Michael Card

Michael Card was born in Madison, Tennessee, the son of a physician and grandson of a Baptist minister. At Western Kentucky University he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in biblical studies and came under the influence of New Testament scholar William L. Lane. Their friendship became a long discipleship relationship that Card later described in The Walk. Lane also helped redirect Card's musical gifts toward Scripture by asking him to write songs connected with biblical teaching.

Card's recording career began with First Light in 1981, but he has consistently described himself more as a Bible teacher than as a music-industry personality. He later recalled that El Shaddai was only the fourth or fifth song he had written. Co-written with John W. Thompson, it joined the biblical study that became Card's hallmark with an accessible contemporary melody. His own released recording appeared on Legacy in 1983, after Amy Grant's 1982 version had introduced the song widely.

Card went on to record more than thirty albums and write numerous books before retiring from regular professional activity at the end of 2023. Other recognized songs include Love Crucified Arose and Immanuel; his books include A Sacred Sorrow, The Walk, and Inexpressible, a sustained study of the Hebrew word hesed. His career is notable for treating songs, books, teaching, and personal discipleship as connected forms of biblical ministry.