Bible Connection Podcast: Scripture and Imagination with Michael Card

Bible Connection Podcast: Scripture and Imagination with Michael Card

For the past forty years, Michael Card’s music has touched the lives of countless people. On this episode of the Bible Connection Podcast, Michael tells us about his lifelong passion for engaging the Word of God and even plays a song for us.

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Michael Card

Throughout his life, singer and songwriter Michael Card has been encouraged by many different people. He explains how certain mentors impacted him and recognized his songwriting potential. Before meeting one particular mentor, William Lane, Michael was in school studying forestry, and then his life changed. Dr. Lane then impacted Michael’s life and convinced him to pursue ministry.

Michael explains his background as part of the Jesus Movement when he was in high school and how that shaped his faith and his work. After dedicating his life to engaging with Scripture, Michael has released over 30 albums and 27 books in order to share his love of the Lord with others.

One of Michael’s albums focused on the books of the minor prophets. He shares some insights and background on how he managed to write songs based around a genre of Scripture. He explains how you can never get to the bottom of Scripture and you will always find more truth no matter how often you dig into it.

Michael explains the importance of using imagination to engage with Scripture and how that often has a bad, undeserved connotation. He even spends some time breaking down his favorite Hebrew word that he considers untranslatable and the deep theological meaning behind it.

But Michael stresses the importance of engaging Scripture with your imagination. Without doing that, many of the teachings of Jesus will be lost.

In a special moment, Michael plays a song on the podcast called Gomer’s Song all about God’s unconditional forgiveness as illustrated through the story of Hosea.

Excerpts from This Episode

6:48 – 7:02: “My whole life has been to try and understand Scripture, engage, listen with all your heart and with all your mind. And the way you do that is you engage with your imagination. That brings both your heart and your mind into the whole process.”

9:10 10 – “In order to write a song, the idea has to resonate, it has to have some resonance to it. Not just be true – but it should be true, obviously – but just be different enough and have a twist so that it’s lyrical. Those ideas are hard to find.”

14:59 – 15:24 “Of all the words in the Hebrew Bible, I think hessed is the one – it’s untranslateable. My translation takes a whole sentence. Hesit is when the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything. I stand before the cross of Jesus and I say, ‘I have no right to expect anything from You, I nailed You there.’ What do I get? Do I get a second chance? No. I get more chances than you could possibly imagine.”

19:37 – 19:55 “The point of Jesus’ parables is that if you don’t engage with your imagination, you’re not going to get it. Because it’s not just a spoonfed truth.”

21:15 “It’s a bad thing to think that you know what the Bible is about to say. It’s the same way I listen to my wife. I know what she’s about to say, right? So I’m not really listening. That’s not how you really listen to people. So I say get a new translation, one that you’re not used to.”

Recommended Bible Resource

The Abide Bible

The Abide Bible is designed to help you experience the peace, hope, and growth that come from encountering the voice and presence of God in Scripture. Every feature in Abide is designed to teach and develop Scripture-engagement habits that help you know the power and spiritual nourishment of abiding in Christ.

The Abide Bible is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.

Quoted Scripture

““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-15, NKJV