  |
|
|
|
Todd Agnew’s experience of the Christmas story is as fresh as this morning’s coffee, and he shared the story of his journey there very honestly.
"I really latched onto the Christmas story from Joseph's perspective," he continues. "And I wondered, if I missed that much of his story, what did I miss in the others? I asked God to pull me into the story and to make those characters come to life for me, because they're not characters in a story, they're real people who encountered a real God. I'm that same kind of real person. I had no idea this would turn into an album; that was not the concept at all for me. It was more about getting to know the Lord and His Word more. Over time it just really blossomed and as with most musicians, the walk overflowed into my life." Todd's voice is full of excitement as he considers the shepherd. "It has never occurred to me," he says," that those shepherds probably cursed that night in the field." We laughed at the thought but he presses through with his point. "These rough guys were out in the fields all night beating off the lions, probably considered very expendable in their economy. They were just there to protect the lambs, probably some of the very lambs that would be used as sacrifices in the temple. And these rough guys wouldn't even have been welcome in the Temple because they were unclean from the animals! But then you think about the heavens opening up to an army in the sky, with these huge guys diving behind the lambs in fear, and you know that didn't happen without somebody cursing!" I laugh and he's right; I had just never thought of that. Todd has my full attention as he continues, "I don't think God was thinking 'I'm going to be so mad if they curse.' I think He was saying, 'I have something so special to share tonight. We're going to get past your first reaction, and then I'm going to share with you the message of the Gospel, the message sent into a world like ours, a real world." "I wrestled with these stories until June," Todd says. "In June I was studying Simeon. His was the last song I wrote, and he's always huge to me. Everybody else in the world was excited about the coming of the Messiah, but he alone saw the sorrow in the birth of Christ. He told Mary a sword would pierce her own soul. What was it like to be the only guy in the world with some understanding of what was going on? Other people may be like that," he laughs, "but I'm not that guy." "They didn't have the whole story, like we do. The angel came to Mary with 8 sentences, and then she had to be the mother of God. That's exactly how I feel most of the time," he says. "Like, 'God, You have not given me enough information to do what I think I'm supposed to do here. I don't have the capabilities to do all this.' But we do," he says softly, "because we don't have to understand everything for God to work in our lives. And to see that really come to life in the Bible was huge for me." "I don't want to amaze anyone with my insights," Todd says quietly. "I just hope people might say, 'wow, I never thought of that before. The Bible is real, and I can read it just like that." If there is a better Christmas gift than this life-giving perspective, I don't know what it could be. Consider the Christmas story anew this year with Todd Agnew's "Do You See What I See?" releasing this October 3rd.
The copyright of the article More With Todd Agnew in Christian Music is owned by Kevan Breitinger. Permission to republish More With Todd Agnew in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
