(Photo by Ben Pearson.)

1994

• Rich plays hammered dulcimer and sings the second verse on a song for Hokus Pick's Brothers From Different Mothers album called "I Believe."
  
  
• Jimmy Abegg releases the solo project Secrets.
  
  
• Syndicate Magazine publishes an interview with Rich Mullins.
  "Syndicate Magazine Interview"
  
  

  January 2, 1994

• An interview with Rich Mullins conducted in December of 1993 is printed in the Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene Texas. The short article mentions Rich's plans of leaving music and becoming a missionary have changed due to "problems" at the mission.
  Rich: "We spent a month in Ireland, traveling up and down the Atlantic coast and then went to Dublin. We listened to a lot of music, but most of the Irish influence on the album came from the Chieftans. Their attitude about music is probably what had the most impact on me."
  Rich, on "How to Grow Up Big and Strong": "Every now and then a little of that rock and roll will pop up. We were in the recording studio late one night and we got crazy. We were fired up and just let loose on the song, more as a jam session than a recording session. The next morning, when we listened to it, we realized it was how the song should sound so we left it like it was. Actually, we let a lot of things stay on the album because we wanted to get out of that studio atmosphere on the album. Instead of track after track of the same old stuff, we wanted it to sound more like a bunch of friends getting together to play some music, which is what it was."
  Rich, on the songs "Creed" and "Peace": "We now have churches who say they are Christian, and doing all kinds of things. I have been looking for something that explains essentially what a Christian is. The 'Apostle's Creed' is not only a Catholic Prayer, but it is used in many Protestant Churches. It is a pretty solid outline of what Christianity is. I don't believe any one church is going to unite us, but it's a statement of faith which can bring unity."
  Rich, on School: "There are some subjects I was never good in, and never will be, but things are good."
  Rich, on the possibility of touring: "There is nothing concerete at this time, but we are hoping we can. I'm not sure if Abilene or Sweetwater will be on the tour or not. That's something my agent handles."
  
  

  January 9, 1994

  
  
• Rich Mullins, Beaker, Julie Strasser, Ben Pearson and Julie & Buddy Miller travel to Colombia with Compassion International. During their trip, they traveled to Bogata, Cali, and Buena Ventura. During this trip. Some video footage shot at this time would end up in Rich's video for the song "Creed."
  Rich: "It's 9:35 PM. We're in Bogota, Colombia - a much nicer place than I expected it to be. It's been raining since we got here..."
  
  

  January 10, 1994

• Rich: "...We visited a Compassion project today - a very nearly desolate facility full of very happy kids who are faced with some terribly dire situations. It makes you wonder why we distrust Jesus' words in Luke: 'Blessed are the poor...' of course, the longer I go, the more I wonder why I doubt any of His words - or His mercy or His goodwill, His love for me, His faithfulness. No one should talk too much about anything until they're 80 or so, and I'm afraid that I am more apt to talk and less able to learn than most.
  I am tired again tonight - a good kind of tired. Some aches are well earned. I wish I could see the sky tonight. Today with those kids, with Juan and Alexander and Wendy and multitudes whose names I of course can't remember, I saw a part of the sky. Even in spite of the skepticism that persists behind my eyes, their eyes were so infused with faith and with love and hope that I could see (if only passively, second-hand-edly) beyond this wee little world into that vast invisible one where rulers and principalities exist. It was something to see. It was something!"
  
  
  

  January 11, 1994

• Rich: "Colombia juts up from the ocean like the head of a very proud horse, and is covered with green. The rains fell again today and covered everything with a shine. Bogota was like a polished jewel under the sky where night was already settling in. It's cool here - a very fine climate. I don't know how it is when I'm not here, but it's been beautiful for these three days.
  Today I saw the district where the street kids hang out. It's unbelievable what their lives must be like. There is no desperation in their eyes - only a hideous, sick vacancy that makes them look like withered ghosts or the shadows cast when a ghost passes under the moon. There's no life left in these kids. They would envy ghosts if they had energy enough to envy. But they look like machinery more than like me - like things driven. It was awful to see.
  Of course, I'm sure that the same gloom haunts the eyes of millions of businessmen, young, well-dressed entrepreneurs, BMOC's (Big Man On Campus). Why are they so less threatening than these? They may not mug a passerby, but they would sell the soul of everyone living to buy a bar of French-milled soap. Then they would scrub their faces to look good at the funeral. This world is full of the damned. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.
  Beaker took on the sponsorship of three more children at the project today. He is the original bleeding heart and I thank the Lord for that. It's so easy to get hard. Though it is the meek who will inherit the earth, though it is the pure who will see God - it takes some great strength to be anything like pure or meek. And the witness cloud must applaud his steps - every one of them.
  Tonight we all went for a walk in that rain that shined up the streets of a 'safer' part of Bogota. We looked at books and leather goods and pottery and ended up at Shakespeare's - this great coffee-house/bookstore. We drank some cappuccino and then the power went out and we laughed like emotionally overcharged people will when they are tired - and eucalyptus trees stand a mile over their heads and hold themselves with a cerain peand-and-quiet-beauty."
  
  
  

  January 12, 1994

• Rich: "Today we are in Calli, Colombia. Today began obout 19 hours ago in Bogota. The van to the airport was about 20 minutes late. At 5:45 am, who cares? The flight from Bogota to Calli was beautiful. The mountains down here must be built on springs - they seem to shoot straight up - or maybe they've been cut real deep.
  Calli is not a particularly beautiful city. A little boy sang for me at the first of two projects we visited. The project was a not-so-good part of town. The second project was in a really bad erea. They look too small and too old for their ages - these children. Too mich poverty, not enough bread."
  
  

  January 13, 1994

• Rich: "The drive to Buena Ventura was spectacular. These mountains rise so steeply and the grasses and trees and flowers are so rich and colorful. Nothing makes me feel as inadequate as trying to put language on what I saw today.
  The little huts on the roadside had split bamboo siding. There were goats grazing along the road and goatherders on bicycles. Men driving wedges through slate and carving bowls and spoons and forks our of comisa wood with machetes - sitting on one-legged stools under bamboo huts, over piles of wood shavings. There were beautiful vacation homes, chalets, Thai-style cottages, Tudor mansions. There were little suspension bridges over a fast running river. There were half-shadowed people sitting in the doorways of shacks, watching the roadm watching the trucks and buses blow by. There is no way that I can guess what they were thinking.
  But in Buena Ventura, the people were gracious and even graceful. They had features that were all their own. Of course, people down here are generally smaller than people back home and less 'soft'. They do not have 'bigger' builds - they look sinewy and their faces seem gaunt - not spooky gaunt - gaunt like Lincoln looks gaunt. They stood in the nearly suffocating heat with absolute composure and peace. While we sweated and were instantly weary, they seemed, not oblivious to it, but accepting of those conditions and possessive of a resolute dignity. There is a beauty in them that struck me in a place I did not expect to be struck - in a place I did not know I had."
  
  

  January 14, 1994

• Rich: "Tomorrow morning at 6:30 we will leave this hotel for the last time, by 9:30 we will be leaving Colombia. This evening we all went back to Shakespeare's - the coffee shop, and did the male-bonding thing. Bogota is very lively - there is a lot of pedestrian and automobile traffic. It's not rowdy, exactly. It sounds like people cut free of their weeklong ball and chain and keep each other company. I like the sounds of this Friday night. It sounds like it should. I'm no idiot - I know that beyond this noise there is darkness - that beneath this laughter there is something empty. But I know that beyond this darkness and beneath that void there is a sun that's gonna rise, there is a day that's gonna dawn and that some will escape into it's light. So the sounds seem ironically appropriate.
  Tonight, while we ate dinner with everyone, we laughed because the din is dissolving. We laughed becauseour somber faces would not hasten the time - they could not hold it off, so they broke into the kind of reckless hilarity that is fitting for those who belong to a day not yet born, to a home not yet visited, to a world being prepared. 'The wind blows where it will...' We have only to thank the Lord for causing it to blow our way. Oh Lord, 'Thine is the glory...'"
  
  

  January 16, 1994

• Rich Mullins, Beaker, Julie Strasser and Buddy and Julie Miller return to the United States.
  
  

  January ?, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perform in Detroit, MI.
  
  

  Winter 1994

• Release Magazine publishes an article by Rich Mullins.
  "Three Things, Four"
  
  

  February 1994

• Campus Life Magazine publishes an article about Rich Mullins.
  "Excuse Me, But Aren't You Rich Mullins?"
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  February 7, 1994

• "Here in America" debuts on the AC Charts. It would spend 13 weeks on the chart and peak at #4.
  
  

  February 11, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker lead a seminar for LeSEA Broadcasting in South Bend, IN. The seminar was entitled "What you want, what you need and what you settle for." Rich also performed song requests from attendees.
  Set List: I'm Gonna Sing Sing Sing/Lord I Lift Your Name on High/(Beaker Talks)/(Rich Talks)/Sometimes by Step/Holy Holy Holy/We are Climbing Jacobs Ladder/If I Stand/Doubly Good to You/First Family/Lord I Lift Your Name On High/
  
  
  

  February 12, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker lead a seminar for LeSEA Broadcasting in South Bend, IN. The seminar was entitled "What you want, what you need and what you settle for." Rich ended the day with a full concert performance.
  Set List: The Other Side Of The World/With The Wonder/While The Nations Rage/Where You Are/Land Of My Sojourn/Verge Of A Miracle/Everyman/Screen Door/Boy Like Me/Man Like You/78 Eatonwood Green/H.D. Pinger/Who God Is Gonna Use/All The Way My Savior Leads/The Howling/I Will Sing/Hope to Carry On/Calling Out Your Name/Creed/Ready For The Storm/Hold Me Jesus/If I Stand/Awesome God/Sometimes By Step
  
  
  

  February 19, 1994

• Rich hosts "CCM TV" (with appearances by Bear the dog and Steve Taylor). Rich also announces the winner of the Reunion/Compassion Legacy contest and phones him to give him the good news.
  Over 1000 entires were received, ranging from 8 to 76 in age, from as far away as South Africa, Canada, and Australia.
  The winner was Miguel Garcia Massiate, 76, from San Antonio. Miguel will travel with Rich to Bogata, Colombia in August.
  Miguel's winning answer to "How can I leave a legacy to the poor?" was "Without looking at those who receive, to give great or small, with our loving embrace, one that shakes the joyous heart, it is hard our scrifice so small, compared to the greatful eyes and smiles, those smiles leave me a legacy of love, a memory grander than words."
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  Spring, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker lead a two-day seminar at the East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN. The seminar was entitled "What you want, what you need and what you settle for."
  
  

  March 1, 1994

• Fingerprint and Myrrh Records release a tribute to Mark Heard, entitled Strong Hand of Love. The album includes Rich's cover of Mark Heard's "How To Grow Up Big and Strong" - which also appeared on the Litergy, Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band album. Other articsts contributing to the project include Chagall Guevara, Randy Stonehill, Ashley Cleveland, Tonio K, The Choir, Buddy & Julie Miller, Pierce Pettis, Victoria Williams, Bruce Cockburn and others. Later, a double disc version entitled Orphans of God would be released with additional tracks from artists like Olivia Newton John, Phil Keaggy, John Austin, Carolyn Arends, Daniel Amos and others.
  
  

  Spring 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker travel to Holland for a series of Concerts.
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  March 17, 1994

• Brennan Manning gives a talk entitled "Recovery of Passion" at the Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS at 7:30 p.m. Rich Mullins may have attended this seminar.
  
  

  Early 1994

• Rich Mullins is interviewed in Wichita, KS about the work of Sherri Howard and Choice Lifestyle. (If anyone has additional information about this interview, please let me know).
  "Wichita Interview 1994"
  
  

  April 1994

• Rich's "Hold Me Jesus" is nominated for two Dove Awards. (Song of the Year & Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year).
  
  

  April 8, 1994

• The Idaho Statesman runs a short blurb about Rich Mullins' upcoming show at the Cole Community Center in Boise, ID. The blurb also includes excerpts from a recent CCM Magazine Interivew.
  
  

  April 9, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perform at the Cole Community Church in Boise, ID at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m..
  
  

  April 25, 1994

• Rich Mullins performs at a Compassion International Showcase at GMA Week in Nashville, TN with Rick Elias, Jimmy Abegg and Phil Madeira. Other performers included Billy Sprague, Phil Keaggy and others.
  
  
• Rich Mullins and Steve Taylor host a Release Magazine Awards presentation that included a premeire of the Pursuit of a Legacy Video Collection.
  
  
• Rich Mullins, Beaker, Jimmy Abegg and Rick Elias perform at the Banquet at the Cannnery Showcase at 8:00 p.m. Other performers included Michael W. Smiwth, Billy Sprague, Julie & Buddy Miller, Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill. A young woman performed a folkdance to the song The Color Green.
  Set List (Partial): Here in America/Sometimes by Step/Creed/The Color Green/Hold Me Jesus/I See You/Softly and Tenderly/My Jesus I Love Thee/It is Well With my Soul
  
  
  
• At some point in the mid 90s - possibly during this visit, Rich runs into Randy Stonehill during GMA Week.
  Randy Stonehill: "I think I had been doing a lot of media stuff... I was going from the Stouffer through the breezeway and several artists were going to be showcasing new music - everbody from Cindy Morgan to Al Green. And Rich was in the line-up. So, as I was walking down the breezeway - all of a sudden, to my surprise and delight - I realized I was walking next to Rich Mullins. I looked at him and said, 'Hey Rich, good to see you' He looked at me and went, 'I HATE this.' In trying to bring some balance to the picture - I could hear his passion about - look, I hate the business of the music. This should just be about fellowship and worship and Jesus. And I said, 'You know Rich, your work resonates with people because of your heart. I know the business is messy. But, what we are called to do is just go in and be in the moment with the Lord and be the best steward you can within your sphere of influence.' He had his head down and was shuffling along and was listening to me. And he just looked back and me again and said, 'I HATE this.' (laughter) (I thought) 'OK, I don't think you really understand the fullness of what I was trying to share.' He got up when it was his time and did one or two songs and just blew the room away. You could tell - in his heart and in his music and he had invited Jesus to be squarely in the middle. I was watching this going, 'This is so rich and real and he just wanted to be somewhere else."
  
  

  April 25-29, 1994

• Tom Green interviewed Rich Mullins during the Gospel Music Association Convention in Nashville, TN. The interview was recorded and later released on a video entitled Light Music Tribute 1997.
  
  

  April 27, 1994

• Rich Mullins performs at Cafe Milano in Franklin, TN. Other performers included Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill.
  Randy Stonehill: "I was there a few nights later and the place was packed and I didn't have anyone to assist me. They pushed me up on stage very quickly to do a couple of my new songs and I was just feeling very ill-equiped. This is a coffee shop so it's a relatively small stage and stuff. Just before I started playing, I happened to look down into the audience, and to my surprise - there was Rich kneeling at the front of the stage by this little funky sound console... starting to mix sound for me. I was so touched. I saw his face and I was startled and he smiled at me. I just thought, 'bless your heart man.' He barely knew me! He saw my need, without even being asked he just did that for me. He dialed me in and I did my songs and I think afterwards I found him in the crowd and hugged him."
  
  

  April 28, 1994

• Rich Mullins attends the annual ASCAP Gospel Music Awards Ceremonies and Luncheon at the Stouffer Hotel Ballroom in Nashville, TN.
  
  

  Mid 1994

  
  
  
  
• Rich appears in a special edition of Release Extra.
  Introduction by Phil Keaggy
  "Rich Asks Rich"
  "Sometimes By Step" by Roberta Croteau
  "Another Mile Farther Down the Road"
  "In & Out of a Ragamuffin Diary"
  "The Ragamuffins"
  "Rich In Words"
  "Pursuit of a Video" by Steve Taylor
  "Rich Music, Rich Memories" by Reed Arvin
  "So In Conclusion..." by Beaker
  
  
  

  May ?, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perfom in Seattle, WA.
  
  

  May ?, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perfom at the Lighthouse Temple Church in Eugene, OR.
  
  

  May 13, 1994

  
  
  
• Rich releases a video collection entitled Pursuit of a Legacy, which included promo videos for "The Color Green", "Creed", "Here in America", "Hold Me Jesus". The Promo Videos and Interview segments were directed by Steve Taylor.
  Video Information
  Video Reviews
  
  

  May 16, 1994

• Creed" debuts on the AC Charts. It would spend 12 weeks on the chart and peak at #1 on June 20.
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  May 24, 1994

• While at home in Wichita, Rich gives a phone interview with Sandi Brown of WCBW 104.9 in St. Louis, MO.
  Read Transcript
  
  

  May 28, 1994

  
  
• Rich Mullins and Beaker perform at Westport Playhouse in St. Louis, MO at 8:00 p.m. In addition to his normal material, Rich also performed a bunch of traditional cover songs on the piano including "O Susanna." Due to demand, a second performance was added in the afternoon around 2 p.m.
  Concert Review
  Set List (Partial): Boy Like Me, Man Like You (on the Piano)/Brothers Keeper/78 Eatonwood Green/The Howling/Where You Are/Awesome God/Hold Me Jesus
  
  
  

  May 30, 1994

• The St. Louis Post Dispatch runs a short review of Rich's concert the previous Saturday night at Westport Playhouse in St. Louis.
  Concert Review
  
  

  May/June 1994

• Release Magazine publishes an article by Rich Mullins.
  "Playing Second Fiddle"
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  June 1, 1994

• Cross Rhythms publishes an article about Rich Mullins.
  "The Versatile American CCM Man"
  
  

  June 20, 1994

• "Creed" hits #1 on the AC Charts. Following its debut on May 16, the song would spend 12 weeks on the chart.
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  June 25, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Jimmy Abegg perform at Cardinals Stadium in Louisville, KY as part of Joy Jam '94. Jimmy Abegg accompanies Rich because Beaker had to miss the show.
  Concert Transcript
  Set List: I Will Sing/Hope To Carry On/Creed/Boy Like Me, Man Like You/Calling Out Your Name
  
  
• Beaker misses the JoyJam performance because his wife is having a baby. That baby is Aidan who is the inspiration of the song "Let Mercy Lead" on the Brothers Keeper album.
  
  

  June 29-July 1, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin band rehearse more than 25 songs in an abandoned Universalist church in Elgin, Illinois next to Roswell East Studio for their upcoming tour.
  
  

  July 1, 1994

• Rich Mullins and a Ragamuffin Band perform at the Midway Theatre in Rockford, IL at 7:30 p.m. This was a concert to benefit Ciudad Sucre Student Center in Bogata, Columbia. At the end of this and all the concerts on this tour, Rich took up a nightly offering to build this school through Compassion International.
  
  

  July 2, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perform on the Gallery Stage in Bushnell, IL. at the Cornerstone Music festival from 7:15 - 10:00 p.m. Afterward, Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffins gathered in in a bar in Macomb, IL.
  
  

  July 3, 1994

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perform in Bushnell, IL. at the Cornerstone Music festival. This show is noteable for several reasons, including being early performances of some songs that had not yet been recorded - "Brothers Keeper" and "Promenade." The show also features a very rare performance of "Michigan," which is an unreleased song from the early years.
  Set List: Why Do the Nations Rage/With the Wonder/The Other Side of the World/Verge of a Miracle/Screen Door/The Howling/Brothers Keeper/The Promenade/Land of my Sojourn/All the Way My Savior Leads Me/78 Eatonwood Green/H.D. Pinger/Who God is Gonna Use/Elijah/Michigan/Compassion International Talk/If I Stand/Growing Young
  
  

  July 4, 1994

• Rich Mullins, Beaker, Phil Madeira and the Ragamuffin Band perform perform in Bushnell, IL. at the Cornerstone Music festival.
  
  

  July 5, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Midway Theatre in Rockford, IL.
  
  

  July 6, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Waukesha Expo Center in Waukesha, WI as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  July 7, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Wilmar Civic Center in Wilmar, MN at the Sonshine Festival as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 8, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the TimberWolf Amphitheater for Spirit Song 94 in Mason, OH at 4:30 p.m. as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 9, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at Grove City Church of the Nazarene in Grove City, OH as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 10, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Warner Theater in Erie, PA as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 12, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Lexington, KY as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 13, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium in Knoxville, TN at 7:30 p.m. as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  
  
  

  (Rich in concert, photo by Dennis Wilkes)

  July 14, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at Morris Hill Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  Concert Review
  
  

  July 15, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at Lakeside Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 16, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Atlanta, GA as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 17, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Augusta, GA as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  July 19, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at Mabel White Baptist Church in Macon, GA at 7:30 p.m. s part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour. The concert was a benefit for Macon Flood Victims.
  
  

  July 20, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Montgomery, AL as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 21, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Swor Auditorium at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS at 7:30 p.m. as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  Unknown Date 1994

• While on his first tour as part of the Ragamuffin Band, Mark Robertson has the following conversation with Rich.
  Mark Robertson: "in the middle of nowhere... we just hung out... that was my first tour. It was only six weeks long... and I told you that it was so hard for me. I wanted to be friends with him - it's like we like the same books and I looked up to him as a writer all this stuff and I just didn't feel like I was getting anywhere with the guy. I went, 'hey man, I just wanted to say thanks for hiring me and bringing me out on this. It's been a real honor.' He's like, 'what are you thanking me for, Rick's the one that got you in here. He got you the gig. Go thank him.' (I said) 'well I know, but you know you kind of cut the checks and I love playing your music...' and he's just making me squirm and you can tell he's enjoying it. He goes, 'Well, hey man there's just one thing I did want to tell you.' Me and Rick were really into this kind of humor at the time - it's very not funny and to us that was funny. And Rich said 'I just wanted to tell you - you really seem to think you're funny and I gotta tell you just not funny at all.' I went, 'man I'm very funny as a matter of fact. thank you.' (Rich said) 'No you're really not. I know you think you are, but you just gotta stop that because you're not funny.'
  
  So a few months later I sent him the first This Train record.. or I saw him somewhere and I gave him the You're Soaking In It record... and I don't hear from him for months and he calls me up and he's laughing hysterically and I hear my record in the background and he goes, 'I just listened to your record for the first time. You're really funny!' And I think we became friends after that."
  
  

  July 22, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Baton Rouge, LA as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 23, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Houston, TX as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  
• Billboard Magazine mentions Rich, along with Bruce Cockburn, Victoria Williams, Pierce Pettis, Tonio K, Michael Been, Phil Keaggy, Julie Miller, Randy Stonehill, the Choir and others in a short article about the Mark Heard Tribute album Strong Hand of Love.
  
  
  

  (Photo by Ben Pearson.)

  July 25, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Solid Rock Worship Center in Corpus Christi, TX as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 26, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Trinity Church in San Antonio, TX as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour. At this concert, the winner of the "Leave a Legacy" contest, Miguel Garcia Massiate, was announced. He won a trip to Columbia with Rich Mullins the following month. Following the concert, Rich and his bandmembers performed and talked to fans at the Shepherd's Shoppe, a large Christian bookstore and music store.
  
  

  July 27, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Austin, TX as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 28, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at Carpenter's Way Baptist Church in Lufkin, Texas as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 29, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at McFarlin Memorial Auditorium at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 30, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Civic Center Musical Hall in Oklahoma City, OK at 7:30 p.m. as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July 31, 1994

  
  
  
• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Brady Theatre in Tulsa, OK as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  July/August 1994

• Release Magazine publishes an article by Rich Mullins.
  "Virtue Reality"
  
  

  August 1, 1994

• Lee and Nikki Lundgren of the band Avenue G have a baby girl named Eliza. Rich would write "Eli's Song" for the Brother's Keeper album for Eliza.
  
  

  August 3, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Joplin, MO as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  
• Reed Arvin's first novel, The Wind and the Wheat is published. The novel was loosely based on the life of Rich Mullins.
  
  

  August 4, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Missouri Theater in Columbia, MO at 7:30 p.m. as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  August 5, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform in Kansas City, MO as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  August 6, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at Faith Metro Church in Wichita, KS at 7:30 p.m. as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  
• The Gazette in Colorado Springs, CO published an article about the relationship between the organization Compassion International and many popular contemporary Christian musicians.
  "If musicians end up promoting Compassion's ministry, they receive a stipend. Compassion sources won't say how much the musicians are paid, but they say it's a pittance. That hasn't deterred the musicians, whose association with Compassion isn't about income. For best-selling Christian musician Rich Mullins, it's become a way of life. He has sponsored children since 1988 and has publicly endorsed the ministry for the past three years. Mullins' latest album, A Liturgy, A Legacy & A Ragamuffin Band, features a Compassion promotional brochure. Every year the ministry distributes about a million of these 'album inserts.' He is also featured in paid advertisements that Compassion places in Christian magazines, and he's soliciting sponsors on his current 30-city tour, which ends Sunday in Liberal, Kansas. But Mullins has gone even further. During his tour he is taking a nightly offering to build a school facility in a primitive village in Colombia where Compassion works with children. Mullins says the response to his various efforts has been 'overwhelming.' 'Knowing that there are kids who now have sponsors, who are learning to read, are who are getting a meal every day and who are able to contribute to their culture - that's the most satisfying part of what I'm doing,' he says. During his current tour in the United States, Mullins takes a nightly offering to build a school facility in the primitive Colombian village."
  
  

  August 7, 1994

• Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band perform at the Liberal High School Auditorium in Liberal, KS as part of the "Liturgy, a Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band" Tour.
  
  

  August 8, 1994

• "Hard" debuts on the AC Charts. It would spend 11 weeks on the chart and peak at #10.
  
  

  Mid-Late August 1994

  
  
  

  (Contest Winner Miguel Garcia Massiate and Rich Mullins)

• Rich Mullins and "Leave a Legacy" contest winner, Miguel Garcia Massiate travel to Bogata, Colombia with Compassion International. On the trip, Rich visited the Ciuda Sucre Center where he presented them with over $40,000 that was raised on last summer's Ragamuffin tour.
  Rich: "Even though you look at your life and see reasons to believe that God has brought you to where you are, you still have this gnawing fear that it all means nothing... Last summer my audience said something that I needed to hear - that people can still respond to needs, that life and a certain quality of life is a joy to contribute to, to participate in... The compassion shown in this generosity is great joy to all of us."
  
  

  August 27, 1994

• Rich Mullins, Out of the Grey, Bob Carlisle and Andy Landis perform outdoor concerts at the WHME-FM Annual Free Birthday Concert at South Bend, IN.
  
  

  September 1994

• Rich Mullins begins his Senior Year at Friends University. He attended school full time at Friends University during the school year 1994-1995 and he spent two semesters student teaching elementary school and middle school children. One of the schools where he did his student teaching was Truesdell Middle School in Wichita.
  
  
• Rich Mullins joins the RCIA class (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Wichita and begins the formal process of attending weekly classes for seven months in order to learn about the Catholic faith and with the intention of being confirmed in the Catholic Church. These classes were taught by Fr. Ivan Eck, the pastor at Blessed Sacrament parish. Rich’s friend, Kathy Sprinkle recalled that Rich "faithfully attended those classes every Tuesday evening."
  
  

  September/October 1994

• Release Magazine publishes an article by Rich Mullins.
  "His Master's Voice"
  
  

  October 1994

• CCM Magazine reviews Rich's July 14th Chattanooga, TN performance.
  Concert Review
  
  

  October 21, 1994

• Rich Mullins celebrates his 39th birthday.
  
  

  October 31, 1994

• "Peace" debuts on the AC Charts. It would spend 14 weeks on the chart and peak at #7.
  
  

  November 19, 1994

  
  

  (Rich and Beaker performing at Youth Specialties Conference)

• Rich Mullins and Beaker perfom at the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Conference at the San Diego Convention Center at the Twon and Country Hotel in San Diego, CA.
  Rich Boster: "The topics of the conversations were the fun of working with kids and teaching them, the funny/crazy things they said and did, as well as the profound things they came up with - sometimes only moments apart. His respect for the youth workers and ministers in attendance. Stories of his childhood and mistakes he made. Many wanted to know more about playing the hammer dulcimer which he had out that night. He talked at length about the instrument and what it was like to play it. He had a heart for the Compassion International ministries which was at the conference - he encouraged us to sponsor a child - which we did. Everything he did pointed to helping others or the greatness of God. He actively discouraged folks from putting him on a pedestal. A real humble guy."
  Valerie Stoop: "I was at a Youth Specialties conference in (San Diego) California. I was on the schedule to speak and Rich Mullins was on the schedule to sing. This was a banquet that Youth Specialties held and I saw Rich Mullins at a round table, eating dinner. I approached him and asked if I could take a picture with him. He immediately pulled me on his lap. I was surprised, but thrilled, to have him be so friendly and eager to love on me. I was always captivated by everything he said and sang and his humble life before God and with others. This was one of my best memory photos."
  
  

  November/December 1994

• Release Magazine publishes an article by Rich Mullins.
  "Invisible Things"
  
  

  December 1994

  
  

  (The Brothers Keeper Sessions)

• Rich puts a band together to record the Brother's Keeper album. His original plan was to put a band together and record essentially live in a very rough, more natural space - rather than a recording studio. Many ideas floated around including Amy Grant's "Loft." Ultimately, the idea was abandoned due to time constraints.
  
  
  

  (Rick Elias and Rich Mullins)

  
  

  (The Brothers Keeper Sessions)

All pages = © 1996- Eric Townsend All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce or publish without permission.