Remembering RON SALSBURY

After a long bout with cancer, Pastor and Jesus Music pioneer Ron Salsbury has finished his race and is finally Home. A memorial service will be held on Saturday August 20, 2016 at 11 A.M. at the church that he pastored, New Life Community Church in Pismo Beach, CA, to celebrate the life and ministry of "Pastor Ron."

He went to be with the Lord on Sunday morning, July 31st, at about 5:10 am. He died peacefully surrounded by his family. The church that he pastored, New Life Community Church in Pismo Beach, CA, shared this sentiment on the church website: 

We cannot imagine the countless numbers who welcomed him into the presence of Jesus with the words, “I am here because of you!”

As the Sixties ended and the Seventies began, Ron Salsbury was the lead singer of a somewhat successful rock and roll band in Hollywood, California. But Ron had also surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and was looking for a way to share his newfound Christian faith with his generation. So he started a band called JC Power Outlet with his friend John Pantano in the fall of 1970. 

JC Power Outlet released 2 albums on Myrrh Records – a self-titled album in 1972 and the classic Forgiven in 1974 – and traveled all over the United States and Canada for a period of about seven years. They played just about anywhere they could plug in their amps: prisons, churches, colleges, coffeehouses, city parks and music festivals. 

In 1977, Ron and John joined Larry Norman’s Solid Rock Records as a duo and recorded Hit the Switch, an album that is remembered quite fondly. By the way, the choir in Heaven is gaining quite a bit of rock and roll street cred as more and more former members of the Solid Rock family graduate to Glory. Mark Heard, Larry Norman, Tom Howard, Jon Linn and now Ron Salsbury have all reunited on the other side.

Once the touring days came to an end, Ron Salsbury became an Associate Pastor and Worship Leader. Then he went back to school, graduating from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1986. For a number of years, Ron was a cancer survivor and served as Lead Pastor of New Life Community Church in Pismo Beach, CA (a Church of the Nazarene congregation). According to his website, Ron communicated the Gospel with humor and passion, demonstrating to his congregation that “God is really in love with each one of us and that there is a hope in every one of God’s promises.” Even with cancer, Ron continued to live, preach, and sometimes sing and play guitar, with as much passion for Jesus as ever. 

He even released a CD project within the past year titled Then and Now. The concept was unique: a collection of some brand new recordings along with some previously recorded songs that had been digitally “cleaned up,” and some rare concert performances from days gone by that had also been digitally enhanced with new instruments added. I received a copy in the mail from Ron himself, something that I will always cherish. [Go ahead and order your own copy of Then and Now. It’s easy enough to obtain. Just go to ronsalsbury.com. The project is also available at iTunes, amazon and cdbaby.] In our email correspondence, Pastor Ron said, "I tried my best to make contact and get permission from Word and Solid Rock, but finally just gave up and did it!  Nobody responded or seemed to care, so I copyrighted and published all the songs and will deal with any issues that may arise."

He also gave me a behind-the-scenes story about the classic song I Choose To Follow by JC Power Outlet:

"We had turned the tape machine (remember tape?) down a half step to record a guitar effect, and the engineer forgot and I recorded the lead vocal to I Choose to Follow You.  We realized what happened in the mix, but Word would not let me fix the problem (over budget) and I’ve had to live with a slight 'chipmunk' effect on the vocal for 40 years!  On Then and Now, we were able to fix it digitally (change pitch without changing tempo...amazing!) and I finally have it in its original form!  I thought you’d like this story."

It blesses me that several "Jesus Music pioneers" remained true to their calling and even ended up serving the Body of Christ as Pastors after their music was placed on the back burner. Ron Salsbury, Alwyn Wall, Malcolm Wild, Oden Fong, Richie Furay, the late Dana Key, and others. I'm sure their congregations were grateful for their ministries. And I am personally thankful for the positive influence Ron Salsbury had on my life, both musically and spiritually. I know that many of you are as well. 

In closing, it's well worth noting that singer-songwriter Bob Bennett, certainly no stranger to most of the readers of this blog, was called in to sing at Pastor Ron's bedside just hours before his homegoing. Pastor Ron was at home with hospice care, taking what Bob Bennett described as "his final walk to the edge of this earthly life." When it was announced that Ron Salsbury had passed away a few short days later, Bob Bennett had this to say: 

As our Gracious Lord welcomes this dear servant into His presence, may He also comfort Cathi and the Family as well as the thousands in the Congregation at New Life Community Church in Pismo Beach who are saddened by this loss.

He was (and, of course, still is) a good and faithful man who is now face-to-Face with Jesus our Blessed Savior.