#95 MARANATHA MARATHON by Honeytree (1979)

MARANATHA MARATHON by Honeytree 

Myrrh Records (MSB 6629)

There was only one “First Lady of Jesus Music.” We called her Honeytree.

Nancy Henigbaum was born April 11, 1952, in Davenport, Iowa. "Honeytree" is the English translation of her family's German name. She was born into a family of professional classical musicians. Raised with classical and folk music, Nancy learned to play the guitar as a child. She was a quiet, thoughtful young person who battled with a sense of rejection from the “normal” kids at school. She was drawn to the “hippie” kids and became involved in drug abuse during her years at University of Iowa High School. It was among these friends that she was first called Honeytree. In 1970 she met some “Jesus people” at her sister's art school and became one herself. After graduating, she worked at a youth ministry in Ft. Wayne, Indiana called the Adams Apple, a Jesus movement era coffee house, and it was during these years that she began to write songs about her new-found faith. In 1973 a friend financed the recording of a custom album which was soon picked up and distributed by Word. The rest, as they say, is history. 

She quickly became the most beloved female singer of the Jesus movement, and certainly one of its best songwriters. She toured with Phil Keaggy and comedian Mike Warnke for a time. Her songs were intricate and at times, playful. Her folk rock-soprano style was influenced by secular artists such as Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Judy Collins, but her lyrics were largely dealing with one's personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and with various human relationships from a Christian worldview. Many young Christians grew up with Honeytree’s music and identified deeply with her uniquely vulnerable lyrics. Said Nancy in a recent interview: “The Lord has been training me that there is a power in vulnerability; there’s a power in simplicity. And that’s the role that I’m supposed to play. Other people have different jobs. But I’m supposed to be simple and let the Holy Spirit flow.”

So…let’s take a look back at her 1979 offering, Maranatha Marathon -- perhaps the most interesting album cover for any of her records! Honeytree is jogging down a paved street in a warm-up suit, joined by about ten ‘extras.’ I have no idea who all of those folks are. On the back cover, the jog is over, and they’re all just standing around, talking. But now they're in their normal attire. The cheerleader is cute...and serves as a reminder of how much cheerleader uniforms have changed over the years!

Peter York, Richard Souther & Herb Melton from a band called david played on the album; it was engineered by Grammy award winner Jack Joseph Puig. The record itself is quite eclectic. There’s a little something for everybody – straight-ahead rock, full-on country, contemplative worship, and even a children’s ditty. It almost seemed that Honeytree was feeling a little pressure to be a little more commercial with her music. The end result was a thoroughly enjoyable album (albeit somewhat schizophrenic!). The title track marries a country musical treatment to a timeless lyric for those of us who are in it for the long haul. The same year that DeGarmo & Key recorded Long Distance Runner, and a short time before Dallas Holm released Running the Race, Nancy Honeytree offered these words of encouragement:

You can tell the Christian runner by the straight and narrow track
That he follows without swerving left or right or looking back
There’s a finish line in Heaven that his heart is fixed upon
The common goal of all the runners / Maranatha marathon!


The song then takes an unexpected turn with a slower, somewhat dark bridge that repeats…


The old man is dead / Long live the new creature
The old man is dead / Long live the new creature


Before popping back into the bouncy country chorus…


When he runs he never wearies / when he walks he never faints
He is striving for the Master / and cheered on by the saints
Earthly runners may be healthy / but a better race is on
Won’t you come and join the runners / Maranatha marathon!


Al Perkins contributed steel guitar to The Pilgrim, another country tune. [Nancy’s amazing 1993 song Pioneer could’ve been titled The Pilgrim Part II.] Next came Live For Jesus, a song that Nancy wrote specifically for Evie Tornquist. This was probably the song from the album that most folks remember most.


Live for Jesus / That’s what matters
And when other houses crumble mine is strong
Live for Jesus / That’s what matters
That you see the light in me and come along

The kids from Maranatha Christian Academy of Calvary Chapel lend their voices to That’s When We Learn to Fly, a song that could’ve just as easily been performed on Uncle Stonehill’s Hat. 

Father Lift Me Up and Psalm 57 were basically worship songs (long before worship was cool), the latter with beautiful, full-blown classical orchestration. 

Righteous Rock and Roll was just that – and the most exciting track on the album, if you ask me. We had never heard Honeytree perform a song like that! Maybe she was feeling a little pressure to be more like all the other rockers, instead of just “dancing with the one who brung ya.”  Regardless, it’s a great song and I’m glad she did it. 

Go to Church is a nod to 50’s rock and roll. Again, very different from anything she’d done before…but the resulting song was another highlight of the album! Nancy’s humor was on display in the lyrics from Go to Church:

Go to church like your Mama said / Go to church, it’ll help your head
You know, Jesus  would be glad to see you, glad to see you in church
Remember life is a disaster / when you rebel against your Pastor
Are your hassles getting hairy? / Take them to the sanctuary / Go to church

Two other songs are reminiscent of Honeytree’s early acoustic work – Bethel and Do You Love Me. Bethel reminds us that Honeytree has often demonstrated her knowledge of and love for the Word in her song lyrics. And Do You Love Me is an instant classic…a haunting conversation with the Lord Jesus Himself:

Do you love Me? / Can you take My hand and walk alone?
My path is narrow, tracked with tears / You’ll sacrifice for many years
Do you love Me enough?
Do you love Me? / Can you give me all you have to give?
Your eyes, your hands, each word you say / and every thought you think each day
Do you love Me enough?



'90s Honeytree!

On October 30, 1983, Honeytree was formally ordained by her church, Calvary Temple in Ft. Wayne, IN. During the 1980s she developed a ministry to single adults. God also opened the door for her to be involved with Prison Fellowship ministry. She sang in many prisons in preparation for the late Chuck Colson to speak to the inmates.



In June 1990, at age 38, Honeytree got married! She became Mrs. John Richard Miller. Her husband is also an ordained minister. J.R. and Nancy experienced God’s faithfulness through times of loss in 1995 when their baby boy died only two and a half hours after birth. Two weeks before the birth, Nancy’s doctor told her about one of his patients who needed to place a child for adoption. Three months later, when little William came into the world, the adoption had already been arranged. Since Nancy had planned to nurse her child, she was even able to breastfeed the adopted baby when he was only 45 minutes old. “He’s been our own son since the first day,” J.R. and Nancy rejoice. This experience resulted in a powerful song called Up To Something Good.



Nancy Honeytree today

In the 1990s Honeytree recorded several Spanish-language albums. She is still active in ministry, especially world missions. Recently she has ministered in Pakistan and India, and will soon perform in Italy. She is also is committed to outreach in Latin America. Nancy says: “I think that everything that is happening in the world shows us that Jesus is getting things in place for His great harvest. There are so many people getting saved all over the world. It’s amazing. And I’m just happy to be a part of it through singing in different languages.”

 

Many of the "2nd and 3rd wave" CCM artists have gone to great lengths to state that they are not preachers or ministers and that no one should have that expectation of them. Nancy Honeytree doesn’t feel that way at all. She put it this way in a 2012 interview: “When I’m singing for the Lord, I’m preaching the Gospel. And the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.”

Fun Fact: Bob Bennett and Michele Pillar sang background vocals on Maranatha Marathon.