It was during my honeymoon that Rich Mullins died. I was driving up I-95 from Florida while Rich was driving southbound on I-35 toward Wichita. A random car accident ended the life of a gifted songwriter and unique follower of Jesus.

Rich was different that most people. Like the prophets, his vision was so consumed with the kingdom of God, he lived an odd life significantly out-of-joint with the principalities and powers of this world. A good example of this is when Amy Grant’s people contacted his people to buy the recording rights to his first big hit, “Sing Your Praise to the Lord”. He agreed right away, not realizing that he would be paid for this—the money didn’t factor in his decision.

In this “Devotional Biography,” James Bryan Smith gives us a close picture of Rich’s life that challenges readers to reevaluate our own lives. Rich Mullins was far from perfect—a point he made often, confessing his own sins openly and (at times) uncomfortably. Far from disqualifying him, this humility and openness is refreshing in an age of carefully-crafted Facebook selfies.

Rich was, truly, An Arrow Pointing to Heaven. We would do well to consider his life, then look up.

—James Bryan Smith, Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).