everything that's on my mind
(as if there's not already enough people doing this)Monday, September 19, 2005
Rich
I still remember that Sunday morning. Eight years ago today. We rarely got a phone call while we were getting ready to head off to church. But a friend called that morning. She, like myself, loved Rich Mullins' music. She had heard the news, and was passing it along to us. Rich had been killed in an auto accident on Friday night.
I saw Rich in concert for the first time in 1991. I wasn't even a fan at the time, but had heard "Awesome God" on the radio and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I was living in Memphis at the time and went to a lot of concerts during the 2 years I lived there. Rich, however, was not like everybody else.
The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't as "pretty" as everyone else. Christian music was starting to take off about that time, becoming more and more popular, and the artists were looking pretty polished and professional. Rich, on the other hand, was anything but polished. He looked like he'd not bathed in a few days, and as if he may have just rolled out of bed, pulled some clothes out of the dirty clothes basket, and then walked onstage (barefoot, I might add). He looked like he might not own much more than he was wearing.
The concert was nothing fancy, just Rich, Beaker and a few other musicians. Rich impressed me by playing 5 different insturments that night - and playing them well. I was wishing I could just play one. He also impressed me because he didn't talk like other Christian artists, with pleasant little song intros that made you feel good. He talked more like a real person would talk to you. And he made you feel uncomfortable, convicted, making you think about what it means to follow Jesus, in a way you didn't hear other artists talk. That's one of the reasons I grew to love his music and his example so much.
His work with Compassion International, especially in his last few years with the Navajo children on a reservation near Window Rock, Arizona, was another way Rich impressed me. I heard a lot of Christian artists talk about their work with CI, and I'm sure they did good work, but Rich is the only artist I know of who left his home to live among Compassion children and teach them. He had moved to the Navajo reservation in 1995 to teach music and the Bible to the children there. He was not just a sponsor in another part of the world sending money every month. He genuinely loved people and wanted to do more than provide from afar for these children. He wanted to live with them and serve them. That reminds me a lot of Someone else w
ho left His home to live among those He loved so much. In a CCM magazine interview, Rich once said "I hope that I would leave a legacy of joy, a legacy of real compassion because I think there is a great joy in compassion. I don't think that you can know joy apart from caring deeply about people - caring enough to actually do something."
Rich was one of those people who doesn't come along very often. I, along with many others, were truly blessed by his short time here, and continue to be blessed with the legacy he's left behind.
One of my favorite lyrics of his is from the song "If I Stand":
I saw Rich in concert for the first time in 1991. I wasn't even a fan at the time, but had heard "Awesome God" on the radio and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I was living in Memphis at the time and went to a lot of concerts during the 2 years I lived there. Rich, however, was not like everybody else.
The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't as "pretty" as everyone else. Christian music was starting to take off about that time, becoming more and more popular, and the artists were looking pretty polished and professional. Rich, on the other hand, was anything but polished. He looked like he'd not bathed in a few days, and as if he may have just rolled out of bed, pulled some clothes out of the dirty clothes basket, and then walked onstage (barefoot, I might add). He looked like he might not own much more than he was wearing.
The concert was nothing fancy, just Rich, Beaker and a few other musicians. Rich impressed me by playing 5 different insturments that night - and playing them well. I was wishing I could just play one. He also impressed me because he didn't talk like other Christian artists, with pleasant little song intros that made you feel good. He talked more like a real person would talk to you. And he made you feel uncomfortable, convicted, making you think about what it means to follow Jesus, in a way you didn't hear other artists talk. That's one of the reasons I grew to love his music and his example so much.
His work with Compassion International, especially in his last few years with the Navajo children on a reservation near Window Rock, Arizona, was another way Rich impressed me. I heard a lot of Christian artists talk about their work with CI, and I'm sure they did good work, but Rich is the only artist I know of who left his home to live among Compassion children and teach them. He had moved to the Navajo reservation in 1995 to teach music and the Bible to the children there. He was not just a sponsor in another part of the world sending money every month. He genuinely loved people and wanted to do more than provide from afar for these children. He wanted to live with them and serve them. That reminds me a lot of Someone else w
ho left His home to live among those He loved so much. In a CCM magazine interview, Rich once said "I hope that I would leave a legacy of joy, a legacy of real compassion because I think there is a great joy in compassion. I don't think that you can know joy apart from caring deeply about people - caring enough to actually do something." Rich was one of those people who doesn't come along very often. I, along with many others, were truly blessed by his short time here, and continue to be blessed with the legacy he's left behind.
One of my favorite lyrics of his is from the song "If I Stand":
So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home
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