The Rich Mullins concert in Longview, Texas, on Friday the 13th lived up to the stereotypical expectation that any superstitious person might have. Here's the easiest way to discuss the night:

Act 1, Scene 1

Rich opened with a musical hymn, then broke out into "Boy Like You, Man Like Me." When he turned around to do the whistle solo, he found only a stool behindJhim with no whistle on it. As that "Rich grin" crossed his face, the crowd whistled the solo for him. It was only the beginning of what was to be an adventuresome evening. Twenty minutes into the set, a tornado warning was sounded. Even though Rich said he'd play until we "heard a train coming," we prayed, then moved into a tornado shelter.

Act 2, Scene 1

Rich arrived at the shelter barefoot with a guitar on his back. While a group sat outside the shelter, Rich began to play. No sound system -- just Rich and a crowd singing along and jokingly throwing loose change into one of the guitar cases. Then the rains came.

Act 2, Scene 2

Everyone crowded in to get out of the weather, some of us taking refuge in the snack bar. Rich stood in a little corner with the rest of the band and played one of his new songs, an incredible number about how the hopes of man rested on a homeless man. Finally, the all-clear was sounded, and we returned to the auditorium.

Act 3, Scene 1

The show went on, with Rich playing through several of his classics, including "Awesome God," "While the Nations Rage" and "Screen Door," in which the band played those little plastic cups that everyone drinks out of at your family reunion. As the storm outside raged with thunder, Rich and the band played "Ready for the Storm." Rich closed with crowd-favorites, "Creed" and "Step by Step." At 11:15 p.m., it had been enough of a night already.

During all this, I realized why Rich's music has always been so special. Whether it is played barefoot in the rain or pumped through a huge sound system, skillful production and the best that Nashville has to offer, it is still "Rich." That is a credibility few have achieved. The Lord truly smiled in our direction that night.

-- Matthew Black