Skip to content
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
JFH Blog

JFH Blog

Where the JFH Staff and Guests Speak Their Minds

  • Home
  • Music Reviews
  • Artists DB
  • Indies
  • Interviews
  • Lyrics
  • Ministry
  • Movies
  • JFH Podcast
  • Videos
  • Features
  • Extras
 
  • Home
  • 2013
  • September
  • “Rich Mullins Tribute” by Mark Rice
  • JFH Staff

“Rich Mullins Tribute” by Mark Rice

On September 20, 2013January 21, 2021
JFH

Soon after I had turned six, a tragedy occurred that I could not comprehend until I became older. It was a tragedy that robbed the world of one of the most incredible musicians that ever lived. On September 19th, 1997, a rolling Jeep ended the life of Rich Mullins. As an artist, he was incredible. As a human being, he was remarkable. As a man of faith, he was unshakable.

His was the first music I ever remember hearing, and thanks to my efforts to emulate my brother, he became my first favorite musician. His death passed my notice once it happened, but I remember being disheartened upon hearing the news (but not nearly as much as seeing Mufasa’s death the first time; ah, the values of the post-toddler). Since then, Mullins and his music has been an integral part of my life, from his genre-bending “Awesome God” (the first worship song I ever learned) to his timeless words of “Sometimes By Step,” from the delectably catchy “Screen Door” to the brazen beauty of “The Color Green.” His is a brand of music that never gets dated, and never grows old. He’s one of the best instrumentalists and songwriters of his time, and there is no doubt he would have stood even taller in our time. He made the hammered dulcimer and Irish tin whistle stand front stage in front of music fans who had their ears trained on synthesizers. He ingrained the words of the Nicene Creed in the minds of even the most historically ignorant. And, indeed, perhaps more than any artist since Larry Norman, he changed the landscape of Christian Music as we know it (maybe barring Amy Grant, whose performance of the Mullins-penned “Sing Your Praise To The Lord” gave him his big break, AND improved Grant’s popularity).

But as a man, you could hardly imagine someone more fascinating. His humility was unbounded, to the point that he decided to finish his college education at the peak of his career, attending Friends University on a trombone scholarship. His charity was immense, to the point that he lived on $24,000 a year by the time of his death, giving everything else away. He lived the larger part of his last several years on an Indian Reservation in his effort to share God’s love. He was a vagabond who ruffled the feathers of the Evangelical culture whenever he spoke, not caring what others thought about himself as long as he was serving God with everything he had. He was a scholar whose depth of biblical knowledge was profound, and a teacher who could mesmerize child and adult alike. And he was a wanderer who needed no more than a trailer home in New Mexico as a “permanent” residence.

Now more than ever, a man like Rich Mullins is sorely missed on the CCM scene. While the spirit of his music is captured by artists like Andrew Peterson, his creative expression and aura of magnificence that his music evoked, as well as his faultless expression of God’s beauty, is significantly lacking. Even if he were still around, I don’t know if he could deal with the way the music scene has changed (and mind you, not for the better). Ask yourself, what in the world would today’s music industry do with a man who gave away almost everything and moved onto an Indian reservation? But I digress.

So those of you who don’t know this man, take a moment. And those who do, recall his ingenuity… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhGOosxTLrY

– Mark Rice

In JFH StaffIn JFH Staff , Mark Rice , Rich Mullins

Post navigation

“What To Listen To When You Are Fed Up With Music” by Mark Rice
10 Years Later: Relient K, “Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right, But Three Do”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Doorways & Tombstones – Behind the Song by Jonathan Allen Wright
  • “Hiraeth” by Clare Bell
  • 25 of John DiBiase’s Favorite Songs of All Time
  • “How to Be Fake Strong” by Sam Bowman
  • “What is Faith?” by BNDSRVNT

Categories

  • Guest Writers (299)
    • Interviews (12)
    • Tour Blogs (105)
  • JFH Staff (421)
    • 10 Years Later (22)
    • 15 Years Later (1)
    • 20 Years Later (15)
    • 25 Years Later (5)
    • We Recommend (111)
  • Little Jesus Freaks (183)
    • LJF News (3)
    • Parenting (123)
    • Recipes (55)
    • Reviews (1)

Archives

Recent Comments

  • codybecth on “The Importance of Wrestling with God in Christian Music” by Sophie Keye
  • Paul Linkins on 25 of John DiBiase’s Favorite Songs of All Time
  • Lisa B. on Doorways & Tombstones – Behind the Song by Jonathan Allen Wright
  • Amanda on Doorways & Tombstones – Behind the Song by Jonathan Allen Wright
  • Landon Cripe on “Bullying, Suicide & Jesus: How Christian Rock Saved My Life” By Grace Graber

You May Also Like

  • JFH Staff
  • We Recommend
JFH
On January 16, 2012January 22, 2021

We Recommend: The Ws, “Fourth From The Last”

  • JFH Staff
  • Little Jesus Freaks
  • Parenting
JFH
On February 17, 2012February 6, 2021

“Happy Valentine’s D–HEY! Come Back Here!” by John DiBiase

  • JFH Staff
JFH
On December 24, 2017January 18, 2021

Josh Balogh’s Top Ten Albums And Songs of 2017

  • JFH Staff
  • Little Jesus Freaks
  • Parenting
JFH
On January 24, 2013February 6, 2021

January 24, 2013 Journal: “Speech!” by John DiBiase

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Copyright JesusfreakHideout.com All Rights Reserved 1996-2021 | Theme: Telegram by Themeinwp