Objects in mirror may not be as totally sweet as they appear
The last two days I’ve been off enjoying a piece of God’s creation, and it gave me the opportunity for conversation about a person who has been spoken of in the past tense for quite a while now: Rich Mullins.
One of the few things I share in common with Rich is Cincinnati Christian University. We both attended that institution, albeit roughly 30 years apart. He was unceremoniously told to never come back, while I graduated. But something odd had happened in those thirty years: Rich had gone from a failed student, to an ignored musician to a celebrated figure by the administration of CCU, even going so far as to host a benefit concert in his name. So what happened?
It does seem odd doesn’t it? When you look back at his career and you see all the music he wrote for other artists, and all the work he put out himself, you’d think that any school that could have any claim to him at all would be putting his name on their website, putting it in their pamphlets, maybe naming a wing of a building after him to try to capitalize on one of their products. Well, here’s the bit that doesn’t show up on University websites (or even wikipedia articles from which it was posted at one point) Mullins was known for showing up to concerts and other events looking rather scruffy, was known to smoke, drink, and even say the odd naughty word from time to time. As a result CCU would rather ignore him and put as much distance as possible between them and him.
So, here we are, nearly 10 years after Mullins’ death. His legacy has been cemented by his work, and his overall philosophy of ministry rather than by his virtues, vices, and his sense of personal style. And so CCU, seeing the change in the winds has emerged from the Rich Mullins Witness Protection Program to officially embrace the life of Rich Mullins. Now that he’s dead, he’s not a problem. He can’t embarrass them by lighting up on their non-smoking campus. He can’t show up for a benefit concert attended by prominent alumni with 5 days of stubble, and a wardrobe from Goodwill, and he won’t be spotted having a beer at the Golden Fleece Lounge afterwards. In other words, now that he’s dead he’s been sterilized, nothing icky, dangerous, wrong or passionate about him.
Sadly, I think many Christians do exactly the same thing with the past. Maybe it’s dead theologians or preachers, or eras that have long been passed by, but whatever it is they’ve sterilized the giants of the past. They don’t have to worry about a wrong word, or moment of weakness embarrassing them, they can allow the years and the legacies of their heroes to emphasize the strengths and the bits of their lives they agree with while completely ignoring the parts of their lives and theology they disagree with.
This may not seem like such a bad thing (other than that whole truth thing of course), after all it brings to our mind the best of the past. The problem is that it sours the present. The present never stacks up to the past, today’s preachers and writers are all heretical, fallen, and adolescent, and everything, generally, is just plain crappy compared to yesteryear. In other words, because of an aggrandized view of the past, the life, church, and fellow Christians that God has blessed them with to be enjoyed and useful has become a constant source of disappointment and bitterness. And that’s a tragedy.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
I know, I know. You are right, but I’d rather not know. The weaker brother thing I guess.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Tim,
Great post…
It seems we “Christians” demonize what we want and sanitize what we want for our own benefit…
As I keep saying…
Oh, never mind the ones that need to hear it don’t listen anyway…
Be Blessed,
iggy
July 17th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Rick,
Isn’t the Grace of God powerful? What a wonder we have in God through Christ Jesus!
Blessings,
iggy
July 17th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I was fortunate enough to have seem Rich Mullins perform in Houston, along with Carolyn Arends, about a year (two?)before he died. What a down to earth, humble guy. I wept when I heard he died.
This month also marks twenty five years since the death of Keith Green, another shrinking violet on the Christian music scene.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Amen, Iggy. By the way, according to Finney…you’re not saved. Thought you’d like to know.
Oh yea, neither am I!
July 17th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Rick,
Hmmm,
I know that many say that Finney believed in works… but I think he affirmed salvation by faith, not by works. Nor did he see obedience as adding to salvation…
I do think he affirmed that “works” are the evidence of faith… which I agree, but I am careful in how I define “works” and in whose works am I resting in.
I do think though that Finney was a bit off in that he taught that once you are a Christian you never sin… which I agree but in a different way… as if one is “in Christ” and He is the same yesterday, today and forever… and was sinless.. then as we are in Him we are sinless also…
So, on some levels I agree with Finney and think some misunderstand his positions… and in some of his positions I see him as missing the point a bit in that his definitions were not as biblical as they could be.
Be Blessed,
iggy
July 17th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Igs,
Its unfortunate that in order for Christians to give their approval to someone they have to fit our expectations. And sadly our expectations look nothing like the real life that we captured in scripture in the life of the apostles and prophets.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
Tim,
that is the danger of judging by appearances and not by the Higher law of Love…
Blessings,
iggy
July 17th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
At the risk of opening a can of worms…
Rob Bell in Velvet Elvis talks about claiming truth where we find it. (or something to that effect– I’m going from memory and it’s been a long day)
One of my biggest disagreements with the watchblogging/discernment crowd is what appears to be fear — fear of [whatever] because it is suggested or proof-text’d we are to avoid…..
Keeping with that mindset, however, I believe we soon paint ourselves into a corner such that we are no longer relevant to the unreached of the world. (Have we then lost our saltiness?)
There’s incredible freedom in claiming God’s truth where it is seen. Certainly not something to be taken lightly or abused, but freedom over fear is something I’ll take any day.
I remember seeing pictures of Rich Mullins, often with a scruffy look (beard and clothes) and how I (initially) thought that it didn’t meet the expectations of the clean-cut, well-dressed person a Christian “should be”….I also remember looking at those professing Christ with [insert your favorite whipping boy attribute here] and wondering how they could be Christian.
I’ve since grown up and have begun to appreciate the diversity among the body of believers. Our God is big enough to handle the eccentricities (sp?) of His children and He is able to reach those that I’m not able to reach….through those not like me.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Tim,
My youth minister was from CCU (then CBC), and was good friends with Rich. During Rich’s last year at CBC and the hitchhiking years following that, Rich frequently came through town for several days at a time and stayed at my house (next to, but rather larger than, the parsonage next door to us). It was Rich that kept me interested in keyboards, songwriting and playing by chord charts. He was also a skilled teacher, though he bristled when folks would suggest he preach (I even recall a song he wrote for a Freshman orientation session, “I Don’t Wanna be a Preacher”, along with “Seminary Girl” - about how girls at CBC were there for an MRS degree. Needless to say, he wasn’t invited to help with Freshman Orientation after that).
The funny thing about Rich and his classmates is that most of the ones I know (which is several) is that they are almost to a one somewhat anti-establishment types with a wild creative streak in them. They also don’t show up much in alumni newsletters…
While I do greatly miss Rich’s music, it is the discussions and laughter I miss the most. I even miss the caustic streak in him that could tick you off like nothing else one minute and have you on the verge of hysteria or tears the next. Even now, when I listen to his brother on podcasts from East 91st St Christian Church here in Indy, I choke up now and then, because the voices are so eerily similar. (Dave Mullins is an incredibly gifted teacher…)
The camp I helped with last week, teaching art and music on the Ute Reservation in SW Colorado, was sponsored by The Legacy, which carries on Rich’s work, witnessing to Native American children through the teaching of art and music and through relationships with the kids.
I miss Rich, though for but awhile…
July 17th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
In the past year and a half, I’ve really appreciated Keith Green’s work. Or, I guess I should say, how Keith Green allowed God to work through him.
Here’s a fun GBA: The ministry of Keith Green has a number of brochures that are written by Finney. Tough stuff, I might add.
You’ve got your Ravenhill, Finney, Wilderson — I’m sure there’s enough there to upset anyone who really likes neat and tidy ministry boundary lines. Yet, Green, whose music was anything but Christian fluff and compromise, saw fit to have them all available.
Which, to me, is an interesting statement on many, many levels. None were perfect, nor perfectly defined. Yet they had something of value to teach us about the Christian life. He didn’t just chuck them out because of what they may have said or done that he didn’t like, but found use for the good stuff.
It troubles me that we throw out so many babies in an attempt to keep clean bathwater.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Keith Green found grace just before his tragic death… he went back and re-wrote a lot of “anti” stuff… especially his anti catholic pamphlets.
It seems that when Grace hits the heart of someone there is a change of that heart.
If you haven’t one should read the biography of Keith Green.
Be Blessed,
iggy
July 18th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Finney did not believe in original sin as conveyed in Scripture. He also taught that we can whip up revival out of ourselves. In essence he was pelagian. What is termed “the altar call” was an innovation started by Finney.
Both Keith Green and Rich Mullins had awesome musical ministries.
Ravenhill, Tozer and the like, were great when they functioned in a “prophetic role. When it came to our role in the plan of salvation, they should have left it to those who were called to expound on that.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Here is an interesting email that I received from a good brother, a bit ago re: grace.
No Such ‘Thing’ As Grace
“There is nothing between the person of the Lord Jesus
and the person of the believer as that union and
communion develops and grows. I think this is a very
important thing for us to grasp. Let me put it the way
I sometimes put it: The union with Christ we have is
not that we somehow or another share His grace.
Because – follow me carefully – there actually is no
‘thing’ as grace. That actually is a Medieval Roman
Catholic teaching. There is a ‘thing’ called grace
that can be separated from the person of Jesus Christ.
It is something Jesus Christ won on the Cross and He
can bestow it on you. And there are at least seven
ways it can be bestowed on you and they all, as it
happens, turn out to be in the hands of the church.
And you can have this kind of grace, and this kind of
grace, and this kind of grace … There is no such
‘thing’ as grace! Grace is not some appendage to His
being. Nor is it some substance that flows from us:
‘Let me give you grace.’ All there is is the Lord
Jesus Himself. And so when Jesus speaks about us
abiding in Him and He abiding in us – however
mysterious it may be, mystical in that sense – it is a
personal union. Do not let us fail because of the
abuse of expressions. Do not let us fail to understand
that, at the end of the day, actually Christianity is
Christ because there isn’t anything else. There is no
atonement that somehow can be detached from who the
Lord Jesus is. There is no grace that can be attached
to you transferred from Him. All there is is Christ
and your soul.â€
Sinclair Ferguson
My friend then added this:
“Grace is something we often misunderstand. We ask for
more grace to fight sin. We sing that “He giveth moreâ€
as our burdens grow. This phraseology can lead to an
awkward concept of grace.
Like Ferguson so emphatically stated, grace is not a
thing that we get, like money or new clothes. Grace is
a person, a person who gave Himself to redeem us,
buying for us victory over death and hell.
Being in Christ, then, we’re assured that we have more
grace than we’ll ever need. Our acceptance before God
does not hinge on our performance. By the blood of
Christ, our standing is completely objective fact.
We can rest assured in the knowledge that He has given
us everything we need—for life, and for godliness. Our
goal is not to receive more grace, but to live in the
fullness of our union with Christ.”
http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2007/07/05/sinclair-ferguson-no-such-%E2%80%98thing%E2%80%99-as-grace/
July 18th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Interestingly Chris P,
this guy contradicts himself all over… there is “no such “thing” as Grace” and the he calls Grace an “it” which implies Grace is a thing….
I see Grace is more than a thing though is a “thing”.
I see in scripture… we receive Grace as we receive Christ Jesus… who is full of Grace and truth and the very embodiment of that said Grace and Truth…
Yet, I fall “things” were created through Jesus, then Grace itself is more the very substance that holds all things together.
I see that it is by Grace we all exist as God could un-create all things and owe us no explanation at all and remain just.
Yet, one thing Grace is not… it is not a bar of soap that is applied when we sin… it is what saves and sustains us…
as taught in Galatians 5.
I see that in a way I do agree that it is not about getting more grace, but as i say it, growing in the Grace we already received…
Yet, saying that why do we seek more forgiveness than what was given at the Cross… was not that forgiveness enough?
but that is another topic… just throwing it out to ponder.
Blessings my brother,
iggy
July 19th, 2007 at 8:40 am
I don’t believe that he contradicts himself at all.
He said it is not as “thing” that can be separated from Christ Himself. How would one word it then? Perhaps grace/Christ or the grace that is Christ.
1 Cor 30:
28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
It is the grace that is Christ, and in Christ. Paul is saying that even beyond that fact ; Jesus is also God’s wisdom given to us; He is our righteousness,our sanctification and our redemption. The Father did this so that no man may boast. I do not possess any “virtues” . My virtues ar a person.
This causes us to read Eph 2:8-10 in a whole different light;
8″For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
We are saved by the grace that is Christ who btw is also the author (founder) and finisher(perfecter) of our faith (Heb 12:1-2). This is done, once again, so that we may not boast.
Grace, i.e. Jesus, is given to save us from reliance on our own works, pre and post conversion.
John 15:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
They will know we are His by our love for one another, not by our grace. That love is the product of living Grace.
I think Sinclair ferguson is on to something.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:49 am
CP,
I have no problem with Grace being an it… i see it as the very substance that holds all things together… for God is drawing all things to Himself through Christ Jesus who is “full of grace and truth”. I see Jesus as the embodiment of Grace and Truth to the point that He is literally these things in His incarnation…
If God is drawing all through Christ so “that God will be all in all” then all things are being baptised in this same grace and truth that are in Jesus…
It seemed strange that he stated that “Grace is not a thing” then called grace an “it” which implies a thing.
otherwise I may not have too much disagreement but may go in a bit different direction than him in my understanding.
BTW, this was never meant as a criticism of you… I hope you did not take it as that.
In fact Chris, I write a lot about this… and take a ton of criticism from people like Ken over it… they call this “mysticism”.
Be Blessed,
iggy