Remembering Rich Mullins
Written by Mark Van Steenwyk : September 20, 2007
One of the most influential people in my spiritual journey has been Rich Mullins. Not just for his music, but for his way of life. Long before new monasticism became a “thing,” my wife and I seriously considered becoming members of the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans (like Rich). That was in the late 90s, shortly after Rich’s death. We ultimately decided against it, partly because of the anti-Catholic sentiments still common within our theological tradition. But Rich opened up the door for us to reconsider things–who Jesus is and how we can best follow him.
10 years ago this week, Rich Mullins died in a car crash. I usually don’t like the stuff that Relevant Magazine writes, but I think this article did a fine job paying tribute.
What did Rich Mullins mean to you?
Which of his songs most resonates with your heart?
for further reading . . .
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Where to begin? That picture you posted was my first Rich Mullins album and seeing it just brings back a flood of memories! My favorite on that album was “Ready for the Storm.”
The best albums were the two, ‘The World as Best as I remember It” albums. I played those over and over and over….I loved Jacob and 2 Women which resonated with my struggle to understand and figure out the Bible and s as well (two themes Rich seemed able to speak directly about)! I also loved the humor of “Maker of Noses”
But perhaps my favorite song ever was “Growing Young.” Rich had a way of making the gospel relevant to the stuff of life and that song still brings me chills when I hear it.
I could go on and on, but I’ll just wrap up by saying one of the sadder days in my life was the day I heard that Rich was tragically killed in that Jeep . We lost the genuine article in the faith on that day.
Thanks for the memories!
that sentence in the 2nd paragraph was supposed to say “figure out the Bible and girls as well…”
As far as a favorite song of his, it’s hard to pin down just one. However, “If I Stand” and “Let Mercy Lead” would definitely be two that resonate highly on my list. Side note, the book “An arrow pointing to heaven”, the official biography about his life is a pretty special tribute as well if anyone hasn’t read it. It has some really good stuff in there that I hadn’t heard about him or his life from other circles. Thanks for helping us remember him Mark with this post-he was special, and yet he was one of us, which seems to make him all the more special if that makes any sense. Hopefully his legacy will continue to live on through his music and story…
My favorite of his albums is probably “A Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band.” The songs “Peace” and “Land of my Sojourn” have both affected my theology.
But I think my favorite song of his is probably “Cry the Name.”
I like a lot of his stuff from the Jesus album, but the recording quality doesn’t capture things well. And the recordings that other CCM artists did was pretty much crap.