Elevation Worship (Feat. Tauren Wells) – Echo

We’re back again with another Elevation Worship review!  Elevation Church’s head pastor Steven Furtick announced in October 2019 that their Grammy-nominated homegrown band will bring their Elevation Nights 2020 Tour to America in May and June 2020.

With critically acclaimed and high-scoring Berean Test hits such as O Come to the Altar and Do It Again, many are looking forward to listening to this Charlotte, North Carolina-based organization!

Echo will be my tenth Elevation Worship review, joining See a Victory, Faithful, Resurrecting, Hallelujah Here Below, Jesus I Come, Do It Again, Here Again, Yours (Glory and Praise), and O Come to the Altar. 

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Elevation-worship-echo-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.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Though we may experience fear, turmoil, and darkness, with empty faith and hope, God breaks through with His light.  Like an echo, His Holy Spirit is the love that holds onto us, instilling within us a desire to hang onto God.  He will never stop until He accomplishes His goals, despite Elevation Worship’s failure to identify what those promises are (see section 2).

Score: 9/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Aside from a small ambiguity regarding God’s promises, everything else is Biblical.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-3: Pre-Chorus sets the context of “You’re” as God.  He tells us not to be afraid (Genesis 15:1, Joshua 1:9, Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 34:4, Psalm 56:3-4, Psalm 94:19, Psalm 115:11, Psalm 118:6, Isaiah 35:4, Isaiah 41:10-13, Isaiah 43:1, Isaiah 54:4, John 14:25-27, Romans 8:15, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Timothy 1:7, Hebrews 13:5-6, 1 Peter 3:13-14, 1 Peter 5:6-7, and 1 John 4:18) and calls us out of darkness and into His light (Acts 26:12-18 and 1 Peter 2:9).

Lines 4-6: If faith is gone, then there is no longer trust in God.  Yet, while we are faithless, God remains faithful and cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).  He is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 22:19, Psalm 28:7-8, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 33:2, Isaiah 40:29-31, Habakkuk 3:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 6:10, and Philippians 4:13).

[Pre-Chorus]

Line 1: Elevation Worship tells the truth. We’re not good enough. We’ve broken His laws and commandments, earning eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23).

Line 2: God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory (2 Corinthians 9:8-11 and Philippians 4:19).

Lines 3-5: Elevation Worship believes and asks God to help overcome their unbelief (Mark 9:24).

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases (Lamentations 3:22).

Line 3: In much the same way that an echo bounces off a surface and makes its way back to its listener, God’s love reverberates through His Holy Spirit who lives in His children (Acts 6:5, Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:16-19, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 5:18, and 2 Timothy 1:14).

Lines 4-6: Repeats lines 1-3.

[Post-Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: See commentary in line 3.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: What promise is that?  Elevation Worship does not tell us.  I could fashion an educated guess, citing God’s strength and the verses that come with it in Verse 1, line 6; However, it would be speculation on my part.

Lines 3-5: God’s word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those who do not yet know Jesus will immediately recognize this as Elevation Worship’s change in attitude due to God’s intervention.  They probably won’t see the Holy Spirit connection as I have.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God through testimony, describing God’s acts despite Elevation Worship’s lack of faith and hope, only slightly hidden by unclear promises of God.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

Elevation Worship’s Echo is a basic testimony that reminds us we are His.  It celebrates the love of God using language easy for unbelievers to comprehend and glorifying God.  My only minor criticism is that Elevation Worship does not clarify promises God repeats, rendering this line Sciprutally inevaluable.

This is yet another “inspirational, but not worship” songs that I cannot recommend for corporate worship.  It focuses more on feelings than the truths of who God is and what He has done for us.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Echo (listen to the song)

Artist: Elevation Worship (Feat. Tauren Wells)

Album: Hallelujah Here Below

Genre: Pop

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 3:56

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

09/14/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Elevation Worship’s theology.

03/24/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.