Yesterday, for whatever reason, I decided to pull up some old Rich Mullins on my mp3 player. Immediately, my boys shouted, "Daddy, we've never listened to this song before!" It occurred to me that maybe in the last four years, we had listened to Rich Mullins some, but not enough for the boys to recognize it. Truthfully, many of the students I work with now probably don't even know who he is. I think that's a shame, and maybe I can still do something about that.
Most current teens don't know about him because in September of 1997, Rich Mullins was on his way to performing a benefit concert in Kansas, and was involved in an automobile accident, and died. Seems like a downer of a story. However, if you know about him, you know that he is finally home.
Rich Mullins was easily one of the best songwriters in Christian Music. One could argue that he was a great songwriter in ANY genre, but the mainstream world has a hard time accepting music whose lyrics bring honor to God, proclaim the Truth of Jesus Christ, and challenge people to step beyond themselves and become more of who God hopes we will be. That's what Rich Mullins' songs do. Notice it's in the present tense. Even though he is gone, his challenging lyrics will continue to reach into the heart of those that dare to let them in, and will shine a light on areas that need improvement or will encourage those that need it.
Rich Mullins covered alot of ground in his lyrics. Probably his two most known songs are the Praise & Worship song legends, "Awesome God," and "Sing Your Praise to the Lord." Others have risen to the top of my personal fave's such as "Screen Door," which is a challenge from the book of James to put some action to your faith, a strange looking title of a song called, "allrightokuhhuhamen," which is simply a song about the power of God's word, and then "If I Stand," which is a humble song about a man who wants nothing more than to trust in God and follow where He leads.
Rich Mullins did alot of work building relationships and teaching music on Native American Reservations in the Midwest, and had a heart for people who were some that Jesus might call "the least of these." He chose not to live in the lap of luxury, trusting elders from his home church to oversee what he made from his career in Christian Music, and allowed them only to pay him an amount to just above poverty level, so that he would never be driven by greed. The rest of his money was put towards some of his work on the Reservations or other charitable causes.
It is safe to say that Rich Mullins had an impact on me. If you have never had a chance to get to listen to any of his music, I recommend it highly. I'm thankful that not all the stuff on the internet is garbage, because it can be a resource to learn some really good stuff. Check out this video of Rich in Concert. It's a small portion of a full concert, but you can get a good glimpse at this man who spoke his mind, seemed pretty likeable, and was a great musician and songwriter. I'm sure he's playing greater music where he is than any he left here, but I'm glad he left some good stuff for us!
(Check out more on Rich Mullins HERE.)
Most current teens don't know about him because in September of 1997, Rich Mullins was on his way to performing a benefit concert in Kansas, and was involved in an automobile accident, and died. Seems like a downer of a story. However, if you know about him, you know that he is finally home.
Rich Mullins was easily one of the best songwriters in Christian Music. One could argue that he was a great songwriter in ANY genre, but the mainstream world has a hard time accepting music whose lyrics bring honor to God, proclaim the Truth of Jesus Christ, and challenge people to step beyond themselves and become more of who God hopes we will be. That's what Rich Mullins' songs do. Notice it's in the present tense. Even though he is gone, his challenging lyrics will continue to reach into the heart of those that dare to let them in, and will shine a light on areas that need improvement or will encourage those that need it.
Rich Mullins covered alot of ground in his lyrics. Probably his two most known songs are the Praise & Worship song legends, "Awesome God," and "Sing Your Praise to the Lord." Others have risen to the top of my personal fave's such as "Screen Door," which is a challenge from the book of James to put some action to your faith, a strange looking title of a song called, "allrightokuhhuhamen," which is simply a song about the power of God's word, and then "If I Stand," which is a humble song about a man who wants nothing more than to trust in God and follow where He leads.
Rich Mullins did alot of work building relationships and teaching music on Native American Reservations in the Midwest, and had a heart for people who were some that Jesus might call "the least of these." He chose not to live in the lap of luxury, trusting elders from his home church to oversee what he made from his career in Christian Music, and allowed them only to pay him an amount to just above poverty level, so that he would never be driven by greed. The rest of his money was put towards some of his work on the Reservations or other charitable causes.
It is safe to say that Rich Mullins had an impact on me. If you have never had a chance to get to listen to any of his music, I recommend it highly. I'm thankful that not all the stuff on the internet is garbage, because it can be a resource to learn some really good stuff. Check out this video of Rich in Concert. It's a small portion of a full concert, but you can get a good glimpse at this man who spoke his mind, seemed pretty likeable, and was a great musician and songwriter. I'm sure he's playing greater music where he is than any he left here, but I'm glad he left some good stuff for us!
(Check out more on Rich Mullins HERE.)
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