Todd Agnew
Blog
God Undefeatable
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
The Return of the Rivers
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
Thoughts On A Quote
“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
Giving and Receiving
Well, the Christmas season of 2011 is passing us by. I am still a fairly new parent. And I invested a lot of time and concern this year thinking about how to teach my kids that Christmas is about giving, more than it is about receiving. I used to blame the commercialism of the world. But as I look at our lives, I see a lot of time and effort focused on what a kid will receive and very little spent on what that child will give. Not just on their end, on my end as well. And so I have some interesting ideas to try next year. But on Christmas day itself, I had a strange revelation.
If a day is about giving, then it must equally be about receiving. It cannot merely be one or the other. A gift by definition must be both given and received. Now maybe I assumed that my children, gifted as they are, would be perfectly capable of receiving presents. But what if I spent more time on the concept of gratitude? Not merely after the presents have been distributed, but before? Maybe year round even? And honestly, the more I thought about the idea that Christmas is about giving, the more I started to realize that the first Christmas was a huge gift. Or which I am the RECEIVER.
So maybe I need to focus more on receiving Christmas. And if I truly receive, I think it just might turn me into a giver as well. Maybe I should help my kids love their gifts, to play fervently with them, and then they might want others to have that joy themselves. Maybe I should stop and realize just how much I have received. I have always gotten more joy from giving. But I am learning to enjoy receiving as well. From others and from God. I cannot give Christmas to Him; I must receive it.
Thoughts?
Todd
P.S. We’ll soon be talking more about this idea of receiving from God as the album release draws closer. It’s coming soon… March.
P.P.S. If you missed it, both Do You See What I See (the Christmas CD) and NEED (the latest CD) are both on sale for $5 at Amazon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Do You See What I See, vol. 14
If you don’t know already, a few years ago I wrote and recorded a Christmas record called Do You See What I See. It is one of my favorite experiences in life so far. God really opened the Christmas story to me that year. I ended up writing a song from the perspective of each person involved in the Christmas story. If you don’t have that record, it will be on sale for $5 on Amazon.com starting Christmas morning. If you do, then you are already familiar with this idea. What you don’t know is that originally there was going to be a hidden track.
I wrote another song in this circle of songs. We’ll call it “The Ballad of the Donkey”. It was just a joke, written from the perspective of the donkey who got kicked out of the stable so Jesus could be born there. He was sleeping out in the cold, wondering what was going on inside that was so important. Now, I just wrote it out of a light-hearted moment. But over time, I have begun to understand it in a little deeper way
I think every person outside of the Christian faith is kind of like that fictional donkey at Christmas. They are looking in at the spectacle, wondering what the big deal is. They are still in the middle of their lives, some of them in the darkest parts of their lives. And Christmas doesn’t look so beautiful to them
This Christmas I hope you will notice the person checking you out at Wal-mart. The guy out in the rain gathering the grocery carts. The girl that’s not happy about working the day after Christmas and so she’s rude to you. Remember that they don’t understand what’s going on. Treat them like Jesus came down from heaven to rescue them. Because He did.
Thoughts?
Todd
Christmas Presents for You
Hey everyone. Amazon is going to have my latest album NEED and my Christmas record Do You See What I See on sale for just $5, starting Christmas morning and going through Jan. 31, 2012. I just wanted you to get the opportunity to get these before the new record comes out in March. Merry Christmas.
Todd
Get NEED and DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? For $5 Each!
Great after-Christmas deal! Todd’s albums Need AND Do You See What I See? will be on sale for $5 each on Amazon MP3 Dec. 25 – Jan. 31, 2012. This is a part of Amazon’s “Fuel Your Kindle Fire” promotion…just visit AMAZON.COM.
A Crazy Week
(Sorry, everyone. I wrote this on the plane Thursday and forgot to post it. Well, I forgot because we had to run catch a plane and in the process, I lost my phone. Oh and then my credit card got declined at the car rental place, because I had already used it that day at the same company in a different state. So in the hustle and bustle, I forgot to post it. But with no further ado…)
Well, we’ve had a crazy week, and it’s only Thursday night. Right now we’re on a plane, a plane we had to sprint across the Houston Hobby airport to catch, after barely catching our plane from New Orleans, after barely making it to New Orleans in time for some great beignets at Cafe Du Monde with Tom and Daniel from Lifesongs Radio, after barely making it to Power 88 FM in Mobile, AL, to have lunch with Kenny and the gang, after getting up at 5am to make it to WHJT at Mississippi College in Jackson TN this morning. So you kind of get an idea of what we’ve been up to.
This week I’ve been traveling around this part of the nation introducing the first singles off of our records to radio staff and some listeners. My first single is called God Undefeatable. It’s an amazing worship song we sing at my church. You can get the church’s new worship CD from iTunes (Austin Stone Live) or you can go to the austinstoneworship.com website and see the chord charts, teaching videos, the theology behind the songs, and even watch the CD release night of worship.
My friend Jeremy Horn has been with me as well. For those of you who don’t know him, he’s a great worship leader from Memphis, TN. He’s the worship pastor at Christ The Rock church in Memphis. You can check his stuff out at jeremyhornmusic.com or go to noisetrade.com/jeremyhorn and download a free EP of some of his older songs. His new single is called Surrender. Be careful. You’ll be singing it all day like I have this week. He co-wrote it with some of my friends, Aaron Ivey and Chris Collins. Great song.
So we have hit three cities a day all week. We started in St. Louis, hanging with Greg and Johnathan at 99.1. Then we visited Jim and Darren at KCVO in Camdenton MO. We closed day one with dinner in Springfield MO with Chalmer, Aaron, and Mike from KWND. And then, of course, I had to introduce Jeremy to Andy’s Custard.
Tuesday started at KXOJ in Tulsa. We just had a quick chat over coffee, so I’m sorry we missed all of you there. Hopefully, we’ll be back soon for the CD release. Then we headed to NW Arkansas to have some pizza with the guys from KLRC. And then we headed to Fort Smith and got to hang out with some of you and played a few songs. Thanks to everyone for coming out and thanks to KZKZ for hosting us.
Wednesday began in Dallas, eating at the Local Diner with Mike from KLTY. It’s always good to be back in the old stomping ground. We loved hanging out with the crew from KVNE in Tyler over lunch. Those guys have been so supportive of me over the years. I loved getting to introduce them to Jeremy. We headed to Monroe LA to have a great dinner and even better conversation with Jeremiah from KBMQ. Afterwards, we still had to drive to Clinton MS to be ready to start this morning.
It hasn’t all been work. Well, yes, I guess it has. But we’ve had a lot of fun along the way. Last night we got into a “What worship songs did you play 20 years ago?” contest. We remembered some great songs. And a few not as great songs. Now we’re on a plane to Corpus Christi TX to start tomorrow. Get a few hours of sleep tonight and get back to it.
Todd
A Christmas Question In Three Parts
What is your favorite Christmas carol?
Who does you favorite arrangement of said carol?
What is your favorite newer Christmas song?
Just curious. Thanks.
Todd
Answering My Own Question
I’ve heard comments from a number of people about the fact that I don’t answer my own questions. I usually start a conversation and then let you guys discuss it. I always enjoy reading your comments. But today I thought I’d participate as well. For those of you who haven’t chimed in yet, the question was, “What person in the Bible do you identify with the most? And why?”
So my answer is probably Jacob. I have always been favored and most of the time undeservedly. I have learned to trust deceit and control rather than finding peace in God’s sovereignty. But God has kept me on His path. A crazy path a lot of the time, but still His blessings are undeniable. Like Jacob, I found a wife in an unlikely place. Fortunately I didn’t find two. I’m glad I missed that part of the story. And God has been gracious enough to continue to wound me to bring me to the right place. A fairly constant pain in a hip has been a long term reminder that I have been touched by God. And His touch is a blessing, but it also often hurts. Holiness cannot meet unholiness without causing something dramatic. Pure flame cannot encounter the flammable without combusting. But it leaves us in a better place. Well, it’s leaving me in a better place. Every day, a better place.
Todd