Ragamuffin Archive: Classics
Rich Mullins: WCM Michigan Interview (1990)
In the fall of 2009, a woman named Christina Marie graciously shared with me her entire collection of Rich Mullins bootlegs — a collection that became both the foundation and inspiration for what would grow into the Ragamuffin Archive. Among the many treasures she passed along was a short but deeply insightful radio interview with Rich Mullins, recorded and aired by WCM Christian Radio in Michigan in early 1990. This gem was quietly hidden as the final track on a CD that featured a longer interview that Rich had taped on the same station back in October 1988.
This rare four-minute segment finds Rich speaking with warmth, humility, and his usual disarming honesty, promoting an upcoming concert scheduled for June 22, 1990 at Calvary Baptist Church in Canton, Michigan. Though brief, the conversation touches on faith, politics, music, missions, and pizza — all in a way that only Rich could.
The interview opens with Rich recalling a recent visit to the area:
“We were just up there last fall at Concordia College and we had a ball. Man, there’s a pizza place downtown Ann Arbor… that I can’t remember the name of but they had great pizza so I plan on eating a lot.”
He then discusses his new song at the time, While the Nations Rage, which had just started receiving airplay:
“It mostly is just kind of a paraphrase… based on the 2nd Psalm… You look around… what’s going on in China and Romania and with the Iron Curtain coming down… some of it looks really good, some of it looks really dangerous… I think in the midst of that, the only salvation a Christian is going to have is to focus on Christ.”
Rich’s reflections offer a fascinating timestamp — early 1990, with the world in the middle of geopolitical upheaval and the Cold War crumbling. Yet rather than offering easy optimism, Rich points to a deeper hope:
“He is our salvation — not the plots and schemes that mankind comes up with.”
When asked about the wave of socially conscious music in mainstream pop culture at the time, Rich doesn’t boast about Christian music’s influence, but responds with empathy and grace:
“I think there are some really genuinely good people who are lost. People are not non-Christians because they’re bad people… their goodness does not make them any more saved. Their lostness doesn’t make them any less good.”
He also opens up briefly about his life as a student:
“I just feel like God is calling me to get ready for some missions work… if He does lead me onto a mission field, I’ll be ready. And if He doesn’t, a little schooling isn’t going to hurt me in any way.”
The interview closes in classic Rich fashion — with an open invitation and a dash of irreverent humor:
“I want everybody there. I want thousands of you… I don’t gear my concerts to any particular demographics, you know? I just kind of do what I do and if you connect with it, great. And if you don’t, leave. Okay?”
It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in time, but it offers a rich cross-section of who Rich Mullins was — sincere, funny, grounded, and perpetually focused on something bigger than himself.
We’re honored to present this interview as part of the Ragamuffin Archive: Classics series. You can listen to the full audio now on YouTube and Mixcloud — another small, significant piece of the legacy that continues to speak long after the final note.
Thank you again to Christina Marie for preserving and sharing this with the rest of us.
Listen to WCM Michigan Interview on YouTube:
Listen on Mixcloud:
Credits:
Read the full interview transcript in the 1990 entry of the Rich Mullins Timeline