Dec 18 2002 8:07AM
I didn't want to read this book.
There, I admitted it. Although I've always had the
highest respect for the contributions of Rich Mullins to
the field of music, and his obvious talents, his
"ragamuffin" lifestyle was something I never really
understood, and had little personal interest in knowing
more about. I just didn't get it. But as the five-year
anniversary of his death drew near, it occurred to me
that I never had given Mullins a fair shot. I understood
why so many people adored his music, and yet... I
didn't, at the same time. So I resigned myself to find out
more about this man. I picked up An Arrow Pointing to
Heaven and settled in for what I expected to be a long,
dry narrative.
But what I read knocked my socks off.
Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing To Heaven is not your
typical biography. It doesn't chart the events of his life in
chronological order. In fact, I'd venture to say it probably
left out some fairly significant events altogether.
Because writing a comprehensive biography is not
what author James Bryan Smith had in mind. As a
friend of Mullins, he felt that his memory would better be
served by looking at various subjects of relevance to
believers, but looking at them through the experiences,
the writings, and even the mindset of Rich Mullins. In
that way, he gets inside Mullins' head and shows us
who this extraordinary man was in ways that I doubt a
traditional biography ever could. This newly revised
paperback edition even includes some additional
writings by Mullins that have never before been
published.
The book's ten chapters each tackle a different topic,
such as family, nature, the church, sin and temptation,
pain, and the bonds of brotherly love. And while Smith
inserts plenty of his own observations on these topics,
the topics themselves are entirely approached from the
standpoint that Rich Mullins took on each of them. The
book is full of anecdotes, excerpts from Mullins' own
writings, and stories from Mullins' many friends (some
you know, some you don't) -- all of which help to paint a
vivid picture of this complex, flawed man who God
would undoubtedly liken to David, with a heart that took
after His own.
In learning about Mullins' life and all that he went
through, all that he learned, and most of all, his
profoundly unique view of God and the world, I was
surprised at finding myself relating to some of his story.
Not all of it of course, but I'd wager that there's a little of
Rich in all of us. His story is an important one, one that
we must never forget. He was an emotional man, a
poet, a sinner, a saint, and a ragamuffin who lived a life
quite unlike any other. Quite frankly, many of his exploits
and observations are simply astounding.
This is the book to buy ten copies of and give to all your
friends. If your heart is longing for a life of greater
substance, of greater value than the circumstances you
currently find yourself in, An Arrow Pointing To Heaven
will show you what a life that is on a reckless, joyous
adventure with God really looks like.
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