RAGAMUFFIN

To this day, my favorite poet and song writer is Rich Mullins. God used his music and lyrics to grip my heart, capture His glory, and bring the Scriptures to life when I was still spiritually dead. Rich's songs were an important part of God's awakening me to faith in Christ. Some of those same songs from 20-25 years ago still being tears to my eyes because of their ability to place you in God's story.

I remember quite vividly the morning Rich Mullins went to be with Jesus. I was driving to school as a 17-year-old high school student when I heard the news on the radio - he had been in a fatal car accident the night before. I drove to school in tears that morning and actually was comforted by talking about his life, music and legacy with a math teacher of mine who shared my love for Rich's work. 

I have continued to listen to those old albums for years. Even tonight as I write this, I am astonished at this man's ability to paint a clearer physical picture with his words than any HD image can offer. I wanted to be a writer when I was young so his poetic imagery and masterful storytelling set the standard as far as I was concerned. He wrote with authenticity and audacity. His lyrics were emotionally raw and they captured the complexities and tensions of human frailty and a life of faith. In an era of easy believism, Rich was real about his struggles, doubts, confusions, fears and sin. He was humble and honest. Bible stories were just stories for me until Rich's songs made them reality... it was through them that I first began to see biblical characters as real people with real experiences that had real significance.  

Even today, I was a little burdened by uncertainty and weighed down by anxiety related to some personal things. I was praying and asking God for wisdom and direction and peace and ultimately wanting to know what I should do to get the outcome I desire. Listening tonight to the penetrating words of "We are not as strong as we think we are" brought conviction, perspective and comfort. That was just today, but I've had hundreds of such moments and experiences with Rich's music.

He has influenced my life profoundly enough that our fourth son, Daniel Mullins Rowell, is named after him. I didn't want to go with the name Rich for cultural reasons and Betsy didn't want him to go by Mullins primarily because she loves him. But she was a good sport and let me give him that middle name because I wanted to honor the legacy of Rich Mullins. So, in a weird way, he is part of our family I guess.  

All this seems probably a bit sentimental and here is why it came up: The trailer for a movie about Rich's life was recently released. The film is called "Ragamuffin" and I watched the preview for the first time tonight and got nostalgic - so here we are. Rich has a song called "Elijah" in which the chorus says "when I leave I wanna go out like Elijah..." When I go I'd be okay going out like Elijah too. But while I am here, I've always wanted to live a little like Rich. Here is a sneak peak... I can only hope the film does his life of faith justice.