Recently I snagged a copy of an unpublished book called "What Rich Said" The book has every interview, comment, song, essay written by Rich Mullins. It is a must-have for any Rich Mullins fan. After he died, the author who compiled all of these written and unwritten manuscripts tried to get the Mullins estate to let her publish. They told her that they had another book coming out that was a bio and that it would detract from it's sales. Well, not to be critical but that is a real shame. This book is chalked full of so much wisdom that I have yet to open it one time and not be inspired. However, the bio... didn't do to much for me. What is great about THIS little book is that you can see the evolution of his views and ideologies. You see real growth, not in someone talking about a person's growth but watching it happen. Here is an excerpt interview that I thought was pretty thought provoking and it goes along with what we have been discussing about the the current state of the American Church and her attitude towards the poor. Mullins: I really struggle with American Christianity. I'm not really sure that people with our cultural disabilities are capable of having souls, or being saved.
Tollbooth: Cultural disabilities?
Mullins: "We could call it that. People who grow up in a culture that worships pleasure, leisure, and affluence. I think that's where the church is doubly damned when they use Jesus as a vehicle for achieving all of that."
"When I meet someone who has bought into the prosperity heresy, I want to beat them up. You know, I would have been a good reformer. The only reason I don't is because I know that someday, God will judge me, and I could get into trouble for beating them up. So it's best not to..."
"I think people confuse being comfortable in their churches and society, and feeling good about themselves, as being Christianity. Instead, I see Christianity as calling us OUT of our society - out of our conventions - for the sake of changing them for Him."
"If I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my Savior and Lord, the best way I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers, but they're just wrong. They're not bad, they're just wrong."
"We try to make Christianity attractive, and that's like saying I'm going to make the Rockies attractive. How are you going to do that? By letting them be what they are. I think nothing is more compelling than to see people who have the Spirit living in the Spirit, and not trying to advertise Christianity."
8 comments:
completely awesome. i have got to have that book. i especially was astounded by the first comment. our culture is actually called the "adolescent" culture. hope i spelled that right. anyways. thanx for this post.
oh, rich mullins didn't say the "adolescent" thing, but i think it goes along with the whole leisure, wealth worship thing. we are the wealthiest country, but sometimes i wonder if we are the happiest.
He is right about the church trying to make Christianity attractive through the prosperity message. I believe this was a backlash to the old way of thinking (actually there are some who still believe this way) that if you weren't dirt poor and living on charity or if you were having any fun, you weren't a good Christian. But as usual, we went from the ditch on one side of the road into the ditch on the other. Will we ever be able to keep our vehicle on the real road, I wonder? Or are we destined to end up spinning our wheels in the gulley?
Speaking of growth: I listend to Rich Mullins when I was in high school in the 80s.
Now, I listen to his stuff, like off "Liturgy...", and I understand it in a completely different way.
Even "the Jesus record" -- I understand it much better now than I did a few years ago. I hope that's growth. Either I'm growing, or I'm going down same wrong path as Rich...
Wups -- that was me, Brant.
Pretty sure that would be growth. Same for me btw. Of all the things that he did musically, probably the most important long-lasting impact that he has had on Protestant America, through his music, is that he introduced the Apostle's Creed to many Christians for the first time, myself included. I didn't realize what an impact that would have on me until later.
Plus he was able to throw in a couple of Chesterton quotes to spice it up. "I did not make it, it is making me" -Straight out of G.K.'s Orthodoxy.
I can't tell you how much music I appreciate more now than when I first heard it, whether it was ten days ago or ten years ago. It does give one a sense that one is growing.
Rich Mullins did a lot of growing over his career, but always had deep thoughts to share and inspire. There are a couple of current singer/songwriters I would consider to have taken up his mantle and convey messages in such profound, personal, and entertaining ways.
When ever you get the chance, just drive around anywhere in America and notice the churches. 'Cuz there's one on every street corner just about across the entire country. What I've come to realize is that we take better care of the church buildings then we do of our neighbors. God dosen't live in buildings so I really don't know why the church in America is bothering with building mega churches. We could take that waste and meet the needs of the poor by being God's hands and feet.
Peace of Christ,
Shelley McGregor
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