(By Tina Leonard)
Sometimes people decide to change their life one step at a time, for Todd Agnew however, his life did a 360 all in a matter of weeks. He became a homeowner, a husband and a father. He and his wife Jenny just celebrated their second anniversary and according to Todd they love life! They have two children ages five and seven who Todd loves as though they were his own.
Since Todd was adopted as a child, I am certain he has no problem making that young lady and young man feel just as loved as he did growing up. I asked Todd about his experience being adopted into a Caucasian family though he was born with American Indian heritage.
“You know it really was an amazing experience. I have a little sister who was adopted also, and oddly enough she looks just like our dad. Being adopted and having Indian heritage opened so many doors to share with others how blessed I was to be a part of this family. You know the Agnew family is just a part of who I am.”
Before Todd and Jenny were married he tended to focus all his energy on God and singing traveling on the road and now there are more important aspects to his life. With two small children at home he has decided that doing things in their home church as a family are among those first priorities.
“At this point we have decided to step back a little. Though we are still open to being used on the road a little bit. Right now we have to look at what the best opportunities are. Right now, the best opportunities are for me to be at home and be a husband and a father.”
Since Todd was leading worship service at his church before making CD’s I asked him at what point did he realize that God wanted him to kick it up a notch and step out on faith into a higher calling of praise.
"You know I was always playing at youth camps and singing at Bible studies. When you are singing and leading songs for worship service and conferences and things like that you begin to have people asking if you have certain songs recorded on CD. So, we started recording the songs at camps and conferences and some of the original songs we had for worship service and so yeah it just went from there. We are definitely still doing camps and being a part of worship service."
Todd has had the opportunity to tour with many great bands including Barlow Girl, Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, Rebecca St. James and some more recent like Pocket Full of Rocks and Meredith Andrews. When I asked him if there was anyone he would like to hit the road with he did not hesitate to name some of the most respected Christian artists in ministry today.
“Of course I would love to do something with Michael W Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman or Third Day. You know just coming off the shows with Pocket Full of Rocks was great and we would love to do something again with them or Meredith. When you travel and meet people like that you form great friendships and you really try to keep in touch with everyone. I would really like to spend some time with some great songwriters as well like Andrew Peterson or Sarah Groves.”
Speaking of songwriting I thanked Todd for his CD and mentioned that I appreciated all twelve of him. I explained that each one of his songs are always so different that sometimes it is hard for me to figure out if it’s actually him. He laughed and explained that he always likes to try different things with his music. The one distinguishing factor to his brilliantly recorded album ‘Need’ along with his three previous releases is that low voice that releases all those beautiful woven lyrics. The depth and meaning of each song will challenge you to new heights in your walk with God and new methods to reach out to those who are seeking God. When I mentioned my previous favorite by him was ‘Grace like Rain’ I asked what he thought my favorite would be off of his latest CD.
“I believe the song ‘Gloria’ which I co wrote with my friend Chris, will probably be the one that you will enjoy the most. Really this CD does go all over the map and I like that! You know ‘Give me Jesus’ has that Texas flavor to it and ‘Tell me the story’ has this guitar sound with it. Then we have a few that have that Gospel choir sound. It was really a lot of fun do put together.”
Surprisingly enough though Gloria is a very lyrically beautiful and melodic catchy song it is not the one that I enjoyed the most. My favorite just so happens to be ‘The Deep Love of Jesus’. I can tell you however, that there is not one single song on ‘Need’ that you will not enjoy!
Sometimes people struggle with being called into ministry and feeling adequate enough to be used by God. I asked Mr. Agnew himself if there was anything he would like to share with his fans or those who feel the pull into ministry who are struggling with those types of feelings.
“Yeah, you know we just really feel honored that God uses us and that people believe in what we are doing. Just be encouraged in who you are. I am not somebody special. I am just a normal messed up person like everyone else. One day I could be in front of forty thousand people leading worship and the next sitting in front of five guys in a recovery group at our church trying to encourage them. Those guys are just as special to God as I am or you are. We are all a part of what God wants to do. I mean look at the disciples they were a mess! Look at Peter for instance, days after his biggest failure where he denied Christ he turned around and led 3000 people to salvation. If you are chosen and willing, like the disciples it is not because you are great or accomplished, it’s because God wants to change the world through you.”
In the song titled ‘Written on the Wall’ Todd shares lyrically what many of us often struggle with. We want to know for certain when God is talking to us. Our need for a tangible reassurance often blindsides our faith and causes us to miss that still small voice that speaks to our spirits every day. God loves each and every one of us and believes enough in us despite our shortcomings and pitfalls to send His Son Jesus who is truly our hope of Glory. I think Mr. Agnew says it best himself.
“Our encounter with His holiness is our devastation. And our devastation is our salvation."
Check out: www.todagnew.com
