Some random musings on Rich Mullins

A poet for the common man...That's what they used to say about Rich Mullins. I always sort of thought that was kind of a cheesy marketing line, but the more I listen to him the more I think that is such an accurate way to describe what he was/is. September 17th will mark the 9th anniversery of his death. I found a Wiki page that contains several quotes that have been attributed to Rich. Here are 2 of my favorites -

"If you've ever known the love of God, you know it's nothing but reckless and it's nothing but raging. Sometimes it hurts to be loved, and if it doesn't hurt it's probably not love, may be infatuation. I think a lot of American people are infatuated with God, but we don't really love Him, and they don't really let Him love them. Being loved by God is one of the most painful things in the world, it's also the only thing that can bring us salvation and it's like everything else that is really wonderful, there's a little bit of pain in it, little bit of hurt."

"Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken."

Jdubz referenced this in one of his posts the other day and it's absolutely worth a listen. This is a tribute that 20 - The Countdown Magazine put together after he died.

I recently downloaded a cd called Rich Mullins - Here in America off of Yahoo Music the other day. It's basically a bunch of songwriter demos and live recordings of some of Rich's earlier songs. What I realized as I was listening to the live tracks was that I actually miss hearing him speak as much as I miss hearing him sing. One of the things I loved best about seeing Rich in concert was the things he would say before and after the songs. He wasn't the best singer in the world, sometimes his voice was rough and he couldn't hit all the notes but when he spoke it came from his heart. Every time he spoke I was humbled by how unimpressed he was with himself and his celebrity status. These songs are rough and the sound quality is poor but they may be the most beautiful music I've ever heard. If you can find it do yourself a favor and pick it up. You won't regret it.