What do we think of when we use the word “prayer“? What does it mean “to pray“? In what ways might prayer emerge in quite disparate contexts? I hope these are the kinds of questions that occurred to you as you played with the exercise for this week.

In group 4 this week we evaluated seven video songs, Alan Jackson’s “Where were You,” Sarah McLachalan’s “Ordinary Miracle,” Blackeyed Peas’ “Where is the love,” Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruin,” Randy Newman’s “God’s Song,” KanYe West’s “Jesus Walks,” and Brandi Carlile’s “Gray’s Anatomy.” Our focus was to distinguish Christian prayer, Christian rituals and other human rituals contained within these songs. These pop artists gave us a challenge in the week’s communications as a group.

The group thought that these videos might be used by a pastor or other church leader to help parishioners make sound choices when obtaining music for their families. I think we all indicated in one way or another that through prayer or other communicates with God these songs seek for answers to the problematic state of our country.

Alan Jackson quoted scripture in his song “Where were you” from 1 Corinthians 13: 13, “But now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” A ritual is a practice, service or procedure done as a rite, especially in regular intervals. In Jackson’s song the ritual of love was highlighted as it pertains to the tragedy and aftermath of the 9-11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Sarah McLachalan’s “Ordinary Miracles pointed to general revelation or ordinary ritual that take place everyday like the raising and setting of the sun, the rain that falls and replenishes and refreshes the earth with water and the birth of a child, which is both ordinary and extra-ordinary as a human ritual.

The Blackeyed Peas’ song “Where is the love” comes full circle with the praying aspect of love for humanity. America cries out for answers when it is attacked by enemies outside our borders, and in like manner there’s an urban or inner city cry as an attack from within on its own makes; “Americans cry out to God for justice.” Bruce Springsteen’s My City of Ruin” lifts-up the ritual of pray for fallen brothers or sister of our land.

Randy Newman’s “God’s Song,” I think we all thought this song was highly disturbing as a song. Randy’s message was mixed-up it was hard to distinguish whether he was saying “God hates humanity or humanity needs God. KanYe West’s “Jesus Walks” here’s another cry to God about the destruction in the urban areas of our nation. Jesus is called on for answers and prayerful words of action are inserted within this song. Brandi Carlile’s song “Gray’s Anatomy,” this Brandi Carlie song used ritual through the use of story telling.  Sharing our stories to each other brings us in community and the opportunity to be in relationship as God would want us to.

All these songs have a prayerful cry to God for judgment and restoration, but true repentance for sin, a broken and contrite heart with humility in obeying God is lacking. It is only the sinful wicked ways of Satan that will make an individual, a group or a nation cry or pray to God for justice, peace and help in times of chaos. Secular songs can become Christian, but can these secular Christianize songs break the grip of sinfulness in our country?

(Published by Mary, on behalf of Carl)

Here is a summary of Group Five’s thoughts for the week:

Song #1 This song was written not long after 9-11, and could be Alan Jackson trying to make sense of these events, just as many of us were. This event of national trauma was concrete shared experience. One group member highlighted the hundreds of times, in and out of the Bible, that a shared experience of grief by a community, and the idea that God suffers with us, has increased the faith expression of that community. There were many varied responses to this horrible tragedy of 9-11, and yet most responses worked to unite. For many, this tragedy was a renewal in faith, and this could be true for Jackson. He does use the Bible verse “faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.”

Song #2 This songs works to tie everyday life and faith together through the recognition of everyday miracles. McLachlan sings “God is revealed in ordinary everyday things.” We all have these experiences that she speaks of in this song, yet we don’t all view them as miracles. McLachlan is challenging the listener to look at things in a new way. A group member shared how this song would be of great use in discussing how faith should be part of our whole life, rather than separating ‘church’ and the rest of the week. These everyday miracles can also be a shared experience, as we “all are apart of the ordinary miracles” as McLachlan sings.

Song #3 This song is written from a cultural context that speaks directly to those from which it comes, but it certainly serves a larger purpose. One group member shared that it seeks to call out the bad things in the world, make people aware of them and their causes, and also calls for a change, saying that the change comes from us. The song speaks to the need for increased awareness for the suffering of others outside of our specific sphere. They speak of the dangers when you have “only love for your own race.”
This song does include a few biblical messages: “practice what you preach” and “turn the other cheek.” There is also a plea to God with the words “Father, Father, help us, need some guidance from above. A change is needed, and is supposed to begin with us, but we it is also a call for prayer to seek guidance from God.

Song 4 Although I thought that this song was initially about 9-11, a group member did a little research on the internet. This song was written by Springsteen about Asbury Park, NJ, which was near where he grew up, as he watched it deteriorate. In many ways, this song is a prayer. Although Springsteen prays for faith, love, the lost, and the world, he prays for strength the most. Although perhaps written for a certain context, it was shared that this pray/song could be applied to many contexts, as we ask God for strength to keep going despite hardship and loss. Another group member shared that the imagery in this song can be applied broader to the economically destitute, and in particular to the blue collar American experience of betrayal in modern society, something that emerges again and again for him. Often times it seems like his solutions to the changing world involve a glorification of the past, but perhaps this time his calls to “raise up” are more specifically calling for God in our lives.

Song 5 For me, this was a difficult song for me, as well as for the group. One shared that this song talked directly about the history in the Bible and God’s love for His people. Another group member felt that it was a mockery, as though God only likes humanity because they provide entertainment and are helpless but amusing.

Song 6 This song also seemed to be focused on a specific cultural context. The song is a mixture of Kanye’s personal history with faith, his belief in God, and the struggles he faces. He speaks to the real pain of this world, pain that he has experienced and struggled with. And he speaks to his need for Jesus, and that Jesus is with you even when you don’t know it and will save you.

Song 7 As a group, we discussed if this was more a secular or religious song. I took it to be a religious song, even if that wasn’t the original intent. “They don’t really know who I am, and they don’t know that I’ve been through. I was made for you.” It seems that whatever experiences you have been through, God know who we are and what we’ve been through. One group member shared that it seems to be about how one person has shared so much with another that they are forever connected. Another shared that Brandi could be speaking about mankind’s inclination to return back to God. Whatever the initial intent of this song was, it surely could be used to discuss our relationship with God.

Final Thoughts – Several of the songs do speak to God, Jesus, and issues of faith. Several of the songs include biblical references or quotes from scripture. However, none of the songs would constitue the experience of conversion. Several of the songs may make you think about what you believe in, but not necessarily to the point of converting people. Many of the songs call for a self-examination or change. The songs are also non-denominational. As one group member said, “they reveal God to be present in the world and with humanity in more than just an overseeing way.”

If there was a theme overall that I extracted from the songs as a whole, it was the idea that the world is a painful and sinful place. The personal experiences of this are substantial. And yet, the songs seemed to place hope in something greater; a call or prayer to God for help.

The Bible was implicitly and explicitly present in the song selections for this week’s focus situation. As we listened to the songs and read the lyrics, biblical passages and biblical metaphors became apparent. Music lends itself beautifully to telling the biblical story.

Song – Ordinary Miracles – Biblical metaphors: The creation story and many examples of miracles throughout the Bible. We take ordinary things for granted and fail to recognize how truly miraculous they are. Biblical texts: The sky knows when it’s time to snow. Ecc. 3:1-8 – “to everything there is a season and a time to…”. Birds in the winter have their fling, but always make it home by spring. Matt. 6:25 “Do not worry…look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away Birds in winter have their fling in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”

Song – Where is the Love – Biblical metaphors: sin, suffering. Biblical texts: Where is the love – 1 Jn 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” But if you only have love for your own… Matt. 5:44 Jesus said, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” With the ongoin’ sufferin’ as the youth die young – Genesis 3:16-19 – consequences of sin leads to sorrow and death. People killin’, people dyin’ , Children hurt and you hear them cryin’ Rev. 21:4 “…he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more.

Song – My city of Ruins – Biblical metaphors: Grief over losses, mourning tragedies. God is with us in our grief – Lamentations. Jerusalem restored – Nehemiah. Biblical texts: Resurrection of Jesus – “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.’” John 2:19.

Song – God’s Song – Biblical metaphors: “Cain slew Abel, Seth knew not why” Genesis – children of Adam and Eve, “I recoil in horror from the foulness of thee” God’s reaction to sin? “You really need me” – Throughout the Bible we are continually reminded of how much we need God!
Song – Jesus Walks – Biblical metaphors: Present Jesus – Lives today. Surprising associations in Gospel (prostitutes, tax collectors). A reminder that God is there for those who are struggling and low. Biblical texts: All of god’s soldiers – OT concept – Judges 6:12 “Gideon a mighty warrior”. I walk through the valley of the Chi where death iz – Psalm 23 – “walk through the valley of death.” My momma used to say only Jesus can save us – Rom. 5:6 “Christ died for the ungodly.” There’s nothing I could do now to right my wrongs – Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God – not by works, so no one can boast.” Ephesians 5:2 “…just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us.” 1st Cor. 15:3-4 “Christ died for our sins.” Rom. 6:23 “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Story – Biblical Metaphor: Telling the biblical narrative is foundational to our Christian faith. God interacts with our lives through story. We use stories to pass on our faith to the next generation and to non-believers. Biblical texts: Mountaintop experiences – Moses( Ex. 34:29 – 35) and Jesus (Luke 9:28 – 36)

Other Biblical Texts and Metaphors found in the songs: Humankind has has messed gthings up and we need God to intervene because we are unable to fix it on our own. We can’t love like God Loves. God is beyond us, beyond our knowledge, and beyond our comprehension. The songs gives us a way to talk about God like David did with the Psalms.

Problematic songs: God’s song was problematic. How despairing to think that man “means nothing” to God or that God takes our children from us and burns down our cities. This song paints a terrifying picture of an evil God. The song makes it sound as if God really didn’t care about humankind and really didn’t need us at all. We appeared as nothing more than puppets in his play and nothing we did mattered to him.

Important Learning Goal: Our group identified several important learning goals. The first goal is to actually read the Bible and look at what the Bible is saying and what the songs are saying. An equally important goal is to make the Bible part of our prayers in more ways than just repeating them or singing the liturgy. Another important goal would be emphasizing to children that prayer can be in many forms, including movement, dancing, hand movements, chanted verses, or spoken prayer.

Engaging in the biblical text through song: Two effective ways to approach the biblical texts through song would be in a literary reading or devotional reading manner. Helpful questions for literary reading from Book of Faith might be: What is important about the setting? Who is the main character? What themes are highlighted. Helpful questions for devotional reading might be: What does this passage say to our world…?, What images come to mind? What feelings did I have?

(published by Mary for group three)

Along with listening to the songs and analyzing them in respect to prayer, we were asked to assess the learning environments and designs that are present within the songs; first, according to Jane Vella’s list of principles for learning, and then according to lists of verbs and/or a “Rubric of Understanding”.  Finally, we were asked to pinpoint any challenges that we see in the learning environments.  We will give a detailed use of the rubric with song one and then use the verbs for the remaining songs.

Song 1:  This song is written from one person to another person or people.  Because it is not directed at God, it could be difficult to view it as a prayer.  More than a prayer itself, this song seems to be motivating people to begin a life of prayer.  However, we could view the song as being sung to God, asking God; “where were you?”, “what were you doing?”  We found Vella’s principles of: ”learning with ideas, feelings, and actions” and “immediacy”.  The entire song is talking about feelings and actions that one may have had or taken after 9-11 and then suggesting what we can learn from those feelings and actions.  The song does a good job of focusing on the main point- or what is “really useful” and that is that the greatest thing God gave us is love. We analyzed this song according to the Rubric of Understanding:

Explanation: In-depth to sophisticated – using this event as an opportunity to stop and explore our emotional response, our relationships with other people, the meaning in our lives, and how that changed our actions, rather than simply analyzing the plane-to-building incident or its political inter-national/inter-religious ramifications, provides an inventive framework and unique perspective for situating the event in our lives.

Interpretation: Profound – the song invites us to view the incident as a call to look inside ourselves and review the deepest sources of meaning in our lives.

Application: Masterful – the invitation to interpretation-that-leads-to-action went in many diverse directions, all of them relational.  As we listen to the song and look back at how the event affected our understanding of our relationships, or at least the relative importance of them, what actions did we take in response to this new understanding? 

Perspective: Considered to Insightful – Jackson didn’t really argue “his perspective” in contrast to others — he focuses on encouraging others to explore their own reactions, although he does briefly articulate his own.

Empathy: Sensitive to Mature – the range of examples the singer lifts up, as he asks the hearers what emotional responses and actions they took in response to 9/11 consider a full range from helpful/positive to fearful/negative.

Self-Knowledge: Circumspect to Wise – Given this atypical response toward love rather than hate, it is fair to assume wisdom in understanding of the prejudices and projections operating in himself and others.  He also explicitly states his ignorance toward the situation: no strong political stance, no idea about the difference in [sic] Iraq and Iran.

One challenge that we identified was the understanding of the concept of love.  Do the learners/listeners fully understand that the greatest commandment of love applies to all, even our enemies?

Song 2: This song could be used as a way to thank God for the “ordinary” miracles that he has created in our lives each and every moment of every day.  However, once again it is more of a song from one person to another, encouraging them to see the miracles that exist all around us.  We found Vella’s principles of “learning with ideas, feelings, and actions” and possibly also “teamwork” is suggested as she states that we are all a part of the ordinary miracle and we all need to give.  The affective verbs stood out to us: share, celebrate, value, enjoy, notice, respond to, and change.  Words and music are used to create emotion and try to bring about change in others…so other verbs include verbal, musical, and interpersonal.  For the Rubric of Understanding: Explanation—sophisticated, Interpretation—revealing, Application—masterful, Perspective—aware, Empathy—mature, Self-knowledge—thoughtful.  One challenge that we identified was the song not specifically mentioning God as being responsible for the ordinary miracles.

Song 3:  This song does contain dialogue from the author to God; words like, “Father help us” and ”send us guidance from above”, however, much of the song is addressed to people and not to God.  In terms of assessment again we found: “learning with ideas, feelings, and actions”, and also “Needs assessment”.  The song attempts to focus attention on the problem of violence and urges listeners to diagnose what is needed to bring more love into the world.  We selected affective verbs, verbal, musical, and interpersonal. The challenge found was focusing too much on the negative, pointing out only bad things in the world, asking ”where is the love” and suggesting that love will one day be found as if we have no love right now.

Song 4: We found this song to be prayerful.  It moves from a more general/communal “city of ruins” to a personal “city of ruins”.  It states the despair and need for prayer and then encourages people to “rise up” and pray.  The last part of the song goes from being a personal “I pray for…” to a more communal “we pray for”.  Vella’s principle of “sequence” was suggested as the song moves from communal to personal and then from personal back to communal, along with “Immediacy” in the idea of “rising up”, “Action with reflection, or praxis” in that Springsteen is motivating his listeners not to give way to fear but to pray for the strength to rise up, and then of course “learning with ideas, feelings, and actions.”  Again verbal, musical, and interpersonal verbs stood out to us, as well as bodily in being asked to “rise up”.   Although it had a similar message to song number 2, this song put it in a more hopeful and positive way.   

Song 5:  We all agreed that we would not want to use this song as a prayer.  This song is different in that it is from God to us.  “Clear roles” are identified in this song, and we also noted Vella’s principle of “engagement”.  The song engages the listener to reject its point of view or agree with its view blaming God for evil in the world.  Again “learning with ideas, feelings, and actions” was present.  The song does use affective learning and also verbal and musical methods.  This song may be more intrapersonal though as it is mainly about God and his own personal feelings and isn’t really encouraging interaction with others…although it may encourage others to not put faith in God.

Song 6:  This song seemed to be the only one that had differing views among our group members.  A couple of group members had a hard time understanding it.  I personally like the song and can see the refrain as being very prayerful; “I pray that my feet don’t fail me now” and “God show me the way”.  I see this song as one individual stating his beliefs to the world and not being ashamed.  (In the printed lyrics it says “ya’ll” but in the song he actually says “I need Jesus”).  In this way he is presenting what he believes and then leaving it up to the listeners to make their own decisions like Vella’s “learners as subjects of their own learning”.  Other principles that came up included “engagement” and “safety”- some learners may feel more comfortable/safe expressing themselves within this type of music.  Verbs that stood out were affective, verbal, musical, and intrapersonal.

Song 7:   This song can be seen as a prayer if we assume that the author of the song is singing it to God.  One group member likened it to a Psalm as it openly expresses loneliness and dependence on God.  “Learning with ideas, feelings, and actions” was present as well as “action with reflection, or praxis”.  The song writer mentions her experiences and reflects on them.  The focus becomes an intrapersonal relationship between either two individuals or an individual and God.  The verbs that stood out again were affective, verbal, musical, and intrapersonal.  A challenge could be that there are not “clear roles” identified in who the song is for.

In Maria Harris’ Fashion Me A People, Harris reflects on how we are educated to pray and we are educated by prayer.  This education is not limited to simply the church, but is happening in all places throughout all facets of our daily lives. It is this education by prayer and learning taking place in the seven songs, group one focused on. We contemplated, reflected personally, and discussed the three forms or curriculum which are presented, implied or left out in these songs.

*Song One: Where were you when the world stop turning, written and sung by Alan Jackson

It was evident in our group deliberation of this song, we came to the table with varying opinions and experiences. Some took the explicit teaching in this song to be Jesus gave us faith, hope and love, and love is the greatest gift. While other experiences influenced those who felt the song was manipulative and offensive, therefore the explicit teaching of this song frames the belief that America is at the center of all things and was used by political bodies and others as a medium to get what they wanted, in reference to the Iraq War. Our thoughts on the implicit and null learning also varied:  what happened on 9/11 being not of God, returning to simpler times, excusing lack of education, a view of Jesus being on “our” (American) side, to remembering the tragedy were all examples given for implicit learning. We felt the null learning in this song included: only the tragedy on 9/11 was exclusively at the World Trade Center, the lack of clarity in what could be considered an explanation of what motivated the 9/11 attacks by the song writer.

The learning curriculum we developed in our deliberation was coherent in that our offerings came from personal experiences and deeply reflective opinions. What made the learning coherent also worked against each other in the lack of coming to a consensus. This song as a prayer and our discussion speaks to leaders and teachers in (not limited to) faith settings to be more discerning and thorough in our teaching as well as engaging critical thinking components in our teaching and quite possibly our praying.

*Song Two: Ordinary Miracle, sung by Sarah McLaclan

The explicit teaching in this song could be that everyday we witness miracles in the ordinary natural occurrences. We felt the implicit learning reveals the idea that miracles tend to be viewed as big, life changing events, rather than simple, natural occurrences. We also spent time in dialogue about how the lack of mentioning God in creating the miracles could be an example of null curriculum. We attributed the miracles to God, yet also came to the understanding that often we are able to find God in what could be considered by some as “ungodly” or “secular”. The curriculum is then coherent in naming miracles do happen, it is the claim of whom or what is attributed to the miracles and the significance of this attribution that works against the three curriculums.

 * Song Three: Where is the Love, written and sung by the Black Eyes Peas

The rhetorical question, “where is the love?” is revolve in our definition of explicated curriculum. In the song, we are learning the reality of the world being full of hate, anger, and discrimination. The implied learning is love and truths are not in the previous named realities of the world. We concluded the null learning would support the idea of needing guidance from above, turn our hearts to prayer, doing justice because we are doing enough.  The learning curriculums in this focus point seem to work against each other on a surface level, but with great analysis the explicit and implicit learning illuminate the need for the message of the null curriculum.

* Song Four:  My City of Ruins, written and sung by Bruce Springsteen

The intended teaching in this song could be when we are broken and have fallen down we can rise up with God’s help. The implication then could be to think of why we have fallen down and God’s role in it, if any. The null learning would be we only need to pray when we are in desperate need. All  the curriculum illustrate our response in the state of complete brokenness. Do we pray for strength, question God’s motives, or wait until all else fails then pray?  The implicit curriculum could leave to further discussion on the effects of free will or God allowing brokenness and suffering, a topic in which we will meditate on throughout our journeys as church leaders.

*Song Five:  God’s song, written and sung by Randy Newman

The explicit learning in this song asks us why we put our faith in God. The God portrayed by Newman seems cold and calculating and only loving us because of our dependence on God. The implicit learning can draw us to the nature of God and the possibility that God is responsible for all evil. The null curriculum leaves us questioning who is God and can there be differentiating views on who God is? The set of curriculum form a platform where we can explore the image and descriptions of God. We can also uncover our bias’ of preference of law and gospel, if we have any.

*Song Six: Jesus Walks, written and sung by Kayne West

The explicit lesson in this song is that God is present with those who suffer in this world. One gets the sense the implicated lesson is rappers, especially West, would like to proclaim Jesus in their music, but are silenced by producers and music executives. The reasoning being rapping about Jesus is not cool and Jesus doesn’t sell to particular audiences. Another implicit message is held in the worry of West about not maintaining conversation with God and the believed effects that could hold. In our discussion the mention of what the null learning in this song would be, seemed to enforce and relate to an implicit lesson.

* Song Seven: The Story, written and Sung by Brandi Carlile

The explicit message in this song supports the need and desire to have a relationship with God, and it implies God knows us better than anyone else. It is in our suffering and brokenness we come to experience God’s love and healing. Again, the actual naming of God as the one we are made for was left out, but as posted earlier in previous summaries, we felt God could be the recipient of the prayer. These curriculums in this particular song bond well in establishing why we desire to be in a relationship with God, only in the null could it emphasized our ability to replace or name someone else or something as our intimate knower, rather than God.

In conclusion, as a group we never got to the Nurturing Faith handout, in the given time period and because of the in depth discussions on learning within particular songs. I can only speak for myself when I state I feel most of these songs would likely fit starting with the ages from 13 to 15. However, I would emphasis the high school student, young adult, and adults being the primary groups of these focal points.  I could see my 29 year old brother enjoying discussion on Kayne’s song, yet see total confusion on the face of my 55 year old father.  I think once youth can start to think in the abstract and are examining their faith in light of their life experience we are able to use these focus points to teach about prayer.

This is not in reference to our particular assignment, but rather the physical exercise on prayer.  If the exercise on the Lord’s prayer was of interest to you check out signchido.com.  This is a mind, body, and soul exercise which uses chi flow, breath, posture and some physical movement to create a overall sense of well-being and emphasis prayer. I have facilitated these exercises with people of all ages (it can be done seated). It is truly the art of moving prayer.

summarized and posted by Rebecca Breddin