Joni Eareckson Tada: “This is no time to be wagging our finger”

The title song from the film "Alone Yet Not Alone" was nominated for an Oscar and then, in a move done only three times before in the Academy, the nomination was rescinded. Joni Eareckson Tada, a Christian speaker and the voice behind the song, talks about what it's been like.

Joni Eareckson Tada at Park Street Church in Boston - Photo by Rachel James via Flickr (http://bit.ly/1bZSqsF)

Joni Eareckson Tada at Park Street Church in Boston – Photo by Rachel James via Flickr (http://bit.ly/1bZSqsF)

It was the little song that couldn’t, and it didn’t. The eponymous song from the film “Alone Yet Not Alone” was nominated for an Oscar, only to have the nomination rescinded after the story broke that its composer, Bruce Broughton, had improperly petitioned members of the music branch executive committee (Broughton is a member). He is also a former member of the Academy’s board of governors, a group of representatives from each branch of the Academy.

But the fact that the Oscar nomination was rescinded has gotten a great deal of attention, especially since the Academy has only done so three other times in its 86 year history. I spoke again with Joni Eareckson Tada, popular Christian author and the voice behind the song, about her experience. (You can read her first interview here.)


How have you felt since the Oscar nomination got rescinded?

My first thought was, “You know, this Oscar was never mine to earn or to lose.” That honor falls with Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel, the songwriters. I’m mainly disappointed for their sakes. I may not know much about the way that Hollywood works, but it seems to me that every writer, director, actor, costume designer—everybody finds some way to promote their work during the nomination season.

If Bruce is ineligible for an Oscar merely because of an email to his friends asking them to give his song a listen, I think half of Hollywood should give back their Oscars.

Do you think it’s Bruce Broughton’s role as a former governor of the Academy that has gotten him into trouble?

I don’t know—again, I really don’t know the inner workings of Hollywood. It seems to me that his error was so small, so miniscule—he’s not an Academy governor, he’s in the executive branch of the music division, which means that he, of anyone, should be aware of the rules—and if he did not feel that he broke a rule, then why was the song rescinded? Was it because it was a low-budget, limited-release, small Christian film that most people felt should not be up against box office hits? I’m not sure, but I think it sends a sad message to independent filmmakers.

In hard times like this, where do you go to hold onto joy and gladness?

Well, you know, it’s funny, because I’ve been singing the song. There are some words that are so sweet:


We are not forsaken or on our own

We can lean upon his arm because we know we’ll be lifted up from harm

If we stumble or if we are thrown, we may be alone yet not alone

I’ve been singing the song and I’ve found it encouraging. It’s just been encouraging to know that God is in this. God has not been caught off guard; this hasn’t taken him by surprise. He’s still on his throne. And his purposes are somehow, some way, still being pushed forward.

You will be singing at the Movieguide Awards this year. How are you feeling about that?

I’m so honored to be asked to do this. For me, whatever happens—and of course, I think that the Academy will not rescind its rescindment, it’s a decision that’s going to stand—I can still look back on the very pleasant memories of it being a wonderful honor and a treasured experience to sing the song. I feel badly that politics and prejudice will prevent this movie, and the song, from getting the sort of recognition that I think it deserves, but perhaps the controversy will still stir up a lot of interest.

So much of the life of the church can be, like this decision, political—who believes the right way? Who thinks the right way? Who’s in and who’s not? I wonder if there’s a lesson here for the way the church operates in times of difficulty.


I think the Bible makes it clear to bless those who persecute us, and have nothing but good words to say to people who might abuse these opportunities. I think the Bible tells us how to respond, that these are people for whom we should pray. This is no time to be wagging our finger at the left, or a liberal-leaning media, and say “shame on you.” I think this is a time to be praying for Hollywood, and the people in it, time to make friends, strengthen relationship, and showcase to a very skeptical and cynical world that we are people of joy, because we know how the story turns out in the end, and it has a great ending.

I like to take a more hopeful perspective. I think haranguing against the liberal, left-leaning media is just draining. The Bible has the health of our own spirits in mind when it says to bless those who abuse you—not for your enemy’s sake, but for your sake.

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