RAGAMUFFIN: Based on the Life of Rich Mullins -- Movie Review and Giveaway

I've been pouring on praise while listening and singing along to the songs of Rich Mullins for as long as I can remember.  I learned sign language to Awesome GOD at my very first youth camp way back in my very first year in ministry.  The words of that song still resonate deep in my soul as I cry out to my FATHER and I've been teaching it to middle schoolers for years now.  How good it is to proclaim the very awesomeness of GOD.  

Amy Grant's Sing Your Praise to the LORD and Doubly Good to You (both written by Rich Mullins) are still favorites of mine from high school.  I used to ride home from school and church and turn the volume up as I worshiped along right in my car.  

My Deliverer is Coming from The JESUS Record (the record Rich was working on at the time of his death) haunts me in a beautiful way.  Such a poignant reminder that JESUS hears my cries -- and HE is my one and only DELIVERER.  HE will NEVER break HIS promise.  Amen and amen . . . preach it.

Rich Mullins has helped to shape my praise through the years.  I daresay he helped to shape the very heart of praise and worship for all of us in ways that we might not even realize.  I knew his music, I knew of his tragic death, but I did not know of the deep agony of the man behind the lyrics until watching RAGAMUFFIN with my family this weekend.

Rich loved JESUS.  He loved JESUS with all of his heart, mind, body, and soul.  And he was human -- with all of those very same things.  As an artist, he was deeply in tune with the love of JESUS, but like me, he also struggled with the GRACE that JESUS so freely offers.  Watching his life play out in the RAGAMUFFIN movie offered an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the contemporary christian music realm in the 80's, and reminded me of my need to seek GOD in ALL things as I realize daily that HE loves me so much more than I could ever imagine.

We started the movie as we drove to be with family for the 4th of July holiday.  Listening to Rich sing JESUS Loves Me straight from his heart moved me to tears.  It was a beautiful moment to share with my husband and daughter.

Yes, JESUS loves me.

We finished the movie last night and I am already planning to watch it again.  There is so much depth to the heart of Rich Mullins -- he was funny, he was real, he was the very embodiment of GOD's Love.  And he struggled to put it all together and have it make sense just like we do.  I found the movie inspiring as I desire to serve GOD with all that I am . . . even though I often feel that all that I am is not near enough.  I am a ragamuffin.

I recommend your buying RAGAMUFFIN for yourself -- and giving away a copy to a ragamuffin in your life.  You'll want to share this movie with those who need to be reminded of GOD's GREAT LOVE for them.  As a note of caution, the movie is rated PG-13 due to language, alcohol, and smoking.  None of this is done in such a way as to glorify those things, they simply explain characterization and serve as a reminder of GOD's GRACE even to "the least of these."  ALL GLORY goes to GOD.

•About the Film: RAGAMUFFIN is based on the life of Rich Mullins, a musical prodigy who rose to Christian music fame and fortune only to walk away and live on a Navajo reservation. An artistic genius, raised on a tree farm in Indiana by a callous father, Rich wrestled all of his life with the brokenness and crippling insecurity born of his childhood. A lover of JESUS and a rebel in the church, Rich refused to let his struggles with his own darkness tear him away from a GOD he was determined to love. As he struggled with success in Nashville and depression in Wichita, Rich desired most of all to live a life of honest and reckless faith amidst a culture of religion and conformity.

•About Rich Mullins: Singer and songwriter Richard Wayne “Rich” Mullins was best known for his worship song Awesome GOD which has been embraced as modern classics by many Christians. His music has been covered by many artists, including Caedmon’s Call, Amy Grant, Jars of Clay, Michael W. Smith, Third Day, John Tesh, and Hillsong United. Mullins’ musical career formally began with Zion Ministries in the late 1970s, where he wrote music and performed with a band called Zion. Mullins first solo hit, Awesome God, appeared on his third album and brought his music to a wider audience. Rich Mullins was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) on April 29, 2014.

•Film Testimonials:

“Rich was a gifted songwriter with an amazing heart for people. This film reminded me that what really made Rich special was how undistracted he was with the things of this world. His was a heart yearning for GOD.” - Michael W. Smith Singer, Songwriter

“This film captures the life of one of the most important people in the history of modern evangelicalism, a ragamuffin that our children and our grandchildren need to know about.” - Shane Claiborne Author, Activist

I am pleased to be able to share this movie with you and hope that you will take a few moments to enter the giveaway.  You would be blessed to win a copy of this movie for your very own home.  When we finished watching it last night, my husband and I spent quite a bit of time together reading more about the life and heart of Rich Mullins and listening to his talent play out through songs of worship.  There are many more conversations that we will have as we process all that we watched and heard last night.  I look forward to the time together.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

•Church Screening Tour: Thanks to a nationwide church-screening tour from January through May 2014, RAGAMUFFIN traveled to 200 screens where it was seen by over 25,000 people at churches, college campuses and even jails.  If you missed one of those screening dates, you can now own a copy of your own to watch and share with others.  This movie will touch your heart and share the very essence of JESUS with those around you.  

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More About the Movie:

Release Date: 7/8/14

Run-Time: 137 minutes

Writer/ Director: David Schultz

Dove Seal: Faith-Based with Caution

Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements

Suggested Retail Price: $19.99

Distributor: Capitol Christian Distribution

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A soundtrack for the movie featuring so many of Rich Mullins' wonderful worship songs will be available July 22nd.  It will feature Jars Of Clay, Derek Webb, Sidewalk Prophets, Audrey Assad, Leigh Nash and others.  There are even 2 NEW, original, never-before heard songs that Rich recorded in the early 70’s!  This is exciting stuff to me.

You can learn more about the movie RAGAMUFFIN and more about Rich Mullins at the following places:

Official website: http://ragamuffinthemovie.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richmullinsfilm

Twitter: https://twitter.com/richmullinsfilm

You can even watch the movie Trailer for yourself:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYXTnIKD-0kP67cvzjmS3ow

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

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