Contact | Heather Mascarello | 630.734.4012 | hmascarello@ivpress.com
 

Dove Award –winning singer-songwriter and Gold Medallion –winning author Michael Card has a thirty-year history of artfully opening up the Scriptures in songs, books and seminars.
 

And he’s at it again.
 

What Card did in such a compelling manner through the Old Testament trilogy of recordings known as The Ancient Faith  and the New Testament trilogy The Life  he’s now doing in a four-volume collection of books and recordings focused on the Gospels, all under the banner of the Biblical Imagination Series , published by InterVarsity Press  (IVP).
 

In addition to IVP publishing the series of books, which launches with Luke: The Gospel of Amazement (February 2011), IVP associate publisher Jeff Crosby and Ron Davis of Covenant Artists , Michael Card’s management firm, have announced that InterVarsity Press will serve as the worldwide trade distribution partner for the companion recordings on compact disc.
 

“With the series of books and musical recordings under the umbrella of the Biblical Imagination, Michael Card has taken a huge step forward in equipping both readers and listeners who wish to integrate the life of the mind and the affections of the heart,” Crosby said. “We are privileged to be serving not only as Mike’s publisher, but also as the trade distribution partner for this important series of recordings.” Luke: The Gospel of Amazement will be followed in subsequent years by volumes on the Gospels of John, Matthew and finally Mark, with one book being published per year. According to Davis, Covenant Artists plans to release a companion CD with original music by Card for each of the three additional volumes. Luke: A World Turned Upside Down, a collection of twelve Card originals inspired by his reading of and writing on that Gospel, is the first companion CD in the series. The recording will ship to IVP’s domestic and international trade stores and distribution partners in tandem with the series’ first book.
 

All eight components of the Biblical Imagination Series are focused on building a bridge between our hearts and our minds, informed by the Gospel narratives. Card explains: “As a result of the Fall, we are fragmented in every area of our lives, and one of the big disconnects is between our heart and our mind. But the intention of the Scriptures is to fully engage our hearts and our minds. How does that happen? There’s a bridge between your heart and your mind, and it’s your imagination. It’s what integrates us.”
 

Card will also host weekend Biblical Imagination conferences  throughout the country that will incorporate music and teaching on each of the Gospel writers. Participants can get more information as well as register at michaelcard.com .
 

Agent and Covenant Artists partner Holly Benyousky, who has worked with artists such as Fernando Ortega, Sara Groves and Phil Keaggy, acknowledges the uniqueness and strength of Card’s approach, whether on stage, behind a lectern or in his books. “I am privileged to be a part of the team who is helping a gifted brother spread this redemptive message. It urges us to remember what matters most,” Benyousky said. “The Biblical Imagination projects address issues that all believers need to recognize and be shaped by. Michael leads in the engagement of the imagination and the mind so that readers more clearly understand and more readily surrender to the work of the Spirit in the life of faith, of knowing God.” 
 

The series was acquired by IVP associate editor Al Hsu, who also worked with Card on his previous InterVarsity Press titles Scribbling in the Sand  (2002), A Fragile Stone  (2003) and A Better Freedom  (2009).
 

“The Biblical Imagination Series helps readers imagine what it might have been like to be there when Jesus touched a leper or told a parable,” Hsu said. “We experience for ourselves the reality of the biblical narrative. Above all else, Michael wants to make sure that he communicates the Bible well. He’s concerned that people encounter Jesus through the text.”
 

For more information on the Biblical Imagination Series go to our Facebook page for “Biblical Imagination with Michael Card” or visit michaelcard.com or ivpress.com.
 

As an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church and the world by publishing resources that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life.