Tony Cummings quizzed songsmith TODD AGNEW about the changes in his life since the 'Grace Like Rain' album

Tony: Have you ever met Martin Smith?

Todd: I have not. I have watched him walk down the hall past me. The time that I remember all the guys being here for one of the big GMA conferences, I think it was my first one, I don't think my record had even come out yet. I think that's the one Dana took me to just to kind of let me see what the industry looked like. And I was just kind of walking around with big eyes, amazed because before I was ever a Christian music artist, I was a Christian music lover. I had all the Delirious? records and I was a worship leader playing all those songs. I had 'Live And In The Can' and was wrestling through every one of those songs, trying to figure out which of these songs can I use at camp, which can I use in church. So I had always loved those and been playing them in my church in Houston, Texas.

Tony: Presumably you still love music making but I don't suppose you'll be doing any touring?

Todd: I still love sharing music, I love being a worship leader. I love all the things that I get to do. However, I don't think I'm gonna go jump on a tour bus and go play 40 shows. I've two kids, one in middle school, one starting high school and I'm in seminary finishing a Master's, about to start a PhD. I'm teaching college so I need to be effective here. I'd love to jump on a plane and go play a show or two somewhere over the weekend but then I'm gonna come back home and be a husband, be a dad and still get to do whatever God lets me do.

Tony: We in Europe are looking at the American political situation with a certain bewilderment at the moment. Do you have any observations on that yourself?

Todd: I think we in America are looking at it similarly. We're a little bit stunned as to everything that's going on. The difference, I suppose, is that it is us that caused it and that it's saying something about our identity that we are where we are right now. And that makes it a difficult issue, especially, I think, in the Christian community, that there are some people that vote one certain way and that's the way they're always going to vote and they're going to defend that very strongly. We've arrived at a very strange place. I think the idea was hey, if Christians believe these things, they will vote this way and that will end up with this kind of result. So they followed that pattern, believe these things, you're going to vote this way and for the first time we have a very, very different result.

I'm not the kind of person that understands enough to give people solutions to what's going on. My hope and my prayer is that we will really prayerfully think through this and consider the responsibility we have and the potential that we have, rather than saying hey, this is how I always vote, or this is what Christians do or this is what I'm supposed to do or here is my one issue and I'm going to stick with whoever says they are going to support this issue. I think we're in a place where we're gonna have to be more thoughtful than that and we're gonna have to really consider and pray and I know that God knows what he is doing, so hopefully he will help us figure out what we are doing.