share it now in remembrance of Brian, preserving his answers and the historical context in which they were originally given. The conversation has been lightly edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and readability. Private production notes and outdated file-transfer links have been omitted.
“Songs can play a vital part in our emotional and spiritual health and help us hold on to hope in times of trouble.”
—Brian Doerksen
Everlasting Arms in a Season of Uncertainty
WORSHIP LIVE
In 2020, you invited several family members and friends to hear “Everlasting Arms” face-to-face. Were you surprised by their reactions?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
The idea of sharing the song “Everlasting Arms” face-to-face came from my son-in-law, Luke. I wasn’t sure what would happen because it was such a vulnerable, intimate way to share a song. It would actually have been easier if I could have done it with strangers.
The concept reminded me of a COVID-19 project in Germany that I had heard about—“concerts for one,” where a member of an orchestra would show up and play for an audience of one.
The responses to “Everlasting Arms” were as I expected: emotional and intense, with a couple of people feeling a touch embarrassed by the vulnerability of it.
I was pretty sure my wife, Joyce, wasn’t going to want to do it, but she agreed. After we filmed, I thought she was going to say, “This is too vulnerable. Let’s scrap it.”
But she saw the footage and said, “That worked. Let’s release it.”
With her not being a musician or an “artsy” type of person, she helps ground me in reality, and I really trust her instincts.
Watch “Everlasting Arms”
Brian Doerksen shares “Everlasting Arms” face-to-face with family and friends—the vulnerable, intimate presentation discussed in this interview.
WORSHIP LIVE
As a songwriter, do you consider the outcome or response to a song while you are writing it?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
I do consider the outcome because I’m the sort of person who is intentional. Yet, at the same time, I recognize that it is out of my hands. None of us can control other people’s responses.
As songwriters, we live in that very real tension—trying not to care about how people respond to the song, yet caring very much.
I suppose the longer I do this, the more experienced my instincts become about what the response will likely be. But even more than 30 years into this journey, I still get surprised.
Truthfully, I sometimes still get disappointed when I have a lot of belief in a song and it doesn’t seem to connect. In all these things, I am an ordinary human being who writes songs, and I experience all the ups and downs of the creative life.
WORSHIP LIVE
Other than your relationship with the Lord, where do you find inspiration to write such moving songs? Was there something specific that inspired the Everlasting Arms EP?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
Inspiration comes from many different places.
It can be a passing thought that I reach out and harness. It can be a line in a novel or film. It can be a verse in the Bible that impacts me.
It starts with a spark that can be as simple as a word or phrase. Or, to use another metaphor, it is like a seed that falls into the soil of my heart.
The Everlasting Arms EP is a different type of project. It was my response to the rise of COVID-19.
I had started 2020 optimistically, with 45 concerts and events booked beginning in late April. The previous year had gone so well. I had released multiple recording projects: The Heart of Christmas, Faithful One, and The SHIYR Poets Volume 3. I told myself, “It’s going to be quite some time until I’m back in the recording studio.”
Joyce and I enjoyed our winter holiday in late January and February 2020. We took a circular road trip through Nevada and California, visiting dear friends in Yorba Linda, visiting her brother in Fresno, and finishing with a Van Morrison concert in Las Vegas.
Shortly after returning home, we began feeling the presence of the pandemic.
By early March, I knew we were entering a world-changing health crisis that was going to alter the way the world worked and how we traveled and interacted with each other.
The virus that infected one person began to ripple outward within weeks, having a tidal wave-like impact. Entire industries were forced to shut down, and cultural and social gatherings were closed, affecting almost every population around the world.
There are many ways to respond to this type of global challenge and the changes that come with it. This whole season boldly underlines how deeply we need each other to do our part, and I have been so grateful for all the essential workers doing theirs.
My part—music and ministry—was labeled nonessential. Yet songs can play a vital role in our emotional and spiritual health and help us hold on to hope in times of trouble.
A response began stirring in me.
For some time, I had been singing a new song, a co-write with Cindy Rethmeier called “In the Middle (Your Peace).”
The song was born in 2018 after listening to an episode of the On Being podcast about the stories behind spirituals. These timeless songs were often written in the middle of suffering, injustice, and trying circumstances.
Filled with raw emotion and honesty, they were vulnerable and simple, yet they were always marked with defiant hope.
Cindy and I set out to write a modern spiritual in our own musical and lyrical mother tongue. We drew inspiration from the spirituals that came before us and from people around us who were suffering—specifically, those who were doing whatever they could to suffer well.
Our lyrical aim was to name our struggles truthfully while still affirming the one thing that remains: the gift of God’s peace.
“All life and truth is a paradox. It is both at the same time: struggle and comfort, fear and peace.”
—Brian Doerksen
When we began writing, we did not foresee COVID-19. But the closer it came, the more convinced we became that we needed to keep singing.
We recorded “In the Middle,” and I decided to rework a few hidden songs that felt right for the season.
These included another co-write with Cindy from 20 years earlier called “Ever So Gently,” as well as a new recording and version of “When You Shepherd Me,” my setting of the 23rd Psalm that had previously only been available on Live in Europe from 15 years earlier.
We also created an updated mix of “Your Faithfulness,” the song I wrote in the middle of the birth of our second special-needs son, Isaiah, and an update of the title song, “Everlasting Arms,” from my 2018 album, Grateful.
In the few years since I wrote “Everlasting Arms,” it has become one of my personal favorites.
I often close concerts with it because it is what I want people to remember as they journey back into the challenges of their life circumstances. Now, the words feel like they have more weight:
“We don’t know when this storm is going to break.”
We didn’t know how many people would perish in it or how many businesses would be broken beyond repair and never reopen. We didn’t know when the new normal would come or what it would look and feel like.
Yet, in the middle of all that uncertainty, we could still choose to trust and experience a peace that was not dependent on our circumstances.
Brian Doerksen Shares the Story Behind “Everlasting Arms”
In this short video created for Worship Live, Brian shares the heart and inspiration behind “Everlasting Arms.”
Family, Vulnerability, and Unconditional Love
WORSHIP LIVE
How does your family dynamic influence your songwriting?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
That is an interesting question to consider.
My family is not musical, per se. Our second daughter plays some percussion, and they all love listening to music and attending concerts, but they are not musicians or singers. I wouldn’t describe us as a musical family, so that part of our dynamic does not impact my music.
However, another part of our family dynamic substantially impacts my music.
We have two special-needs sons who have almost no words. They both have Fragile X syndrome. While they have physical mobility, at a slower and more measured pace, they require almost full-time support.
Our older son, Ben, no longer lives with us full-time. It would be too much for us to handle caring for both boys. However, he comes home for a visit every weekend, and we are still deeply involved in his care and support.
Having these two precious boys impacts almost every part of my life, including what I want to write songs about. Over the years, it has shifted more and more of my focus toward unconditional love.
“Having these two precious boys impacts almost every part of my life, including what I want to write songs about.”
—Brian Doerksen
WORSHIP LIVE
How does your gift and ministry affect your family?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
Our four daughters are proud of what I do, and we have a great relationship with them, with lots of dialogue and time together.
Over the years, they have had to give me up for some touring and conference events. However, compared with many people in my field of work, I am not away from home very much because of our special-needs sons.
Our sons have almost no reference for what I do.
Our older son, Ben, loves things like musicals and movies at the cinema. He enjoys showing up at my concerts when they happen locally, which is about once every two years—especially if I introduce him to the audience.
He gets a kick out of that.
The Quiet Places of Personal Worship
WORSHIP LIVE
Do you listen to your own music?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
No—heavens, no!
By the time we are finished producing an album, we have listened and analyzed it to the point where we have to let it go.
Joyce sometimes enjoys listening to it, but only when I’m out of the house.
WORSHIP LIVE
When you have your own personal worship time, do you listen to other artists, or do you spend more of that time singing rather than listening?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
It is always changing.
There are times when I will sit at the piano and sing a simple song or play something on my guitar.
Sometimes I listen to other artists, such as Andrew Peterson or The Brilliance. Sometimes I am simply reading quietly or praying.
Mostly, I like going for walks in the forest and just breathing—all the time listening for the still, small voice.
I have found the practice of breath prayer to be one of the most helpful devotional practices of recent years.
“Mostly, I like going for walks in the forest and just breathing—all the time listening for the still, small voice.”
—Brian Doerksen
A Faith Undergoing Lifelong Renovation
WORSHIP LIVE
I am one of so many people who have been incredibly blessed by your music.
I remember coming to the Lord in my mid-twenties and falling in love with Jesus as I listened to “Refiner’s Fire,” “Light the Fire Again,” “Isn’t He,” “Remember Mercy,” and so many other beautiful worship songs you have given us.
My favorite is “Creation Calls.” I have danced to that song more times than I can count.
Of all the songs you have released, is there one you would prefer never to hear again? Is there a song you no longer connect with?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
I don’t know if I would use the word “despise,” but there are songs from various eras of my life that no longer resonate with me and that I would rather forget.
Sometimes words become loaded because of cultural changes. Sometimes words become dated.
One of my songs from the early 1990s was called “Revival Fire.” Over time, I realized that many revivalists were serving an “angry God”—one that I increasingly could not relate to.
I obviously related to those words in my early to mid-twenties, because each song I write is my honest and wholehearted expression at the time. But the experience of having a special-needs son began a long, slow progression away from that mentality.
“Revival” is not a word I currently use because it is too loaded.
Even the song “Light the Fire Again” is a struggle for me to sing now. I still understand the basic concept of the song, and I have asked God to rekindle my first love from time to time.
But that song has become too associated with conferences and personalities that are not in sync with where I am now.
Mentioning “Light the Fire Again,” I suppose I updated that idea and concept with a song called “First Love” on my 2018 album, Grateful. In this season, I am more drawn to singing “First Love.”
“Like most of us, my faith and the expression of it continues to undergo a lifelong renovation.”
—Brian Doerksen
I want to continue learning, and I do not want to be afraid of the truth as it is revealed to me.
I still have so much to learn.
WORSHIP LIVE
On the other hand, what is your absolute favorite song that you have released?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
Most songwriters connect most deeply with the last song they wrote.
It isn’t exactly the last song I wrote—that one is called “Instruments of Peace,” which I wrote for the recent Jesus and Justice conference—but “Everlasting Arms” feels as though it expresses who I am in this season.
Or, perhaps to put it another way, it expresses who I have become in this season.
It expresses my theological shifts in a gentle, artistic way.
“I no longer primarily see God as the Being ‘up there’ causing things, but as the arms of love underneath all things, catching us when we fall.”
—Brian Doerksen
“Creation Calls,” which you mentioned, is another personal favorite of mine, as is “Faithful One,” which was one of the first songs I wrote that I am still singing today.
Songs, Timing, and the Still, Small Voice
WORSHIP LIVE
My husband, Vin, attended a worship symposium you led in Florida with Paul Baloche and Kathryn Scott in 2006.
During that symposium, you shared songs that had never been publicly released. Vin remembers that when you began introducing one of those unheard songs, he was thinking, somewhat sarcastically, “Great. I want to hear his hit songs!”
But when you began singing that unfamiliar song, he almost fell to his knees. He said it was incredibly beautiful and anointed.
As an artist, how do you decide which songs to release and which songs to keep for your congregation?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
It comes down to timing, and truthfully, I don’t always get it right.
Sometimes I am beyond excited about a song and believe it will connect, and virtually nothing happens.
Other times, I am unsure about a song, but it sneaks onto a project to fill a slot and ends up deeply resonating with people.
I don’t think we can be completely objective about our own writing.
It is simply me expressing what I am feeling or what I sense the still, small voice saying.
And I am very aware that I see and know only in part.
“It is simply me expressing what I am feeling or what I sense the still, small voice saying.”
—Brian Doerksen
Supporting Music and the People Who Create It
The following exchange is preserved in its original 2020 context, when concerts and in-person music sales had been halted by the pandemic.
WORSHIP LIVE
I listened to “Your Faithfulness” and “Everlasting Arms,” and I am excited to hear the rest of the release.
I appreciated what you wrote about supporting music artists so they could continue serving listeners while one of their primary sources of income—concerts and CD sales at concerts—was gone.
Supporting music artists during that time was especially close to our hearts at Worship Live.
Where could people purchase Everlasting Arms and support your music?
BRIAN DOERKSEN
Everlasting Arms and my other albums are available through my website store in various formats, including digital, CD, DVD, and vinyl records.
In this season, when people primarily consume music through streaming sites—which pay music creators virtually nothing—every person who chooses to purchase music makes a huge, positive difference.
Thank you for your interest and encouragement.
Honor Brian’s Legacy and Support His Family
Brian’s music continues to encourage worshipers around the world. Those who would like to honor his legacy can support his family directly or purchase his music through his official store.
Remembering Brian
When we conducted this interview in 2020, neither Brian nor any of us knew how the years ahead would unfold.
We could not have known how his words would sound when read again in a season of grief.
He spoke about uncertainty, vulnerability, changing faith, the love of his family, and the peace of God that does not depend on circumstances. He spoke about listening for the still, small voice and about seeing God as the arms of love underneath all things, catching us when we fall.
Those words now carry a tenderness they did not carry in quite the same way when they were first written.
Brian gave the Church songs that crossed generations, cultures, languages, and denominations. His words helped people pray when they did not know what to say. They helped people return to God, trust again, surrender again, and worship again.
Yet this conversation also reveals something beyond the songs.
It reveals a husband who trusted his wife’s instincts. A father whose sons drew him more deeply toward unconditional love. A songwriter willing to admit disappointment. A worship leader who was not afraid to say that his faith was still being renovated. A man who understood that none of us sees the whole picture and that we all still have much to learn.
We are deeply grateful that Brian took the time to share these words with Worship Live.
To Joyce, their children, Brian’s extended family, his friends, and every community that loved him, we offer our heartfelt prayers and condolences.
May the songs continue.
May the hope within them continue.
And when words fail us, may we remember the truth Brian returned to:
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
—Deuteronomy 33:27
In loving memory of Brian Doerksen.
This written interview was conducted by Lisa Fetty for Worship Live on November 2, 2020. Brian’s responses have been preserved and lightly edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and readability. Private production notes and outdated file-transfer links have been omitted.
