FAQ about Rich Mullins Click here for FAQ about Singing from Silence
Update: I get a lot of questions about the Ragamuffin film. I was not on their writing staff and cannot explain or defend the story they have chosen to tell, just as the Ragamuffin writers were not present during his lifetime to confirm or verify my own real-life experiences with Richard Mullins. Correcting all the non-historical events portrayed in the film would be an overwhelming task, so I will be devoting this page to questions about Richard's life as I knew him. If you want to learn more about Richard and me, you can read Singing from Silence, the book I wrote in faithfulness to his memory, to the best of my own memories of him. Everything I know about Jessica is here.
Q: What does it mean that Richard was a mystic, and when did he begin this spiritual journey?
A: A mystic seeks direct experience of God. I believe he committed himself to this direction around the same time he wrote his first version of "If I Stand" sometime in late 1975. Several Bible College professors were teaching a strict form of rationalism at that time which denied the work of the Holy Spirit outside of scripture reading. This was causing a division among the students. Richard's departure from this strict rationalism was marked by an unreleased song, Winter Hymn.
Q: What was Richard's original musical influence?
A: Apart from his account of learning to play hymns in four-part harmony while sitting on his great-grandmother's lap as a toddler, Richard was taught classical concert piano while still in elementary school. This was his starting point, although he blended and crossed a number of genres over his lifetime.
Q: What was Richard's ancestry?
A: There are several Mullins lines in America. Recently, Richard's father's line has been y-DNA tested as I2a-Isles, native Irish--the Driscoll clan. Lore tells us this is a line of ancient kings, the High Kings of Ireland descended from Lugaid mac Con. Even more fascinating to someone who knew his way with words, legend traces Richard's first known ancestor on this line back to Amergin, the first Irish poet.
Q: What was Rich Mullins' greatest spiritual gift?
A: Different people may offer different opinions but in my eyes, over his lifetime, Richard's greatest spiritual gift was faithfulness.
He was gifted with phenomenal talent, even genius, by his Creator. His Creator also imparted him with deep wounds--which I don't personally attribute to the actions of his family or any human agency. I believe his wounds were an inborn part of him. Despite the repeated tests of faith his wounds provoked and a talent that would have guaranteed success in virtually any musical profession he chose, he remained faithful to his calling. We can see evidence of his perseverance in the deep joy he revealed through his music and in the words he shared during his concerts. His life reminds me of this passage from the book of James:
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. . ."
Richard and I memorized James together during our college days. Memorizing James is not a miraculous feat--it's one of the shortest books of the Bible, and well-loved by Quakers both for its practical wisdom and its focus on building community.
Q: What was essentially Quaker about Rich Mullins' way of working in groups and with individuals?
A: Richard primarily worked with people on-on-one, developed a committee in his home church that carried out the functions of a seventeenth century Quaker anchoring committee, traveled by twos, and usually worshiped in silence with his band members. Here's more:
Q: Who broke Rich Mullins' heart?
A: Richard, along with Tolstoy, held the enlightened view that humans do not break our hearts, God does. I believe Richard is right, because God has broken my heart, too. Although Richard loved, and deeply, I believe Richard's heart has always belonged to God, not to any one woman. Loving Richard was a process of constantly letting him go--to his ministry, his music, his writing, his rehearsing, his performing, his touring, his fans, and his God. I think others who knew him well would agree. His unexpected death was traumatic for those who loved him because it represented letting him go to the ultimate degree.
Q: Why was Rich Mullins sad?
A: I would hesitate to speak for him, but I can tell you what I saw in him. Richard--that's what he asked me to call him, so I don't use his stage name so much--could be ablaze with joy and laughter, or he could be more thoughtful, deep, and quiet. He was very self-reflective during these quiet times. His attention was turned within--that's where he found his enemies, and where he fought them. Like King David, he used his creative genius to show us what some of his deeper struggles looked like, and how he resolved them with God's help. Because he has been generous enough to share his sadness as well as his joy, many of us have recognized ourselves in the mirror he held up.
Q: Was Rich Mullins a saint?
A: I was never raised around the tradition of saints, so with all respect I have to say I don't know exactly what that means. Was he perfect? If that's what you mean, then no. Did he demonstrate a profound heartfelt knowledge of God, was his life inspiring to other Christians, is he among the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on our journey to the New Jerusalem? Yes.
Richard lived the contradiction of grace. The most powerful thing about Richard's ministry was that he freed himself to look bad, knowing that he was loved by God. His willingness to show us his worst side was his own form of heroism. He was honest enough about his shortcomings, poor in spirit enough to point out his flaws to his audiences quite readily.
I believe we don't appreciate our heroes properly unless they face opposition. What would King David mean to us if he had never faced a giant in battle? Richard fought giants. The boy talked a good line, sang a beautiful song, but the way he lived was even more amazing.
Richard, like all of us, wanted to be known and loved for who he was. I was always a little sad that his audience never had the chance to know him well enough to love him like I did--in spite of so many things that happened to him and everything he did or didn't do in response. But I think these books show there is a lot more to admire about him than his audience has ever known.
If you need to admire someone because they're perfect, there was only one human who was perfect and it isn't Richard; it's the one Richard keeps pointing to. The rest of us are all imperfect, but perfectly loved.
Q: Are these books "tell-all" memoirs?
A. No, and yes. From my limited point of view, I am as transparent as I am able to be in these books without intruding on the privacy of others. Rich Mullins had to face the same issues when discussing his private life, and so does anyone describing real-life events.
Richard himself was never deceptive about his spiritual status. He was poor in spirit. He identified himself first as a sinner, not Quaker, Church of Christ, or aspiring Catholic. I had the privilege to be one of his confessors, and I have been transfixed by the grace that blazed from his broken life like glory.
Richard was ready for the storm. On the occasions when he spoke in public about his personal life, he balanced courage with discretion, knowing few are blessed with the vision granted by mercy. The rest of us still have logs in our eyes. As humans, we judge our heroes and teachers more harshly. But who are we to judge a teacher when his life lesson is grace, and when it is in pardoning that each of us is pardoned?
I have limited my writing to my own experiences with Richard. These books are not a complete history or biography because I respect all who were a part of his story, and who may choose to speak for themselves or remain silent.
Q: Was Rich Mullins raised a Quaker?
A: Yes, early in his life. Although he was baptized at the Whitewater Christian Church at around age 9 and continued to worship there until he graduated high school, he carried Quaker principles with him throughout his life. When I met him our freshman year in Bible College, he initially described himself as having been "raised Quaker". It was a way of introducing me to some of his distinguishing beliefs; I was not a practicing Christian, but I had been raised in the Christian Church tradition. So Richard's Quaker beliefs became a platform for our early conversations about Christianity.
Q: I thought Rich Mullins was a musician. Why do you call him an artist?
A: Although he was clearly a musician of the first order, in the sense that Richard created new and original works, he was an artist. He meant to affect people on a deep level with his songs, which is the mark of an artist, not a commercial songwriter. He went to any extreme--even limiting his own income--to avoid selling out his creative gift. Therefore he was an artist. His work is still of interest and his popularity is growing years after his death. Again, artist.
Q: What does it mean that Richard was a mystic, and when did he begin this spiritual journey?
A: A mystic seeks direct experience of God. I believe he committed himself to this direction around the same time he wrote his first version of "If I Stand" sometime in late 1975. Several Bible College professors were teaching a strict form of rationalism at that time which denied the work of the Holy Spirit outside of scripture reading. This was causing a division among the students. Richard's departure from this strict rationalism was marked by an unreleased song, Winter Hymn.
Q: What was Richard's original musical influence?
A: Apart from his account of learning to play hymns in four-part harmony while sitting on his great-grandmother's lap as a toddler, Richard was taught classical concert piano while still in elementary school. This was his starting point, although he blended and crossed a number of genres over his lifetime.
Q: What was Richard's ancestry?
A: There are several Mullins lines in America. Recently, Richard's father's line has been y-DNA tested as I2a-Isles, native Irish--the Driscoll clan. Lore tells us this is a line of ancient kings, the High Kings of Ireland descended from Lugaid mac Con. Even more fascinating to someone who knew his way with words, legend traces Richard's first known ancestor on this line back to Amergin, the first Irish poet.
Q: What was Rich Mullins' greatest spiritual gift?
A: Different people may offer different opinions but in my eyes, over his lifetime, Richard's greatest spiritual gift was faithfulness.
He was gifted with phenomenal talent, even genius, by his Creator. His Creator also imparted him with deep wounds--which I don't personally attribute to the actions of his family or any human agency. I believe his wounds were an inborn part of him. Despite the repeated tests of faith his wounds provoked and a talent that would have guaranteed success in virtually any musical profession he chose, he remained faithful to his calling. We can see evidence of his perseverance in the deep joy he revealed through his music and in the words he shared during his concerts. His life reminds me of this passage from the book of James:
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. . ."
Richard and I memorized James together during our college days. Memorizing James is not a miraculous feat--it's one of the shortest books of the Bible, and well-loved by Quakers both for its practical wisdom and its focus on building community.
Q: What was essentially Quaker about Rich Mullins' way of working in groups and with individuals?
A: Richard primarily worked with people on-on-one, developed a committee in his home church that carried out the functions of a seventeenth century Quaker anchoring committee, traveled by twos, and usually worshiped in silence with his band members. Here's more:
Q: Who broke Rich Mullins' heart?
A: Richard, along with Tolstoy, held the enlightened view that humans do not break our hearts, God does. I believe Richard is right, because God has broken my heart, too. Although Richard loved, and deeply, I believe Richard's heart has always belonged to God, not to any one woman. Loving Richard was a process of constantly letting him go--to his ministry, his music, his writing, his rehearsing, his performing, his touring, his fans, and his God. I think others who knew him well would agree. His unexpected death was traumatic for those who loved him because it represented letting him go to the ultimate degree.
Q: Why was Rich Mullins sad?
A: I would hesitate to speak for him, but I can tell you what I saw in him. Richard--that's what he asked me to call him, so I don't use his stage name so much--could be ablaze with joy and laughter, or he could be more thoughtful, deep, and quiet. He was very self-reflective during these quiet times. His attention was turned within--that's where he found his enemies, and where he fought them. Like King David, he used his creative genius to show us what some of his deeper struggles looked like, and how he resolved them with God's help. Because he has been generous enough to share his sadness as well as his joy, many of us have recognized ourselves in the mirror he held up.
Q: Was Rich Mullins a saint?
A: I was never raised around the tradition of saints, so with all respect I have to say I don't know exactly what that means. Was he perfect? If that's what you mean, then no. Did he demonstrate a profound heartfelt knowledge of God, was his life inspiring to other Christians, is he among the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on our journey to the New Jerusalem? Yes.
Richard lived the contradiction of grace. The most powerful thing about Richard's ministry was that he freed himself to look bad, knowing that he was loved by God. His willingness to show us his worst side was his own form of heroism. He was honest enough about his shortcomings, poor in spirit enough to point out his flaws to his audiences quite readily.
I believe we don't appreciate our heroes properly unless they face opposition. What would King David mean to us if he had never faced a giant in battle? Richard fought giants. The boy talked a good line, sang a beautiful song, but the way he lived was even more amazing.
Richard, like all of us, wanted to be known and loved for who he was. I was always a little sad that his audience never had the chance to know him well enough to love him like I did--in spite of so many things that happened to him and everything he did or didn't do in response. But I think these books show there is a lot more to admire about him than his audience has ever known.
If you need to admire someone because they're perfect, there was only one human who was perfect and it isn't Richard; it's the one Richard keeps pointing to. The rest of us are all imperfect, but perfectly loved.
Q: Are these books "tell-all" memoirs?
A. No, and yes. From my limited point of view, I am as transparent as I am able to be in these books without intruding on the privacy of others. Rich Mullins had to face the same issues when discussing his private life, and so does anyone describing real-life events.
Richard himself was never deceptive about his spiritual status. He was poor in spirit. He identified himself first as a sinner, not Quaker, Church of Christ, or aspiring Catholic. I had the privilege to be one of his confessors, and I have been transfixed by the grace that blazed from his broken life like glory.
Richard was ready for the storm. On the occasions when he spoke in public about his personal life, he balanced courage with discretion, knowing few are blessed with the vision granted by mercy. The rest of us still have logs in our eyes. As humans, we judge our heroes and teachers more harshly. But who are we to judge a teacher when his life lesson is grace, and when it is in pardoning that each of us is pardoned?
I have limited my writing to my own experiences with Richard. These books are not a complete history or biography because I respect all who were a part of his story, and who may choose to speak for themselves or remain silent.
Q: Was Rich Mullins raised a Quaker?
A: Yes, early in his life. Although he was baptized at the Whitewater Christian Church at around age 9 and continued to worship there until he graduated high school, he carried Quaker principles with him throughout his life. When I met him our freshman year in Bible College, he initially described himself as having been "raised Quaker". It was a way of introducing me to some of his distinguishing beliefs; I was not a practicing Christian, but I had been raised in the Christian Church tradition. So Richard's Quaker beliefs became a platform for our early conversations about Christianity.
Q: I thought Rich Mullins was a musician. Why do you call him an artist?
A: Although he was clearly a musician of the first order, in the sense that Richard created new and original works, he was an artist. He meant to affect people on a deep level with his songs, which is the mark of an artist, not a commercial songwriter. He went to any extreme--even limiting his own income--to avoid selling out his creative gift. Therefore he was an artist. His work is still of interest and his popularity is growing years after his death. Again, artist.