The Rich Mullins 20th Anniversary Project is a Big Missed Opportunity

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Alternative title: 
Some Thoughts and Concerns on the Rich Mullins 20th Anniversary Project
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UPDATE: I have begun an podcast about Rich Mullins with Joe Cook of the Ragamuffin Archive. For our first episode we were even able to interview Jimmy Abegg about the Be God's Podcast. You can listen to the episode here or subscribe on itunes  Google Play  Tunein Radio  or  Stitcher

It has been an amazing past several years for the legacy of musician, writer, teacher, and walking human enigma Rich Mullins. 

Interview--Reed Arvin: Recording Rich Mullins' A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band

Rich Mullins' landmark album A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band turn 20 years old this month.  This interview is part 2 of my celebration of this anniversary.  

NOTE: A condensed version of this interview first appeared on Christianity Today's website and can be found here. 

My previous reflections on A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band can be found here. My essay on "The Theology of Rich Mullins" can be found here.  My article on the upcoming film about Mullins' life can be found here and my interview with the film's director can be found here.

Growing up listening to Rich Mullins' records there was always one name that kept standing out to me other than Mullins himself.  I was the kind of kid who poured through every word of the liner notes looking for hidden meanings and the fingerprints of everyone who made had made the album possible.  And so, every time I bought a Rich Mullins record I would inevitably read this: "Produced by: Reed Arvin."  Now I'm no fool--if Reed Arvin's name was constantly associated with my favorite music artist, then Mr. Arvin must be a high-quality upstanding individual himself.  As a budding musician I often dreamed of what it would be like to be Rich Mullins, but I also dreamed of what it would be like to work with Mullins and help him create his music.  There is only a hand full of people who would fall into that category: Beaker (David Strasser, Mullins' frequent co-writer), The Ragamuffin Band (Rick Elias, Jimmy Abegg, Mark Robertsons, and Aaron Smith), Mitch McVicker and the other Kid Brothers of St. Frank, and then Reed Arvin.


Over the years a number of questions began forming in my about how Mullins worked and how his albums came together. After a time I realized Mullins, even though he had long since passed, was probably not the best person to ask these questions to anyway, but that these were questions specifically for one person, Mullins' producer Reed Arvin.  So, I got up the nerve to contact Arvin with my questions and he was gracious enough to respond with his answers. (Arvin blogs regularly at http://notjusttalk.tumblr.com/)

Celebrating 20 Years of Rich Mullins' A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band

For part one in my series on Rich Mullins, go here. 

For my article on the upcoming film about Mullins 

go here and for my interview with the films's director go here. 

For my interview with Mullins' producer Reed Arvin, go here.

I believe music can change the way we see, hear, and feel about the world.  This essay is a personal reflection on one such instance, an instance I want to celebrate and share with others.

I had just purchased a cassette of Rich Mullins' 1993 album A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band at my local Christian book store.  I got into the car with my mom and grandma (my Granny), pulled it out of its squeaky cellophane wrapper, popped it into my yellow Sports Walkman, and listened to it in the car while my mom went through her round of afternoon errands.  I became transfixed.  I did not even care that we had to make a stop at the fabric store, a trip I usually loathed.  I just stayed in the car and listened.

The Theology of Rich Mullins

This month, October 2013 Rich Mullins' album A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band turns 20 years old.  For the next few weeks I will be reflecting on Mullins' work and its impact on my life, culminating in an interview with someone who worked closely with him for years.  This week I am focusing on the first album that ever grabbed my attention as a child, Mullins' 1988 work Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 




My interview with Mullins' producer Reed Arvin can be found on Christianity Today's website here. An extended version of that interview can be found on this blog here.

My reflections on A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band can be found here. 
My article on the upcoming film about Mullins' life can be found here.

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Looking back I can say God used Rich Mullins to change my life irrevocably.