Chapel band, Fall Fest, an album — ain’t it strange how one student has done these and then some?
Junior Ben Gerig is a Christian ministries major at Taylor University. He released a Christian album in January 2024. The album is titled “Ain’t It Strange,” and it contains five songs, with the first song sharing the same name as the album.
Two of Gerig’s passions are worship and guitar, and he loves to see others joining in worship. Gerig enjoys playing the guitar even more when he experiences their emotions.
Gerig began in the sixth grade. Because he was inexperienced, he did not think he was very good at it.
“I first started playing guitar on this garage sale guitar at my house,” Gerig said. “In sixth grade, I went to a big Christian concert, Winter Jam. And I remember at the concert, I was sitting with my dad … He said when people start playing solos, that’s when it gets tough. But he said playing the guitar isn’t that tough, actually.”
Gerig’s father telling him how simple the guitar is prompted Gerig to learn how to play, believing that it was doable, he said.
He started picking notes on his guitar without a clear path on what to do. Soon, his parents thought he needed to seek guidance through lessons.
“I wasn’t very good, because I was just learning by myself,” Gerig said. "And my parents said ‘Well, if we’re gonna have to keep hearing this, he’d better be good at guitar. He’d better sound good if we’re gonna have to keep hearing this. So, that’s when they signed me up for a class, which I did in seventh grade.”
Gerig loved that he was able to play simple songs and get somewhere in his learning. He learned about each chord, realizing that he had been playing them wrong, and was taught how to play them correctly and in sync.
Greg Croaker, his instructor, sparked his love for music by applying it to his faith journey, he said.
Since then, Gerig has sung and performed with his guitar in several worship events at his local church and at Taylor. Some events he has participated in include Fall Fest, chapel assemblies, his local church and Christian concerts at Taylor such as “Solid Rock Worship Night”.
Gerig said that the title of the album, and its first song are inspired by the idea that people easily forget how graceful and faithful God is toward us.
He has also had personal experience with this struggle, and, though it can be frustrating, this truth soothes him.
“It’s strange how we forget God’s grace,” Gerig said, “and how we forget who we are in him. We forget our own name, and how we’re children of God, and we forget His grace and who He says He is so easily … A big part of my testimony is that I didn’t really understand God’s grace for a long time, and I just thought that He was mad.”
Having believed for so long that God only loved him when he wasn’t sinning, he eventually realized he was forgetting God’s grace toward him, no matter the circumstances.
While writing his songs, Gerig took inspiration from artists such as Jack Johnson and bands such as Switchfoot. One song by Switchfoot that he finds to be impactful is “Waiting for the Weekend.”
Gerig said that he has felt closer to God through music. He has also had multiple opportunities to lead other people closer to God in leading worship, he said.
“I feel like at Taylor, there’s so many opportunities (to lead worship),” Gerig said. “Whether it’s playing for a BroSis worship event, or just worshipping with some friends, and you’re just going to jam and play music. The more comfortable you are with your instrument, then the easier it’s going to be for you to worship during that time and to lead other people in worship.”
While producing “Ain’t It Strange,” Gerig only told a select group of people, including people living on his dorm floor, relatives and music peers about the project. Eventually, some of those people told others of Gerig’s album when it came out.
Gerig’s album, “Ain’t It Strange,” can be found on Spotify and Apple Music. He gave his thanks to his wing, Second East Wengatz, for being a part of worship events with him. He also thanks his parents, teachers, professors, youth group leaders, pastors and his barber for listening to “Ain’t It Strange” and supporting his journey with the Lord.
“I’m not super perfectionist or anything, but I definitely want what I’m doing to be good,” Gerig said. “And it’s kind of hard to feel like a product is the product because there’s so much I don’t know, and so much I need to learn. There’s so much I learned during the process that it’s tough to put out the product, but I’m glad I did.”
