Pilgrim At Rest
The first song I ever learned on bass was “Little Country Church On The Edge of Town.” The author, Chuck Girard, passed away last week. He was part of the first contemporary Christian mega-band Love Song. They were a bunch of hippies out in Californian who got saved through the ministry of Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel around 1970 and were instrumental (pun intended) in what later became known as the Jesus Movement (see the Jesus Revolution movie). Their music provided the soundtrack to my early “Jesus Freak” years via their albums as well as the Christian rock band at our church.
I had the privilege of meeting Chuck twice. Once back in 1978 when I was playing with Christian solo artist (now movie producer) Rick Eldridge. Our booking agency organized a breakfast for their artists with Chuck so we could benefit from his experience. He warned us about letting the idolization of Christian artists go to our heads as it had with them during their early years. They became so popular so fast that they fell prey to many of the excesses of famous secular bands.
The second time was many years later (around 2005, I think). I helped talk my pastor into inviting Chuck to play at our church. Of course, I volunteered to pick him up at the airport and shuttle him back and forth from the hotel. It gave us a chance to talk and I discovered that he was one of the few people that had read my book (Contemporary Christian Musician’s Survival Manual)!
There were many of his songs that ministered to me; “Joyous Lament,” “Sunday Afternoon,” “Slow Down,” “Lay Your Burden Down”...but the one that meant the most to me (and which I personally asked him to play at our church) was “Little Pilgrim” I think because it so reflected my own spiritual journey. I hope it reaches you, as well. Rest, my friend…I’ll see you soon…