Ragamuffin Page #6

You know what?

It looks like

it'd fit you.

Thanks.

Yeah, man.

Here you go.

It's yours.

Hey.

Can I talk to you?

Yeah. Sure. Sit.

(Rich, off)

I could tell

as soon as we sat down

that this kid had

something he needed

to share.

We got to talking

and he told me

about how six months earlier

he had shot himself

in the stomach.

We talked late into the night

about depression and despair

and how he thought

he had nothing

to hope for,

until he got so desperate

he tried to kill himself.

And then the humiliation

of failing even at that.

I tried my hardest

to find the words to be

of some comfort to him

to let him know

he wasn '2' alone.

[piano playing]

Eventually I was able

to write them down.

J3 Clung to a ball

that was hung in the sky J3

J7 Hurled into orbit J7

L' There you are L'

DD:

Whether you fall down

or whether you fly

DD:

.0 Seems you

can never gel too far .U

DD:

J3 Someone's waiting

to grow wings J3

DD:

L' Upon your flightless heart L'

DD:

J You're on the verge

of a miracle

J Standing there

ohhh

J You're on the verge

of a miracle

You know,

this might keep him

around a little

bit longer.

J --be/ie we in-- J

Maybe.

J Open your eyes

and see

He's living

on borrowed time, man.

J You're on the verge

of a miracle

J The love

that seemed so far away

L' Is standing very near L'

J You're on the verge

of a miracle

J Standing there

Oh

J3 You're on the verge

of a miracle J3

J3 Just waiting

to be believed in J?

L' Open your eyes and see L'

J You're on the verge

of a miracle

DD:

[humming]

What is that?

Is that new?

Yeah, it's something

new I've been kind of

playing around with

but so far

no lyrics.

(Rich)

I like it.

Yeah, it's cool.

This is what I like

about being on the road, man.

I mean,

for all the things I hate,

this is what I love.

Having you here,

on the open road,

look at the sky,

I mean, it's just--

Awesome.

[humming]

[mumbling lyrics]

Morning, Rich.

Bryan.

How was

your retreat?

Don't start.

I said I was

going to go.

What am I

supposed to do?

Don't walk

away from me.

[door closes]

Rich!

That's what you said

about that one retreat.

But every other week

it's something else.

A retreat,

a camp,

a small church

in Michigan--

You're a recording

artist now, Rich,

you don't have

take time to--

What do you

want me to do?

I want you in my office,

that's what I want.

(Bryan)

Sit down.

No, I'm good.

Yeah, you're good.

Well, you're not

as good as you

think, Rich.

All this talking

you've been doing

at your concerts,

that's got to stop!

Okay?

People are paying

to hear you sing,

not to hear you talk.

You understand that?

No, no.

No.

You're there

to make fans,

not enemies.

What can I say?

That's what happens

when you're honest

with religious people.

Well, those

religious people

are paying your bills

and they're not going to keep

buying your records

if you keep--

Pissing them off?

Are we done?

No.

Look, we've got

a record to put out

and the last one

still isn't selling.

Do you--?

You understand

that, right?

I thought

it was selling.

Not as much

as we'd hoped.

What do you

want me to do?

Your contract is

up after this, Rich.

If your records

don't start selling,

it's over.

You think I give

a damn about that?

[sigh]

No, I don't.

It's disrespectful.

It's disrespectful to me,

this label,

more importantly, Rich,

it's disrespectful to God

who gave you

all of this ability

and all

of this opportunity.

You think

you're so

righteous, huh?

Now you try to throw

everything away

because you have

some idea about holiness

but you want to know

what I think?

Hm.

Oh, yeah, you

keep laughing,

you keep laughing.

You know what I think?

I think you're scared.

Time's running

out, Rich.

God might wait for you,

but this label won't.

And don't

ever disrespect

me like that again.

What do you want from me?

[motor running]

(sleepy woman)

What's that?

Rich Mullins

is mowing our lawn.

Oh.

Honey?

Yeah?

Why is Rich Mullins

mowing our lawn?

To say

he's sorry.

Hm.

[stereo clicks]

[Rich, on tape]

J Our God,

our God is an awesome God J

J He reigns

from heaven above

J3 With wisdom,

power, and love J7

J Our God

is an awesome God J

[radio playing Awesome God]

You're on

the radio!

I know.

I knew

you were special.

Hurry UP!

I don't even care

if we're late.

I just want

to hang out

with you guys.

See this?

Uh-huh.

It's really nice, man.

How's Morris?

Oh. Well, you

should live

in Wichita.

He's retired now.

You can hang

out with him

as much as you want.

That'd be

awesome, yeah.

Are you doing okay?

No.

(Sam)

What's up?

(Rich)

I've been drinking a lot.

I hate myself for it.

I really do.

Don't do that.

The drinking?

No, the hating.

You know what?

You should probably

figure out the drinking, too.

Yeah.

He's on more than one

radio station at

the same time!

[cheering]

You guys,

seriously hurry up!

Dude, I can't believe

you kept this in a desk

for so long.

[car horn honks]

You could've had

this hit big

a year ago.

Don't get me wrong,

I'm excited.

I just don't think

I can handle this.

We got a long

road ahead of us.

Let's go!

(Rich)

We're here, guys.

(Beth)

I wonder if you'll have

a big crowd tonight.

[gasping]

I think yes.

What?

Don't blow it.

[chuckle]

(Beth)

Ohhh, you guys-'

[happy shout]

[excited chatter]

(Sam)

Ow!

(guard)

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

You people

cannot be back here

without a ticket.

No, no,

I'm Rich.

I don't care

how much money

you got. Buy a ticket.

No, he's the singer!

Oh! Oh!

No problem!

Go ahead,

go ahead.

Thanks, man.

Hey, just

so you know it,

you hurt me.

Why don't you

just man up?

No, my feelings.

(male announcer)

Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome

Rich Mullins!

[wild cheering]

Welcome to being famous.

Hi, I'm Rich Mullins.

DD:

Now let's get this

over with.

DD:

B Our God 'vs an awesome God D

J3 He reigns from heaven above J3

J3 With wisdom,

power, and love J3

B Our God 'vs an awesome God D

.67 Our God is an awesome God

J He reigns

from heaven above

J3 With wisdom,

power, and love J3

B Our God 'vs an awesome God DD

You know,

I've come to think

that to identify

fully with Christ,

who I claim to be

my Saviour and my Lord,

that to fully identify with Him

is to identify with the poor.

Christianity is not about

finding an absolutely secure

niche in the world

where you can live

with your perfect little wife

and your perfect little kids

in your beautiful little house

where there are no gays

or minority groups around.

Christianity is

about learning

how to love like Jesus

and Jesus loved the poor

and Jesus loved the broken.

(Rich, off)

I knew that not everyone

appreciated what I had to say.

But I didn't really care.

Awesome God

became the number one song

in Christian radio

the week it released

in 1988

or so they told me.

So the concert

venues got bigger,

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