Shame on me
I was talking with my friend, Kathy Sprinkle, this morning and I joked with her as I have with a few friends in the last month and said…I have heard the words “Shame on You” more in the last few months from “Christians” than I have in my entire life…all I had to do was to make a movie in the hopes to point people to Jesus and His Love.
Yay!
And she said the most beautiful and truthful reminder. “There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.” Oh Yeah, well tell that to Suzie, Phil, Sarah, and Ben (Names have been changed for their protection;-)
Trust me, there are plenty of skeletons in my closet that are much deserving of someone to say, “Shame on you.” And no one knows this more than God himself, and yet the simple, yet earth-shattering Giver of grace is here to say…”No, not with me, not in me…there is no condemnation in me.” Man I love that. Apart from HIM there is, with HIM there isn’t. Not that I, you, or anyone else isn’t deserving to be shamed on, but because of the love, grace, and forgiveness Jesus has given me through his atoning sacrifice on the cross and continual affection for me out of his character of perfect holiness – — there isn’t.
Hmmmm. Then how come I run into so many Christians who are so quick to draw their pistol from their “belt of self-righteousness” and say “Shame on you.”
Let’s say (and I do at times…sometimes more than “at times”) I do shameful things, why is the beautiful gospel of Jesus not preached from their lips to simply say “God loves you friend. Come home to HIM” . No instead I get “Shame on you.”
I often think of the scripture where Christ talks about how the world will hate you because of ME. But why do we often experience that hate more from Religious types than people who don’t claim to be Christians? I’m not sure about that one. That’ll be on my list of questions to ask when I meet Jesus one day on the other side, but I do think he’s give me and you a clue…It’s found in the history books. The gospels. Yes he said that “the world will hate you because of me.” Yet look at his life. Who hated him the most. It wasn’t the pagans. It wasn’t the followers. It wasn’t the tax collectors or the whores. It wasn’t the sinners, they loved him, were drawn to him, woo’ed after him…nope! It was the religious. The RELIGIOUS hated him. Listen to Jesus, he speaks from experience.
Man I love Jesus. Not in a trite way. In a thankful way. May he have mercy on those that shame. May he forgive those that hate. And when I at times or more than at times am like them…shaming others and violently shaming myself…may he forgive me too, and not shame me, but woo me back to himself with his compassion.
So go out and Love God and love people, but be careful there our religious land-mines out there placed out there by the self-rightouess, but don’t stop…do it anyway…live dangerously…because just like Jesus said “I haven’t come for the healthy (the self-righteous) I’ve come for the sick (the poor in the spirit- those who know and accept that they are sick) because if you’re human… you are sick, you are in need, you are a ragamuffin. The reality is some know, and some don’t and or can’t accept their poverty of being human. And, yet there is still so much beauty in the poverty, the pain, the heart-ache. Bask in the good news of his love, because in HIM there is no shame.
be God’s,
David Leo Schultz
David Leo Schultz 
Well said David. Rich said in an interview once that our piety is just as much of a vice as are our sins. Christians can be the most judgemental, non-loving people. Sometimes I catch myself in this category, but then I need to remember when I cussed out the car in front of me that day. We all have our downfalls, probably those of us that had worse childhood are worse than others and I am thankful to God that he knows this, even though our Christian brothers and sisters don’t. The movie Ragamuffin made me have hope, that all of my downfalls; such as cussing too much when I’m mad, etc., God will work on, just like God helped Rich work on his weakness of alcohol. And, David, whatever your downfalls are, God is working on you too. Thanks for writing David.
Being His, Joy
P.S. I saw that trailor of your movie..”Not Another movie” and it looks SO funny. I’m trying to figure out how I can watch it?
Thank you so much for doing this film! We loved Rich. We miss him terribly. I have listened to his music off and on throughout the years and every time I come back to it I realize it’s just as good or better than before. I am so glad that someone with your talents has brought it to film. I attended the Denver showing at CCU where you talked about how the project was definitely not a “money making” venture. Please know that there is no price that could be put on honoring Rich’s contribution to the world. I am so thankful you had the resources to do this project! Thank you and God bless you!
Your words constantly bring me such joy in the reminder of how much HE is able and does love us. It blows my mind. Thanks, Friend!
Hey David! Thanks for the movie!
I’m 44 years old and became a Christian at 19. My first encounter with the powerful lyrics of Rich Mullins was way back when driving in my car and listening to KLOVE at the time. It was “If I Stand” that made me pull over and cry with the truth of that song. I have been listening to Rich ever since. There is no shame in embracing the love of God and His washing over the many times of failure..well in my eyes. I got to meet Rich with backstage passes and what impressed me was he wasn’t your typical “hi, what do you like about my music ?” He led us in a bible study with whatever was on his heart at the time. Being real and human is part of who we are and celebrating Gods grace through the pleasant and the ugly parts is also part of it. I now am a homeschool mom of eight …yeah, eight and we all watched the movie the day it was released during school !!! It was so beautiful to here my kids say, “wow, the love of God”!!! This is my generation to come behind me and for your work and passion I thank you for making an honest movie!!!! If you are a tool that is used to help save someone who is lost, you did well done!!! Looking forward to Brennan Manning movie too..he was just as honest in the grace!!
In only grace,
Deanna
I am a fan of Rich. I loved the movie , I shared like a crazy person on FB, etc. Rich’s music meant the world to me and my older son even as we battled through his teenage years. I want to agree with your blog 100%. However, I also believe that this society has lost a sense of shame. And I don’t see that as a good thing. Maybe we are missing a middle ground. Thank you for the movie. It is a blessing.
I really enjoyed your movie. I was associated with Rich in HS when he frequented our church in Kentwood, MI in the late 80s early 90s. I once had the luxury of being driven by him in a van to a youth conference in PA where he was the worship leader for the week. I cannot listen to “Closer I am to Fine” without recalling how he made us listen to it 1000 times on the way because it was “the perfect song.” This movie captures his heart so well. He was charming, ever-giving, broken, amazing, argumentative (in a very GOOD way!), generous and faithful. Rich once told me that he wanted to start on one side of the street and end up in Heaven by the time he reached the other side, never knowing the details of how he got there. Who knew this would literally happen? There are so many stories I could tell but that may be off the point. The point is “thank you.” You’ve have done my heart so much good with this film. Appreciative, Bonnie.
Dear brother,
Since seeing your movie Ragamuffin I have heard the Spirit call me back to the beginning of my spiritual formation…the books, music, words, people who helped me find my way to grace. Rich Mullins, Saint Francis, Brennan Manning, Viktor Frankl, Donald Miller, Black Elk, Mother Teresa, Henri Nowen. All bound together by a singular message: LOVE wins. God’s love and grace requires NOTHING of us but an acknowledgment of our utter inability to save ourselves. Bankruptcy of spirit. It’s very unAmerican, you know…this whole, “not saving yourself” thing. It’s very UNreligious…this not “living by the rules.” Doctrine gives us rules to live by…God gave us Jesus to live WITH.
I, like the blind man in scripture…will let the religious zealots determine whose sin caused my blindness…my parents or my own…when asked, “Who do YOU say Jesus is?” his reply is MY reply, “ALL I KNOW is I WAS blind, but now I see!” I’ve lived with shame and I’ve lived with grace, and GRACE is better. Keep on daring to trust in the all sufficiency of Christ and nothing/no one else. We may be shamed, but we are in good company.
“you’ll be hearing from me baby long after I’m gone, I’ll be speaking to you sweetly from a window in the tower of song” Leonard Cohen, tower of song.
I got the Ragamuffin DVD this wknd. (Ironically I had a pint of Rocky Road in the freezer) Though I had seen previews, I was actually scared to see it. I wasn’t expecting a hagiography. I knew it wouldn’t be that. Because each person has so many layers, how exactly do you compress 42 years and make it work. I think I was scared because I didn’t want to be disappointed, I didn’t want to see a saacharin, sterile and sanitized version of a ragamuffins life. I wanted to see something real, raw, gritty muddy and bloody and the film does not disappoint. I felt such relief and gratitude that someone made an Indie film and for the bravery of the Mullins family to allow a few of Rich’s immortal wounds to be exposed. I was thrilled that the smoking and drinking was in there. C.S. Lewis one of my biggest mentors said of himself, “I am a christian not a moralist” There are many atheists who are moral people. Being a good moral person won’t save us.
I didn’t weep as much as I thought, Dave Mullins and the things Brennan Manning said made me weep a little. I knew Brennan and the actor that played Brennan was spot on. In the end for me this film is as much about hope as anything else. “hope to carry on”. It was about for me Reckless Hope, Furious Hope, Relentless Hope, Rich just kept going, kept moving, kept writing, kept singing, kept doing, kept living, kept giving right up to the end and if you’ll forgive me saying so He keeps on speaking to us sweetly from His window in the Tower of Song. This is a wonderful page in the enduring legacy that will continue until Jesus comes. What’s funny is I didn’t realize Mitch was playing himself until I watched the film with commentary and I cracked myself up. I said to myself, man that really looks llie Mitch. Hahahah. I’m so thankful toyou David Leo Schultz and to David Mullins and to everybody else who seemed to have achieved the impossible. A Ragamuffin movie b oth wild and miraculous. I think every believer over age 12 and non believers as well should see this film. Some verse I wrote in 1999, seems appropo here – “hopelessly raging and hopelessly staging a final last word to my clan in books and in pages to last through the ages, they know that I don’t give a damn,the hoplessly least spread a table for this I was finally able to love them as one homeless man who hopelessly flinging while recklessly singing that I was so hopeless a real bed of roses – I left my heart open for other hearts broken I wove one unbroken strand – This hope here beyond me has finally won me – let him who has ears understand. Thank you for such a fine film and thank you for listening. I’ll leave you with a verse from Anthem by Leonard Cohen(sorry he’s just on my mind) You can add up the parts but you won’t have the sum You can strike up the march, there is no drum Every heart, every heart to love will come but like a refugee.
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.
Most – well how did my 26 year old son and his friends say it – “powerful” movie they’d ever seen. They do not watch T.V./Movies – but they watched this one. I’ve shared it with so many completely different kinds of people – and they all came back with the same reaction. Most say – “can I hold on to it until so and so in my family can watch it?” Mostly, I think Rich would have said OK to it after all. He found Truth. What I can tell you is – a few hurting folks that I got to witness watch the movie actually went out and checked themselves in to rehabs, etc. to get better. It really had a powerful get back up and do something about it affect to the most hurting. Real Hope – not false hope – was what permeated through that movie. Abba Father and Jesus is what permeated through that movie. You stayed True to Rich ….you stayed true to truth. I just hope and pray you keep real to him and Brennan Manning – and whoever that bartender was that first called Brennan “Ragamuffin”. I pray you don’t give in to the lure of the rock star modern evangelicals and their money train…..where ten people/their families and their friends count….and that’s about it. That train is never full. How did Rich put it “they’re not bad – they’re just wrong”. You made a movie about him – you surely read all his writings.
To the administrator – please delete my previous post. Convicted of being judgmental. Sorry! Regardless, the movie was more than a movie. Thanks.