I didn't know when I used play guitar and sing in my bedroom in Topeka, Kansas that one day I would perform for a living. I just played, sang, and wrote songs because it was a way I could express myself and music made me feel like nothing else could. Music was something I loved and I never took it seriously for one second--which is probably good. Now I'm in the midst of a music career and learning as I go.

I have spent the last three years working with Rich Mullins. That included writing songs, traveling and performing with him. He was even generous enough to let me perform ny own songs in his concerts. He was a friend in the truest sense of the word.

However, on September 19, 1997, my life took an enexpected turn. We were driving to a concert when our vehicle overturned, and tragically, Rich was killed. The wreck left me with a serious head injury, internal injuries, and broken bones. I spent one month in the hospital and am still recovering today, a year later.

I met Rich at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas in 1993. After graduation, we moved to New Mexicao to live and work together. That summer we began writing a musical entitled "Canticle of the Plains" and later recorded a sound track. There are ten pop-rock songs on the album and I sing four of them while Kevin Smith and Michael Tait of dcTalk and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer sing the other songs. Two of my songs, "Heaven Is Waiting" and "There You Are" even ended up on the charts.

Rich and I began work on my own album a month before the accident. Rich co-produced it along with Mark Robertson. Rich really believed in the album and in my doing a record. He believed in me as an artist and in my songs. I am pleased with the end result of the album and I feel good about its sound and content. I released the album independently July 1, 1998, nearly a year after its completion.

Just over a year ago, before Rich died, I was fortunate enough to get to write a few songs with him that eventually ended up on the "Jesus Record." This was going to be Rich's next album, and after his death, it was recorded and released in July of 1998 by his band, the Ragamuffins. One of the songs we co-wrote, "My Deliverer," was #1 on the charts for a few weeks running.

Over this past year, I have gotten used to waiting because much of my recovery is going slower than I would like it to. Nevertheless, it is progressing, and I am getting to learn and practice some patience that I wouldn't have gotten to otherwise. It is a constant roller coaster ride of trusting God on my good days and being frustrated with Him on my bad days. However, I'm sure that whatever comes out of this will be good...regardless of how I perceive it.

I have come to believe that a lot of the time we spend, things we do, and words we speak are a waste and unnecessary. I'm learning that there are things that last while most of what we regard as important will pass away.

The theme that runs through my music is that the love of God is stronger than anything else we will come up against. We human beings are imperfect, but God is perfect and He will complete a good work in us one day. With my future performances and albums, I would like to point to Jesus and His love for us. A love that is unwavering, tough, and bigger than we are.

---Peace of Christ, Mitch