A Place to Stand - Rich Mullins

“A Place to Stand” is a song from Rich Mullins’ debut album. It is not one of his more popular albums–full of 80s synth and dated references, it is tied to its time. But Rich’s lyricism had a timeless quality, and “A Place to Stand” has that quality. The lyric I keep bumping up against is “I know I can’t lose.”

Rich’s faith told him that, in the end, he couldn’t lose. This kind of confidence led one of his biographers to say that he lived a “nearly fearless life.” It’s that quality–the fearlessness–that I think transcends his faith to a common humanity that can be salvaged from his music. It’s not the only thing. There are certainly many, many aspects of Mullins’ work which transcend his faith, but if I had to pin down the one that has resonated the most with me, it would be that. He was himself. He held nothing back. He was nearly fearless. He knew he couldn’t lose. Perhaps because of his faith, but also perhaps because he believed that such anxieties serve no purpose, and that he would handle what life threw at him with all the strength he could summon. That nothing was going to be the end of the world until the end of the world. And that’s something worth salvaging.