I watched the 2014 movie, Ragamuffin, a couple of nights ago. Ragamuffin
tells the story of award-winning Christian Contemporary musician Rich
Mullins. It goes from his childhood, through his success and the time
that he spent on a Native American reservation, up to his tragic death
in an automobile accident in 1997.
I was familiar with Rich Mullins’ music before I was familiar with
Rich Mullins himself. If you attend an evangelical event of praise and
worship, you will probably sing at least one Rich Mullins song, and
maybe more. The songs that I particularly remember are “Step by Step”
and “Awesome God.”
Rich did a concert at my undergraduate institution in the 1990s, and I
went to that. We sang “Awesome God.” He did his simulated “rain”
trick, in which people in the audience simulated the sound of rain by
snapping their fingers and slapping their thighs. What was ironic was
that it actually did rain after that! Someone told me that Rich
Mullins’ response to that was, “Yeah, that was awesome, wasn’t it?” He
sounded to me like a nice guy, not the sort of celebrity who puts on
airs.
Rich Mullins did not just sing at the concert, but he also shared his
reflections about faith and life while he was playing the piano. He
was honest and funny. I remember him sharing about how he can develop
his own worldview of how life is, and then the Bible comes along and
unravels it! He referred to that verse in Psalm 137 in which the
Psalmist blesses those who dash babies’ heads on rocks. (The Psalmist
is wishing that this might occur to Babylonian babies, since the
Babylonians had done the same thing to the Israelites.) “Imagine
sharing that at a pro-life meeting!”, Rich said.
Later, listening to the radio, I gained more insight into how Rich
Mullins did not just talk the talk, but walked the walk. Rich donated
most of his money to charity. He also lived on a poor Native American
reservation, teaching music there and helping people out. It was sad
that he died in that automobile accident in 1997, at the young age of
42.
The movie, Ragamuffin, looks into the side of Rich Mullins
that I did not know about. Yes, he was friendly, open, and
approachable. But he was also very lonely, to the point of being
needy. He had friends, but he felt hurt when a friend went somewhere
without telling him. He was what people in Alcoholics Anonymous would
call “restless, irritable, and discontent.” And, speaking of that,
there were seasons in which he drank a lot, even when he was a Christian
celebrity. He had unresolved issues with his father, since the two of
them did not get along. He and his college girlfriend also broke up,
but he still loved her and did not marry after that.
Rich was not easy to work with because he wanted to do things his
way, rather than conforming to the Christian music business’s
expectations. People thought his songs were too brooding and that his
running commentary at his concerts was too controversial. (The songs
that I knew never struck me as particularly deep and brooding, but some
of his songs apparently were.) His business superiors tried to appeal
to the “toys” that Rich got to buy to get him to conform, but it got to
the point where those things did not matter to Rich anymore. As one of
his managers said, “Someone who doesn’t want anything is a dangerous
person.” But Rich was searching for something: authenticity, healing,
and fulfillment.
He did not spend all of his time feeling sorry for himself and having
an existential crisis, however. He sought out mentors. One mentor was
the father of his college roommate, a likable, humble fellow, and a
strong Christian. Another was Brennan Manning, a preacher, author, and
recovering alcoholic. Manning popularized the term “Ragamuffin”
(someone who realizes he needs God’s mercy) and taught Rich that God
loved him as he was, not as he should be. Rich also served people at
the Native American reservation, and his own brokenness helped him to
minister to others at his concerts. For example, he played and sang the
song, “Hold me Jesus, I’m shaking like a leaf.”
Rich obviously did not have everything together. Perhaps that is what made him accepting, honest, and open with others.
His brother is in the movie, playing the DJ who interviews Rich
Mullins. I thought that the DJ looked like Rich but realized that he
couldn’t be him because Rich died about a decade ago. But it was Rich’s
brother Dave.
I found this movie worth watching. It is a bit long: two hours and
seventeen minutes. But it was an interesting look at the man. I am
still sad that he died.
Wikipedia’s article
about Rich Mullins may give you more insight about Rich and his
significance. The article links to some articles that suggest that
Rich, soon before his death, was thinking of converting to Catholicism.
(That stands out to me because I remember a Catholic friend telling me
that he liked Catholic liturgy rather than “Awesome God.”) See also wikipedia’s article about Brennan Manning.