Photo by Marc Olivier Jodoin
Any great testimony has three basic elements: the old life before knowing Christ, coming to Christ, and transformation after knowing Christ. Personally, I enjoy listening to testimonies. Everyone has a unique story to tell. I am not the only one who enjoys them! That is why testimonials are so popular in Christian music.
Crowder’s “All My Hope” (featuring Tauren Wells) is such a song. That is why, in addition to my usual criteria, I will check for these three elements that make up a great testimony. In my humble opinion, without one of these elements, our testimony loses its power. For that reason, it deserves a more rigorous test.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Crowder-all-my-hope-feat-tauren-wells-lyrics.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
Broken, chained, a slave of sin, a prodigal, he is now washed clean, by the blood of Jesus, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, with no shame, no guilt, and all sins are forgiven. All his hope is in Jesus.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
All of it!
[Verse 1]
Line 1: An allusion to Psalm 139:10.
Line 2: Possibly referencing Acts 2:1-4, that is, indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
Line 3: In so far as line 3, the phrase “down to the river” is somewhat of an enigma. My best guess is that this refers to water baptism, which is mentioned in several places in the New Testament (particularly John’s baptism, the great commission [Matthew 28:16-20] and the book of Acts). One commenter, in particular, believes that it is a prayer offered to God. If anyone else has any better insights, I am willing to listen!
Line 3: Referring to Luke 15:11-32 as a spendthrifty, wayward son.
[Chorus]
Line 1: Self-explanatory, finding Biblical support in Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 8:24-39, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, and 1 Peter 1:3-6.
Line 2: With our sins forgiven, we can focus on the new man and women that God intended for us to be (see Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 6:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:14-16, Colossians 3:10, and Ephesians 4:24).
Line 3: An explicit reference to God’s forgiveness of sins. This is due to Christ’s sacrifice (see Matthew 26:28, Acts 2:38, Acts 5:31, Acts 10:43, Romans 4:7, Romans 5:6-8, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, Colossians 2:13-14, James 5:15, James 5:19-20, 1 John 2:1-2, and 1 John 2:12).
Line 4: Interestingly, this is explicitly stated in Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, and Hebrews 9:22.
[Verse 2]
Lines 1 and 2: Refers to slavery to sin, found in John 8:34 and Romans 6:6.
Line 3: Juxtaposed with lines 1 and 2, referring to forgiveness. See commentary in Chorus, line 3.
Lines 4-6: A declarative prayer that lines up with Scripture.
[Bridge]
The entire bridge repeats themes given in Verse 2, lines 1-3.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Forgiveness is available Someone who does not know Jesus will no doubt have many questions about the transformed life from a prisoner. It is probable that the line “I’m no stranger to the prison” will be taken literally.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
Transformation in Jesus.
Score: 10/10
Final Comments
Not surprisingly, Crowder’s hit song nails it (no pun intended). Highly Scriptural, it has all the elements that make a great testimony a great testimony, though perhaps more relegated to a 30-second spot at church rather than for mainstream worship.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: All My Hope (listen to the song)
Artist: Crowder
Album: American Prodigal
Genre: Gospel
Release Year: 2016
Duration: 4:14
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Updates:
07/30/2020 – A little bird (Neal Cruco) told me that Merriam-Webster dictionary updated their dictionary for the word “Prodigal” Therefore, I am forced to take back my critique of this word, raising its score to perfection!
Comments
Meg
I definitely agree that this song is theologically sound, but as far as being congregational…as a woman, it would feel weird to lead the Bridge singing, “he taught me how to be a man.” I totally get that the same sentiment is true for me — God has taught me what it means to be a woman. Or, even more broadly, what it means to be human. But the gender-specific word choice of “man” is hard for me to get past and I doubt I’ll introduce it for our church (I don’t intend to portray gender-specific pronouns to be bad in the “woke” sense — I literally mean, it’d be easier for a congregation of men and women to connect to a more gender-neutral word choice. ex: human, a child of God, etc.)
STRONG chorus though. Would totally use that as a tag. The rest of the song’s melody seems like it’d need to be simplified/de-stylized for churches with less of a gospel (genre) vibe.
Vince Wright
Meg,
Fair point! I didn’t recommend it for corporate worship, but if one used it, it should be for men.
-Vince Wright
Mike Dobbs
Meg and Vince, I do not do the part of the song that contains “man” as vocally it is too high for the men to sing. I just do the 2 verses and 2 choruses as a closing song. This makes the song vocally reachable for both men and women and keeps them engaged in the song. I do this with a straight country vibe and it plays well in that genre.
Mike Dobbs
This song is the closing song of 2 different worship services that I lead weekly. One is for a men’s mission (Jimmie Hale Mission) in Birmingham, Alabama, where the population is men from all walks of life, with some having served time in prison. The other service I lead is for a prison re-entry ministry (Shepherd’s Fold) so the prison reference reaches down deep to them. They won’t let me leave the platform until we sing this song!
Robert Peurifoy
This is coming years after your posting, but new to this site and “reviewing” your insights. I love the song. I’ve known many prodigals, even became one after 40 years of ministry. Prodigals mean so much more than financial irresponsibility. It’s those who have left the Father for whatever reason.
Hope has been a big concept in Christian music, “My Hope is Built.”
Having said that, I like the song as it was recorded in the chapel of the College I attended. There are actually two versions, one with Crowder by himself. And other groups have used the same venue, i.e. King and Country.
Vince Wright
Robert,
Thank you for your comments!
I suppose it depends on how you define the term “Prodigal”. Merriam-Webster defines it as “characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure”, but I think for some, the term evolved beyond its original intended meaning.
EDIT: It’s been brought to my attention that Merriam-Webster recently updated their dictionary and website. There is a new definition included:
“one who has returned after an absence”.
It’s the last one, but it counts! I updated my review.
-Vince Wright
Chris Wolfe
I imagine that having “been down to the river” may refer to prayer. When I first heard the song, I took that line as being a nod to the song Down to the River to Pray. “I prayed” doesn’t really fit the meter of the song quite as well, and “I’ve been down to the river” is a pretty creative, if indeed a round-a-bout way of saying just that.
As for the word prodigal, while I understand that the definition of prodigal is probably in contrast with it’s use here, I think the word choice was not meant to liken himself with the prodigal son, but rather liken the experience of the prodigal son to his own. We may not all be totally financially inept, but we do often fail to be good stewards of what out Father blesses us with. Most people know the parable to be about God’s compassionate embrace and forgiveness to those who repent of their wayward living, and the phrase “a prodigal returned” captures exactly that picture to me and likely many others.
tastywallet
Chris,
Thanks for your insight on “down to the river”! I’ll have to consider it.
As for prodigal, while I understand that many people use it to refer to what you said, it does carry a particular meaning that, in my opinion, is not an accurate description of what Crowder intends to communicate. It’s an example of a “pastorism”; a phrase that pastors often use without thinking about its context.
Edit: This post has the old formatting when I first began this website, with mostly bible verses and little to no commentary. I updated this post to adhere to the same standards as the rest of my posts, with almost all the same verses listed previously.
-TastyWallet
TimmyJ
While ,as a wordie, I appreciate the correct definition I think your usage is too narrow. The definition does not hold it to just money.
Many people waste their time, talents and gifts while being responsible with their cash. I believe some talented salespeople are utterly wasting their gift of evangelism by just using it to make money. I bet if you look in Crowders past he spent some time wasting his musical talent.
Good site, great song.
Vince Wright
Timmy,
Thank you for your challenge!
It could be true that Crowder wastes his time and abilities in worldly pursuit; However, the only thing I could find specifically in the lyrics that might possibly communicate this is in general statements in the first few lines in Verse 1 and 2. Is there something in the lyrics itself that would qualify your statement?
-Vince Wright