Month of Music Day 6 Rich Mullins Creed A Liturgy, A Legacy & A Ragamuffin Band I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son our Lord He was conceived by the Holy Spirit Born of the virgin Mary Suffered under Pontius Pilate He was crucified and dead and buried [Chorus:] And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am I did not make it no it is making me It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man I believe that He who suffered was crucified buried and dead He descended into hell and on the third day rose again He ascended into Heaven where He sits at God's mighty right hand I believe that He's returning To judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men [Chorus:] And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am I did not make it no it is making me It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Maker of Earth And in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son our Lord I believe in the Holy Spirit One Holy Church The communion of Saints The forgiveness of sin I believe in the resurrection I believe in a life that never ends [Chorus:] And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am I did not make it no it is making me I did not make it no it is making me I said I did not make it no it is making me It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man I believe it I believe I believe it I believe I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe it I believe it

My Take:

This is simply the a statement of belief in the foundations of the Catholic Church, the Nicene Creed It is Rich Mullins at his finest, with fantastic music underneath words of faith. Before his tragic death in 1997, he was considered one of the best music writers of his age. That's simply an understatement. I was walking through the BSU (Baptist Student Union) at USM (University of Southern Mississippi) and I was amazed. Here was another example of something being based in the teachings of the Church, yet you could dance to it. It was a seminal event in my life. It would be one of the reasons I would completely give up secular music for years. In fact, in 1995, I cleared every secular station off my radio's memory. It was an odd day. I was driving through an intersection in the back roads of Hattiesburg, and I thought to myself, "you know, I've got about 30 Christian music CDs, there's two stations here in the 'Burg. I think I'll turn this thing off." And I did. Starting in the Spring of '95, I changed the MacStansbury format: all Christian music, all the time. At the time I had a Pontiac Grand Prix, and CD player who could've been named 'Skip' for as well as it could play songs. But I could always listen to PFR or Jars of Clay or the Newsboys anytime I needed them. Actually, it was a little tough not knowing who everybody was talking about. I totally missed out on that whole music scene in '95. I honestly can't name a single song that came out that year that didn't come from My local Christian bookstore. I remember envying the likes of Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, and some other people I don't really remember. But that was the whole point. My music had a message, and it gave me focus. I was actually a pioneer, in that I was completely focused on finding quality in my chosen genre. Can it be totally coincidence that CCM started to take off that very year? No, it wasn't coincidence. While America was ignoring shooting war after war, we were focusing on getting fat and lazy. We were playing with our new computers. We were wearing our big cowboy hair and flannel shirts. All the while, I was learning about new bands that nobody else ever heard of. Well, the people at the stores, I guess. You know what I mean. Since my peak of listening-a-tude, I've been all backslider-y and started to listen to some of the mash-ups with *teh* *evil* bands'ses music in them. Just giving into the evil, I figure. I've been going back and listened to all that stuff I missed in the 90s and early 00s, and I can say that I regret nothing - about music. Sure, I missed the whole Wycleff Jeff, Alanis Morrisette, and...MMMMMMMMMMBOP!!!...but I can't really feel bad about it. I was listening to cool stuff, too. Stuff with a beat. Stuff you can dance to:

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 150 (KJV)

status: published
author: John Stansbury
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  similarterms: praise music make lord making maker stuff church makes invention holy truth missed heaven dead dance chorus creed christian remember