Todd Agnew Brings His Questions to Tucson

By Spencer Stagner

There's an axiom that should apply in so many areas where we live our lives, be it classroom or boardroom or family room.

"There's no such thing as a dumb question."

But there's one place where this idea tends not to apply. So many -- young and old, male and female, seeker and believer alike -- run into opposition of asking the tough questions in the one place they should feel most free, the church.

Todd Agnew wants to help put a stop to that. Through his travels as a recording artist and performer, he has seen it start to happen on its own.

"I'm just finding more and more people who aren't fooled by the 'everything's fine' version of Christianity," the Texas-bred Memphis resident says. "I'm just trying to just get some of those questions out there, the questions people are afraid to ask in church, but also to get the questions asked sincerely and without anger."

Which brings Agnew to this place in time and art, using his platform and talent to get to the core of who we are as humans, to get to that moment where we're able to ask the Better Questions: What happens when you die? Why do we define people by their mistakes? How does God still care for us when we keep messing things up?

Todd Agnew's willingness to stand up and provide perspective and voice to this and more doesn't come from a place of anger or defiance, but rather from the experiences of a man continuing to wrestle with the very questions he poses.

While Agnew has recorded several albums, in his new album, Better Questions, there is a lyrical maturity displaying confidence while still maintaining power and edge.

For Todd, the merging of the project's theme and the creative drive behind it manifests most noticeably in the song "If You Wanted Me," asking a litany of questions within an approachable musical habitat. "It may be my favorite song I've ever written, because I got to the last line and it wrapped it all up in that one line, 'If You wanted me to be like You, why did You make me like me?" Todd notes.

"When we ask questions, God gives us answers, but they're answers that are going to help draw you to Him, not answers that are going to help you be right," he continues. "He's not going to give you the answer that will let you think, 'Oh, I've got it all figured out now,' He's going to give you the answer that is going to pull you in to Him, because that's what you need."

Todd Agnew will be in Tucson on Saturday, Sept. 15th at Grace to the Nations (6180 E Pima St.).
The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.).
Tickets at the door are $17. For more information, visit extremefaithproductions.com.

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