Changes

'''Richard Mullins''' was an American singer and songwriter. The most famous of his songs is [[Awesome God (song)|Awesome God]], a song commonly heard in churches around the English speaking world. He died in a car accident in 1997 and is remembered especially for his sincere devotion to his faith.

In addition to his music, Rich Mullins is also remembered for his sincere devotion to the Christian faith. He often called Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) his "hero", and modelled his life after him by having great compassion on the poor and adhering to a vow of poverty. In 1997, he composed a musical about the life of St. Francis (set in the Old West) called Canticle of the Plains.

Unlike many artists in Contemporary Christian music, Mullins did not consider his music as his primary ministry, but rather as a means to pay his bills. Instead, his ministry was the way he treated his neighbors, family and enemies. Taking a vow of poverty, he accepted a small church salary and spent the last years of his life on a Navajo reservation teaching music to children.

Mullins began his musical career with Zion Ministries in the late 1970s, where he wrote music and performed with a band called Zion. Zion released one album in 1981 entitled Behold the Man. While working for this ministry, Mullins penned a song called "Sing Your Praise To The Lord", which was recorded by singer Amy Grant in 1982 and became an immediate hit on Christian Radio.

In 1997, Mullins teamed up with Beaker and Mitch McVicker to write a musical based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, entitled The Canticle of the Plains. Mullins had great respect for St Francis, and even formed "the Kid Brothers of St Frank" in the late 1980s with several friends, each taking a vow of poverty. Mullins was never really aware of how well his records sold, because the profits from his tours and the sale of each album went to his church, who divided it up, paid Mullins a small salary, and gave the rest to charity. Mullins was also a major supporter of Compassion International and Compassion USA.

Unfortunately, Mullins was tragically killed in a car accident on September 19, 1997. He and friend Mitch McVicker were travelling on I-39 outside Peoria, Illinois to a benefit concert in Wichita when Rich's Jeep flipped over. Both men were thrown from the vehicle and Mullins was struck and instantly killed by a passing tractor trailor, swerving to avoid the Jeep.

At the time of his death, Mullins lived on a Navajo Reservation, where he taught music to children.

==Links==

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Mullins Wikipedia - Rich Mullins]

[[Category:Christian songwriters]]