Hi folks, I hope you are well, this week we are meeting at the Kittiwake, It would be lovely to see you is you are able to join us… This weeks Blog is written by Aaron.
If you’ve never heard of Rich Mullins, but you’ve been around churches for more than a few years, the chances are that you have sung one of his songs. One of his most well known songs is “Our God is An Awesome God.”
Rich Mullins was many things – a musician, a poet, an entertainer and a prophet to his generation – all things which he felt uncomfortable being, because he was also a very reluctant Christian celebrity.
Before he was famous, one of America’s biggest Christian singers in the 80’s (Amy Grant) had picked up that he was a gifted songwriter and frequently asked him for permission to record his songs. Most musicians would have jumped at the chance to record with a bestselling artist, but he always declined her request. He simply wanted no part of the Christian music machine that he saw growing further and further away from the roots of Christianity and all that Jesus stood for. After many years of resisting however, through the encouragement and discernment of his friends, he began to be open to the fact that God could be leading him into it and he finally gave Amy Grant permission to record one of his songs. The result? That song instantly made him famous and his life never looked the same again. Opportunities to record and perform soon came rushing in and before he knew it he had become the celebrity he never wanted to be.
His music career would go on to last over 15 years but sadly, Rich Mullins’ life was cut short when he was killed in a car crash in 1997. He was 41 years old.
Though his songs continue to be sung and listened to around the world, for many it was his life and not his songs, that spoke the loudest. One Christian artist called him the “uneasy conscience of Christian music.” What were they speaking of when they said that? Well, they could have been referring to a number of things, because Mullins certainly lived life counter-culturally compared to most people with his level of fame and fortune. In particular, two things stand out…
Firstly, inspired by his childhood hero St Francis of Assisi, who promoted the idea of forsaking wealth and pursuing a life of poverty, Rich Mullins gave up the millions of dollars he earned through album sales, royalties and performances and instead throughout his career chose to receive an annual salary equal to the average American salary at that time (which for most of his life was around $24,000 a year). The rest of the money he earned, he simply gave away to charities.
Secondly, after years of performing in churches and at events around America, he eventually grew tired of seeing how different the Jesus in the Scriptures was compared to the Jesus being talked about in churches. Although he occasionally performed concerts in the last few years of his life, he ended up walking away from all that his life and ministry had become and spent the last two years of his life living on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico teaching children how to play music. When asked whether he was there to evangelise and share the gospel with his new community, he replied, “No, I think I just got tired of a white evangelical middle-class perspective on God, and I thought I might have more luck finding Christ among the pagan Navajos.”
Rich Mullins is known as someone who never shied away from pointing out uncomfortable truths and living counter-culturally. Through both his words and his actions, he spoke prophetically to his peers and the Christian music industry that he was a part of about the things that needed changing and correcting. Over 20 years after his death, his words and actions can still speak to us today.
And the questions…
1. When Rich Mullins was growing up, his hero was St Francis of Assisi – who was yours when you were a child and why?
2. Rich Mullins lived a counter-cultural life compared to those in his community and industry – what is the most counter-cultural thing you have done that you are proud of?
3. Are there areas in life that you want to be counter-cultural in now, but aren’t yet? If so, what stops you?
4. Rich Mullins walked away from the institution that he was a part of because he disagreed with the hypocrisy he saw within it. Do you think it’s better to try and change an institution or system from the inside whilst being a part of it or from the outside once you’ve left?
5. Rich Mullins left the comfort of his own community to “find Christ amongst the [so-called] pagan Navajos.” Where is the most surprising place you have experienced God?
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.