Todd Agnew

This is the final installment of the trilogy known as Ezra and Special Education.  If you missed parts one and/or two, you can find them here:

Part One

Part Two

And now, Part Three:

My sister taught the Special Education classes at an elementary school in Pennsylvania for many years.  She developed a certain skill set to help kids learn things that would help them throughout their lives.  She studied each student trying to understand how best to help them learn.  She cared about each child.  And she had a seemingly endless amount of patience as most of these students struggled and fought to get a grasp on each morsel of knowledge.  She saw their value, and wanted the best for them.

That makes her awesome.  And it reveals a lot of my weaknesses.  But at the moment, it makes me ask what we are doing to help these kids understand the Bible, to grasp the gospel, to know Jesus.  I’ve never heard an announcement from a pulpit about the Special Needs ministry.  I’ve never talked to someone who said they were going to go back to school to take some classes that would help them teach these children not math or spelling but the truths of God.  I’m not saying these things and these people are not out there.  I’m just saying I haven’t heard about them.  And that is causing me to wonder.

I also have two different friends who have had children with Down’s Syndrome in the last couple of years.  It made me care more about their well-being.  These kids are awesome, kind, and loving.  But I don’t want them to just be happy, I want them to have the greatest opportunity to know as much of Jesus as possible.  I just don’t know how to help there.

In 1 Corinthians 9:22b, Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”  And so, I’m just wondering what we might be able to become, so that they might be saved.  I know their parents are doing all they can.  And honestly, the special needs students I’ve met over the years have been some of the kindest and most Christ-like people I have known.  They have shown unconditional love in a way I have seen few other places.  But I want the church to give to them as well.

Will you share any thoughts you have?  What have you seen?  Share the stories that you may have already heard, maybe even been a part of.  I’d appreciate it.

Thoughts?

Todd

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-Todd’s Team

I really enjoyed the new Star Trek movie.  I saw it in the theater on a date with my wife, and loved it.  Then I watched it at home with my wife this past weekend and still loved it.  I’m not recommending that you watch it.  Nor do I plan to explain some vast spiritual truth through an analogy of the Borg or anything else Trek-related.  I’m just stating that I liked the movie.

Why did I like it?  Yes, I enjoyed the writing, and the acting, and many other things.  But the main reason I enjoyed it is because I remember watching Star Trek with my dad.  I’ve probably seen every episode of Star Trek, Star Trek Next Generation, and M*A*S*H*.  (I just put The Facts of Life in the title because it sounded like a good title.  I like things in threes.  We didn’t actually watch it.)  But those shows have a special place in my heart because they are associated with my dad.  And so I enjoy a new movie because of its connection to my childhood

But that made me wonder…  In our current culture, what do families bond over?  We can’t watch the same TV shows anymore.  Most shows are not kid appropriate.  Heck, we don’t even watch sports very much at my house because I don’t want my kids to see the commercials.  So in 20 years, they won’t be able to turn these TV shows into movies, because these kids aren’t connected to them.  The only channel I feel safe leaving on with the kids in the room is the Food Network.  And I don’t see there ever being an Emeril movie.  Hopefully.

Anyway, it’s just a thought I was having.  I don’t know what to make of it.  I don’t know if there is even a conversation to be had.  But that’s what I was thinking about.

Thoughts?

Todd

Sorry for the long break in this blog series.  Had a few things going on including my wife’s surgery and the new single coming out.  But now we’re back.  If you missed part one, you can check it out here.

Ezra and Special Education, part 1

I was once in school and had teachers.  My parents were teachers.  I’ve had many friends that were teachers.  And now, I have kids in school.  Where they have teachers.  So I’ve been around a lot of teaching.  And I have noticed that over the years we have put more and more effort into understanding how people learn.  We are realizing that people learn differently, and therefore we must understand how they learn in order to teach them well.

And so I have begun to wonder why we don’t use these same techniques to share the gospel, to make disciples, to introduce Jesus.  I know that some people are doing just that.  Some churches are doing awesome jobs.  But I don’t know very many of them.  I hope some of you will comment below and share with me the things you’ve seen.  I’ve seen art used in beautiful ways by Jamie and Jeremy Wells at artworship.org.  I’ve seen video used to tell amazing stories by the folks at I Am Second.   I’ve done tons of camps with Student Life and watched them use drama in powerful ways.  But I still see us most of the time play 4 songs in whatever style is popular at our church, then preach a 30-45 minute sermon in the teaching style favored at our church, closing with one song, and including an offering and announcements somewhere in the process.  And I wonder… is this just the least common denominator?

Is there a way to begin to understand how our people learn?  To communicate with them in a way that reaches the depths of their hearts?  Can we try things that we know are only going to reach a small percentage of our people, but will touch them in a way they have never experienced before?  I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I am willing to start to ask them.

I am going to ask them of myself too.  What should a night in concert look like?  Obviously I’ve already changed the formula to some extent by including a lot of teaching and storytelling.  But I wonder if that was for you?  Or for me?  What can I do to help you connect with God in a new and powerful way?  What kind of people are coming to Todd Agnew shows?  How do they learn?  Can I meet them there with the gospel?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, your stories, and maybe even your plans.  Share your stories of churches and teachers that are communicating the gospel in a creative effective way.  Teachers, please jump in and share your skills and insights as to how some of the teaching techniques you have learned could be effective in introducing people to Jesus and teaching theology.  Maybe share how you learn and how you wish you could be taught.  Or just comment with whatever came to your heart and mind as you read.  I’d love to hear from you.

Thoughts?

Todd

I came into the new record really wanting to explore the world of co-writing.  I’ve almost always written by myself.  I’ve written a few songs with one of my best friends, Chris Collins, but that’s about it.  It’s really hard to trust someone else, especially someone you don’t know very well.  But I committed to the idea for this record.  So I packed my bags and went to Nashville for a few days to lay bare these raw ideas to some songwriters that I really respected.

Jason Ingram writes hits.  And that’s intimidating.  He’s written great songs with Brandon Heath (Give Me Your Eyes, Your Love), Bebo Norman (I Will Lift My Eyes), Tenth Avenue North (By Your Side, Love Is Here, Healing Begins), the Afters (Light Up The Sky), Sanctus Real (Lead Me), and others, in addition to writing I Will Follow (Chris Tomlin) and Forever Reign (One Sonic Society) with Reuben Morgan from Hillsong.  That’s just the beginning of the list, and I’m rolling up to this guy’s house in my rental Ford Focus with my little notebook of song ideas, with no real idea of how to co-write a song in the first place.  The thing about Jason is… he loves Jesus, and he knows a lot about pop songs.  In that order.  And he doesn’t seem to let #2 ever get in the way of #1.  That’s hard to do.  My #2 is different than his, but our #1′s are the same.  So we got along just fine.

Jason made sure I was welcome and comfortable in his place and then we got to work.  He had me start to share my song ideas.  I began with the ones I felt most confident in.  The songs I thought he would like.  The songs I thought were radio-friendly.  And he kept asking to hear more.  By the time we got through idea #6, I was fairly sure he hated all my songs and was wishing this was over.  But he was still kind and asked for another.  I explained to him that I really cared about this next snippet, but that everyone who had heard it had immediately written it off.  It just wasn’t what we needed.  But he wanted to hear it anyway.

It’s hard to pour out your heart for someone you don’t know.  This song was very personal.  And it’s even harder to pour out your heart, when you have poured it out before and… it didn’t go so well.  But I rolled out this song once more.  Jason listened intently and after the chorus, he broke in and said, “This is it.  This is special.  Let’s get to work.”  He said, “Todd, from the first line of the song, I knew I had to hear the rest of it.”  No one had ever said that to me before.  And to be honest, most of the encouragement I get goes in one ear and out the other.  But this time I received it.

And so we began to work on this song exploring the idea of being a bride, undeserving and yet chosen.  What does it mean when my identity depends completely on someone else?  Because while I may not feel lovable, that does not change the fact that I am loved.

You may be wondering what the first line of the song was.  Well, it’s…

“I can’t let you see me this way.”

That’s how I feel with God a lot of the time.  I’m ashamed of who I am and what I’ve done.  I want to repair myself before I turn to Him.  But I look back at being a kid, when I crashed my bike in the street, and came home bloody and crying.  My dad would have never sent me to the bathroom to clean up before he spent time with me.  ( My Mom wouldn’t have either by the way.)  He would have taken me in his arms, let me bleed on his shirt, and hold me while I cried.  And then he would do everything in his power to make it better.  Is my dad any better than my God?  Not at all.  He is only a pale reflection.  Yet so much of the time, I stare at my wounds, at my shame, at my filth and it seems overwhelming.  I don’t see anything redeeming, valuable, or lovable.

“It’s hard for me to believe I could be lovely in Your eyes, that I’m really the one You want.
It’s hard for me to believe You would want me by Your side, that I’m really the one You want.
I’m really the one You want.”

And yet the bridegroom chooses to love me.  He pays my bride price, the debt I owe.  And He returns to take me home.

“And You love me, You love me, You love me still.
You love me, You love me and You always will.”

The earliest memory most of us have of church is singing “Jesus Loves Me”.  But it was so much easier to believe then than it is now.  But it is just as true today as it was then.

Thoughts?

Todd

Okay, most of you know me fairly well.  And if you’ve known me for any amount of time, you  know that I don’t usually promote myself.  I might mention that there’s a new record or something, but that’s about it.  Which I hope is a good enough reason to convince you to check out the first single from the new record which just released today on iTunes.  It’s called God Undefeatable, and you can follow this link if you’d like.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/god-undefeatable/id498591241?i=498591242&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

I am promoting this song more than I ever have because I really believe in it.  It is very special to me personally, in my spiritual walk.  And maybe it’s easier to promote something when you didn’t write it.  The other times I feel like I’m saying, “Hey guys, I wrote this awesome song, because I’m awesome, and you need to go buy it because it will make you awesome.  Or at least more awesome than you are now.”  And that’s just awkward.

But this song is from my church.  It is a powerful worship song and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.  And I guess I don’t have to wait anymore, because it’s here.  So I’m inviting you to come and worship alongside me, and my church.  Worship a God who cannot be defeated because He has already won our battles.  Like David, He has stepped into a war we were supposed to be fighting, and He has won the victory.  So I’m honored to share with you… God Undefeatable.

Thanks.

Todd

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for my family today.  My wife had surgery on her wrist.  We had been planning on it; it wasn’t an emergency surgery.  She was in a motorcycle accident 7 years ago and had hurt her wrist really badly.  When they reconstructed it, the doctor put a titanium plate in it.  It has done beautifully.  But she has started to have trouble with it.  After consulting the doctor, we realized that the plate had done its job but now needed to come out.  So that’s what today was.  Not a huge deal, but still surgery.  And therefore still full of fear and stress.  The procedure went perfectly.  We are back settled in at home.  Now she just has to chill and let that bone heal for the next 6 weeks.  And if you know my wife, that is going to be the real challenge.  So thanks so much for your care and prayer support today.  Please continue to pray that the bones heals well and quickly.  Pray that she recovers easily from the surgery.  And pray that she gets some rest.  That’s hard to do when your arm is hurting.  So that’s what happened today for those of you who just saw the twitter update and prayed.  And actually, that’s what happened today for those of you who didn’t see it as well.  Thanks for being part of our community.  We will soon get back to “The One You Want” story behind the song blog and the second and third parts of Ezra and Special Education.

Todd

Here’s video #2.  There’s some other cool stuff about this song that didn’t make it into the video.  So we’ll have a blog version coming soon.  The story behind the story behind the song video.

“God Undefeatable” Impacting AC/INSPO Now

Nashville, Tenn. Jan. 27, 2012… Todd Agnew, the worship leader, musician and songwriter behind hits like “Grace Like Rain” and “My Jesus,” is unveiling his newest collection of music, How to be Loved, on March 6. In chronicling a new understanding of receiving God’s love, Todd Agnew’s powerful new album with Ardent Records and Fair Trade Services is a revelation of sorts.

Much of this understanding started when Agnew bought his first house, moved back to Texas and became husband, and stepfather all in the course of a weekend. “I came in wanting to do stuff for them, to take care of them,” Agnew recalls, “and my wife was asking me if I could receive from them, be loved by them. I really had to say, ‘I have no idea what you’re taking about.’ Then I finally translated that, and realized, ‘Oh, God, I see what You’re doing! I have to learn to receive that same love from You.’”

Agnew is well-known for his voice, and the gravitas it brings to his music. This time around, though, he brings a remarkable vibrancy born from his desire to collaborate with the likes of renowned producer Paul Ebersold (Third Day, 3 Doors Down) and fellow songwriters Andrew Osenga (Chris Tomlin, Andrew Peterson) and Jason Ingram (Brandon Heath, MercyMe) among others. “I think we have a much more cohesive record than I’ve done in a long time,” remarks Agnew. “My other records are kind of all over the map musically. I love music, all kinds of music, so I tend to just switch gears every 4½ minutes.”

How to be Loved is heralded by the radio single “God Undefeatable” impacting AC/INSPO now. The song was originally written by a gifted trio of two worship leaders and a pastor as an Easter song for Agnew’s church in Austin, Texas. “‘Undefeatable’ isn’t really even a word,” Agnew explains. “It isn’t a word because it’s never needed to be a word. Every empire, every dynasty, they all eventually lost. They faded. They were defeated. But God, His power, His might does not wane. It goes back to the idea we started with. God is the main player in the story. It’s not me fighting the battle, it’s Him.” To see the story behind the song, click here.

Todd is gearing up for an acoustic spring tour with Fair Trade artist Jonny Diaz. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit http://toddagnew.com/tour-dates.

More information on Todd Agnew:
Todd Agnew is a seven-time Dove Award nominee, garnering numerous hit radio singles including two No. 1 hits, “Grace Like Rain” and “This Fragile Breath (The Thunder Song).” Agnew continues to perform over 150 dates per year and will debut How to be Loved on March 6 with Ardent Records and Fair Trade Services.

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