Todd Agnew

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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www.toddagnew.com
www.facebook.com/toddagnew
www.twitter.com/agnewsdei

I often have people ask me to write down my life verse.  I usually quip back to them that I like the whole book.  No need to settle for one verse when God has written it all for us.  But all the same, God uses specific verses at specific times in our lives.  And so I suppose He could probably use certain verses more in one life than another.  One of those verses for me is Nehemiah 8:8: “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

This passage is talking about Ezra, some other chosen men, and the Levites reading and explaining the Scripture to the people of Israel as they are moving back into Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.  They didn’t tell clever stories.  They didn’t have any jokes.  They read the Bible.  And then they did what was necessary for the people to understand it.  They didn’t set it up with a precursor or a poem.  They didn’t have a topic and choose specific scriptures to fit it.  They read the Bible and helped the people understand what they had read.

That’s what I’d like to do with my life.  I don’t want to tell people funny stories.  I don’t want to sing them pretty songs.  I want them to read the Bible, and then I want to help them understand what they have read.  Sometimes I realize I might need to tell a story or sing a song, but that’s not what I want to do.  I want to help people understand what God has said to them.  The God of the universe, our Creator and our Redeemer, has written us a book.  I want to read it and understand.  And I want to live a life that helps other people understand it.

More on this coming soon.

Thoughts?

Todd

“Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it.”

- George MacDonald

Thoughts?

Todd

Jeremy Horn and I were back on the road last week talking with radio stations about our new singles.  This post is not about that.  It’s about a thought I had in a gross public restroom in some random truck stop along the way.

I like to dry my hands with paper towels.  Ever since they started making warm air hand dryers (with the “w” consistently scratched out by some budding comedian), I have always looked around for the paper towel holder which is usually still nearby somewhere.  The thing is… I know that it’s better for the environment to keep our waste to a minimum.  And I care about the environment.  I live in Austin, TX.  I think they check whether or not you are environmentally conscious before they let you move here.  I want to take care of the world we live in.  I want to pass on blessings to the next generation, not just pass on our problems.  But I just feel better drying my hands with a paper towel.

In other words, I say I believe something, but I have no intention on acting on it in a circumstance where it causes me the least inconvenience.  Using the air dryer takes a few more seconds of my time.  And sometimes my hands still feel a little damp afterwards.  And each time I’m in a restroom I think to myself, “It’s just one paper towel!”  But sometimes you need two or three to get the job done correctly.  Have I contributed truckloads of waste to the environment because of my truck stop habits?  Probably not.  Maybe just one truck.  But I have said that I believed in something and consistently acted in opposition to that.

Most of us say we need to read our Bibles every day…, but we don’t.  We say we should pray more…, but we don’t.  We say we should tithe or give to the poor or love our neighbor…, but we don’t.  We treat them like New Year’s Resolutions.  We say them knowing full well that we have no intention on keeping it more than a week or so.  And when I say “we”, I mean “we”.  Me too.  In Luke 14, Jesus says we should count the cost.  I have counted the cost of using an air dryer instead of paper towels and although it is not ideal, I mean to do my small part in the truck stop restrooms of the world.  Now, I have to start counting the cost in areas that are even more important.

What areas do you need to start counting the cost in?  Where are your actions not meeting up with what you say you believe?

Thoughts?

Todd

Here are the lyrics for the new single, God Undefeatable:

Behold the King who conquered
And overcame our sin
Behold our glorious Victor
Whose mercy knows no end

He is true, He is right
Death is broken, He is alive

God undefeatable, kingdom unshakeable
In majesty and power You reign
Love undeniable, matchless and bountiful
To waken us to life You came
You came

And now our way is certain
Our souls in You secure
Through every pain and struggle
Your victory endures

For You are true, You are right
Death is broken, You are alive

God undefeatable, kingdom unshakeable
In majesty and power You reign
Love undeniable, matchless and bountiful
To waken us to life You came
You came

The love of God is greater than we dare to hope or dream
The hold of God is stronger than we dare to hope or dream

God undefeatable, kingdom unshakeable
In majesty and power You reign
Love undeniable, matchless and bountiful
To waken us to life You came
You came

written by Aaron Ivey, Matt Carter, and Ross King
c. 2011 Austin Stone Songs (ASCAP), RossKing (ASCAP)

The first single from the new record goes to radio today.  The song is called God Undefeatable and I’d like to tell you a little about it.  But first, a caveat… For all you English teachers, we realize that “undefeatable” is not a word.  But honestly, we’ve never had need of it.  There was never a sports team that was undefeatable.  Every team, even one that goes undefeated for a season, eventually weakens and loses.  There was never a nation, an army, an empire that was undefeatable.  That is why we study them in history classes.  They are a part of the past.  As some point, they weakened and faded.  ”Undefeatable” is not a word with a lot of applications.  In fact, I believe it only has one application.  It can only be applied to God.

God Undefeatable is a song of my church, Austin Stone Community Church here in Austin TX.  It was written by one of our worship pastors Aaron Ivey, one of our teaching pastors Matt Carter, and another worship leader friend Ross King.  I first heard the song in our Easter service last year and it immediately impacted me.  I began leading it at church and on the road.  It is a powerful way to celebrate the might and power of our God.

A main theme of the new record is that this huge story, the story of the Bible, the story of history, the story of my life, has a main character.  But that character is not me.  This story is and always has been about God.  He is the one fighting the battles.  He is the one winning the war.  I am a side character, but still a part.  A.W. Tozer said, “The good news is not that God is victorious.  What else would He be?  The good news is that we can be victorious too.”  In the story of David and Goliath, I had always assumed I played the part of David.  But I don’t think that’s right.  When I look at the story now, I think I’m much more like the army of Israel.  I’m sitting on the sideline, knowing I’m facing an opponent I cannot defeat.  I am in desperate need of someone who will step into the battle in my place and win the battle for me.  Jesus did just that.  He fought the giant of my sin, that I have consistently proven incapable of defeating, and He won.  He cut the giant’s head off at the cross.  But then He still turned and invited me to be a part of routing the Philistines.  I still have a part.  I’m just not the star.

We have a God who is undefeatable.  He cannot lose.  He has already won.  But the same God whose kingdom is unshakeable invites us to be a part.  The good news is that we can be victorious with Him.So God Undefeatable goes to radio today. Please be praying with us that God glorifies His name with this song. And you can always call your local radio station and ask them to play it.  Thanks.
Todd

UPDATE: You also can listen on your phone or iPad with the AFR app.  Download it for free and listen in wherever you are at 11am CST!

Well, Monday is a big day.  Jon and Sherry Rivers are coming back to the airwaves.  The Rivers are dear friends of mine and they are some of the best radio folks in the business.  I am so excited that once again they are going to be a part of your lives.  They will be doing the 11am-3pm CST show on American Family Radio.  For those of you who may not have AFR in your neighborhood, you can listen online at: http://www.afa.net/radio/show.aspx?network=live . Just click the second button on the right. It says “Music: AFR Inspirational Live”.  And in 19 states, you can listen to AFR on your radio.  Find those stations here: http://www.afa.net/uploadedFiles/Radio/Station%20Listing.pdf .  It’s the ones with an asterik.  The others are talk radio, which you are welcome to listen to, it’s just that the Rivers won’t be on there.  So it’s starting this Monday, January 9th at 11am CST.  It’s a day many of you have been waiting for.  Just pull it up on your computer speakers and let it play in your house for the afternoon.  I think you’ll probably be back for many afternoons to come.  I don’t yet know how you can call in or any of those things.  Let’s commit together to pray for this first show together.  11am Monday morning.  Will you pray for Jon and Sherrie, for AFR, and for everyone listening?  I believe that God is starting something new and I’m excited about it.  So listen in Monday at 11am.  Maybe they’ll even have a guest on the air?

Todd

“A lot of people feel that if a dog has nipped, growled at or bitten someone there’s no hope for that dog. Nearly 99 percent of the time a dog like that can be turned around if an owner is willing to work with it.” – Ruth Marquadt

Thoughts?

Todd