Creed - Rich Mullins

Rich Mullins was one of my favorite Christian artists back in 1997 while I was attending Harding University pursuing my undergraduate degree in Mathematics. He was killed in a car accident (thrown from the Jeep he was riding in) on the way to a concert. I remember several very specific things about when I was told, where I was, who told me, and my initial shock. I never met the man but he was such a great song writer. It took me back. Lost of other folks passed away as well that year including John Denver, Mother Teresa, Jacque Cousteau, Jimmy Stewart, Red Skelton, Ben Hogan, Princess Diana and Chris Farley. But the one I miss the most has to be Rich Mullins.

One of his best songs is Creed which takes the Apostles Creed (or Credo) and adds a little to it to make it a song. Check out the lyrics here and the video below.

The thought I shared with my students (and have done so for most of the years I've taught) is this simple question but has GIGANTIC implications:

What do you believe?

You see, middle school (or Junior High) is the place that most people decide whether or not they will become/be a believer or not. After age 18 the statistics are staggeringly low that someone who was not a believer becomes one. Check out unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. Great book about the problem(s) of Christianity in our society.

So back to the song. In middle school (adolescence) young adults are deciding as to whether they are going to follow their parents example (in faith) or not. Many folks who "fall away" from faith did not truly build their own faith but held on to their parents faith for way too long. So my encouragement is for my students to start thinking for themselves WHAT they believe and WHY. If you are a parent of a middle schooler, know that I am praying for you and have hope that this maturity of faith will eventually come.

Rich Mullins - Creed