Todd Agnew

Hey guys, I’m studying and prepping for camp this summer. I was wondering if any of you pastors or serious studiers have a commentary you like for the Gospel of John? I have the one by Donald A. Carson. But that’s it so far. Thanks.

Todd

“Theology, not morality, is the first business on the church’s agenda of reform, and the church, not society, is the first target of divine criticism.” -Michael Scott Horton

And… discuss.

Thoughts?

Todd

I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last blog. It’s something that has really been on my heart, and I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say you both encouraged and challenged me with your words. I can’t wait to hear what songs come out of these ideas, whether they are mine or someone else’s.

God also used your stories to make me very thankful for my church. Many of your comments reminded me of things I used to say. And thankfully, at my church, many of those things aren’t around any more. We do have deep songs. We do seriously approach God and who He is. We are learning how to love our neighbor. We can always use more of these songs, but I remember when I felt like they didn’t exist. I remember when I thought everything was fluff. So I’m glad God has brought me to a wonderful church home. Thanks to all of my family at the Stone. And I hope the rest of you are encouraged as well. God does continue to lead us on the journey when we are willing to go. And sometimes even when we are not.

Thanks again.

Todd

Hey friends. I have three stories and a question for you. I am wanting to start writing, co-writing, pushing others to write songs that the church needs. I am looking and asking what those songs are. If you are a worship leader, then please respond. If you are a worshipper and have a good idea, I’d love to hear it. In addition, please pass this post on to the worship leaders at your church or others you respect.

Here are the stories…

1) It was Wednesday. I received the order of service and found we were doing communion. As I tried to put together a worship set, I realized we don’t really have communion songs anymore. That led to the creation of You Are Good, one of the songs we now do at church and is on the new record.

2) I was talking to my pastor one day about why The Stand still has such an impact every time we play it. I hypothesized that we don’t have many songs of declaring commitment anymore. In fact, for an invitation, I’m much more likely to go back and pull out a hymn.

3) I was talking to a friend, a great worship leader a few years ago about Christmas songs. He talked about how we have songs about Christmas, but we don’t have many corporate worship songs for that occasion. We just end up singing Christmas songs corporately.

So my question to you is “What songs does the church need?” I’m not asking what you care about or what’s impacting you. Because I believe you will write those songs anyway. I believe our generation is doing a great job declaring the majesty of the Lord. I’m asking you what songs will help the Church worship. What topics are we missing? Giving? Sacrifice? I don’t know the answer. That’s why I’m asking. And I’m really excited about what the answers may lead to.

Thanks.

Todd

Well, I really enjoyed my week off from twittering and blogging. I think I may do that consistently. One week per month. Maybe the first week of each month. No social media, just invest in my family. Of course, that’s not saying that I don’t invest in my family the rest of the time. I do, but I did enjoy not having to think about anything else. It was kind of like I got to focus inside my house and forget about everyone else. Most of the time I work inside my house but I still think about everything else. I guess it reminds me of the silence retreats they do at monasteries. They say it takes a whole day, maybe more, of complete silence before your brain even starts to slow down. That’s kind of what this was like. It takes a few days before I stop the frenetic nature of my brain, trying to think about my wife, think about my kids, think about my music, think about the record, think about the mix, think about the guitar part, think about writing new songs, think about studying, think about church, think about blogging, think about who might be reading that blog, etc. But after finishing the first version of the new record, Paul (my producer) said to step away for a few days. It was hard, but over time the list started whittling down. By the end, I was thinking about my wife, my kids, and my relationship with God. The mix reared its ugly head a few times. But mostly I was focused here. That was good. I think I may make it a more regular part of my life.

Thoughts?

Todd

We’re still mixing. Today we finished Love Your Neighbor, and are now working on Don’t You Think. Paul just left to go work on keyboard parts for There Is Coming A Day. I realize this is very short, but that’s all we’re doing.

Todd

Day 15 was yesterday but I didn’t blog. It’s been an eventful week. On the home front, we had Valentine’s Day, our anniversary, and a trip to see my family in Pennsylvania. My sister has opened a new cupcake store, Pink Champagne Cupcakerie, to much success and critical acclaim. Well, there’s not much criticism in the world of cupcakes. It was awesome to see their new venture, and of course, to try all the cupcakes. You should stop by if you’re in NW PA.

On the work front, Ellie Holcomb sang on the record last week. She is part of Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. She did an incredible job on my songs, and she sang wonderfully on their new record, Chasing Someday, which I highly recommend. Go check it out on iTunes. You can go right now. This blog will till be here when you get back.

Today we’re mixing. By ‘we’, I mean, Scott is mixing and I’m sitting on the couch. Every once I a while, i make a suggestion, and then they tell me why we don’t really need to do that. But it’s going well. We’re finishing a song called Letting Go. I’ll write a ‘Story Behind the Song’ blog about that one soon.

Todd

Now I know that’s not a regular number. But I’m not actually in the studio today. I’m at home, celebrating the day in between Valentine’s Day and my anniversary. But in the studio, they are recording some background vocals today, so I wanted to let you know about that. Ellie Holcomb from the band Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors is singing on the record today. She has an amazing voice. I’d appreciate your prayers for her today. You can also pick up the new Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors CD which came out last week called Chasing Someday. You can get it on iTunes or at a store or probably online. It’s really great. Take a listen. Also, if you’re in Memphis, go check them out tonight at Minglewood Hall. They’re on the road with Marc Broussard.

Thanks. I have my 3 year anniversary tomorrow and a trip to my parents this weekend, so you probably won’t hear from me until I’m back in the studio next week. Till then…

Todd

Well, here we are. I forgot to post this morning, but now we’re back from lunch. We worked a bit on House of Boxes. Now we’re about to sing Loved. Then we’ll knock out a few backgrounds, and then it’s time to head home. So you can pray for me as I sing this afternoon. Then you can pray for some good time as I’m home with my family this week. And you can pray for Paul and Scott as they continue to work on the record. Thanks.

Todd

Well, good morning. I just woke up here at Ardent on one of our comfy couches. I spent the night here, because Memphis got a lot of snow yesterday. I know Memphis drivers and felt it was probably safer to stay here. So I sent everyone home, had a burger from the Blue Monkey, talked with my family, worked till 10, watched an episode of Fringe, and went to sleep. It’s kind of weird to go to bed where you’ve worked all day, and then to work all day where you slept last night. But it’s an experience to add to the list.

So yesterday, we knocked out two more vocals, There Is Coming A Day and Someone You Love. Both have high G’s in them somewhere. Not fun. But we got it done. Scott comped and did some more editing. I knocked out some keyboard stuff after everyone went home. So today we still have to sing a couple of songs. And we have to record the one song that doesn’t have drums. It’s called House of Boxes. So hopefully everyone is safe and will come into work in a while. Thanks for your prayers.

Todd