Dan offered to lead our praise and worship on Easter Sunday at our house fellowship in Wilmore, KY. As he took up his guitar he told us why he was bringing an offering of worship that day.
Dan had been a worship leader in a church for several years. He had prepared worship himself and as part of a team. But as the years had gone on it felt increasingly like something he had to ‘do’, a performance to be prepared each week, a list of other people’s songs to be chosen to sing for a congregation that may or may not join in. It became more and more of a chore, until eventually he stepped back from leading altogether. Through a number of relocations he and his wife, Brandi, did not really have the opportunity to settle into another fellowship, and Dan felt his heart for worship fading even more. Eventually they came to a point where they needed to move again, and this time they chose to move to Lexington because they remembered a happy few months they had spent previously as part of an Inspire house fellowship. And if nothing else, Lexington seemed as good a place as any for a new start. But by then Dan’s heart for worship had gone cold. So cold he could not even bring himself to listen to worship music, let alone play or sing.
Dan and Brandi longed for real Christian fellowship and reached out to the Sunday house fellowship in Wilmore to reconnect with Inspire. At first they came every other week or so. They went through the motions of participating and enjoyed the new friendships. The fellowship loved them, and the Lord ministered to them. Slowly they found themselves not longing for fellowship, but longing for more of Jesus himself. They regularly humbled themselves in fellowship and received prayer. They began to see Jesus more and more in their everyday lives, and the house fellowship became more than just fellowship – it was family. There are so many more stories I could share of the small and big ways that the Lord has been working in Dan and Brandi’s life but for now, back to Easter Sunday.
As Dan sat there on Easter Sunday, we all had tears in our eyes as he went on to tell us that the Lord has been patiently at work on his heart as he had given himself over to this family and the fellowship of the Spirit we shared. He had volunteered to lead our worship on Easter Day because he had found a desire to pick up his guitar again. And more than that, the Lord had given him two new songs to sing – of his own. God’s gift was not just a new heart for worship but songs, that were not from a book or a worship band, but straight from God’s heart to his.
And then he shared the sweetest offering anyone could bring on an Easter Day – the gift of worship, love and new life in Jesus.
How blessed was the Inspire Family in Wilmore that day. Hallelujah! Jesus is alive and with us forever more.
The following week, I was telling this story to another house fellowship and they asked to sing the songs themselves. As we sang along to Dan’s simple recordings, one of the ladies in the fellowship picked up her guitar and started plucking the tune. And so we have added some new songs to our fellowships.
John Wesley once said that “it seems, the kingdom of God… will silently increase, wherever it is set up, and spread from heart to heart, from house to house, from town to town…’. We are not so ‘silently’ singing! But we are seeing the Kingdom of God spreading from heart to heart and house to house…
Below you will find the songs that Dan brought, along with a simple recording that he made so that we could share them with you.
If you would like to use Dan’s songs, hear more about transformative house fellowship, or talk to someone about your longing for more of Jesus, then please do contact us
Our Victory
LISTEN to Our Victory
Jesus has conquered. He’s overcome
We have vict’ry because it is done.
Death is vanquished. Sin is slain.
Our God has broken all of our chains
Our God has broken all of our chainsGive praise to the one who gave it all
Give praise to the one who breaks every wall
Dying he set the captives free
And rising he claimed our victory
Rising he claimed our victoryBattered and broken we come to the cross
And meet the king who paid the cost
His life was light so all could see
Jesus has won our victory
Jesus has won our victoryGive praise to the one who gave it all
Give praise to the one who breaks every wall
Dying he set the captives free
And rising he claimed our victory
Rising he claimed our victoryPerfect redeemer
Holy forerunner
Mighty savior
You are the victorGive praise to the one who gave it all
© Dan Henderlong, 2023
Give praise to the one who breaks every wall
Dying he set the captives free
And rising he claimed our victory
Rising he claimed our victory
Long Haul
LISTEN to Long Haul
Your presence is revival. Your love gives us life
Your grace is upheaval Of the brokenness inside
You’re steady under fire. You’re gentle and kind
You’re faithful thru our trials time after timeWe know you see and feel our pain
We know you will not look away
When everyone else turns to hide their face
You’ve shown you will stayWe love you. We trust you.
We know that you’re here for the long haul.
So pour out your love. We want it all!Loving savior who took on our shame
Patient father you are so full of grace
Relentless healer you are not afraid
To draw us nearer and show us your faceWe know you see and feel our pain
We know you will not look away
When everyone else turns to hide their face
You’ve shown you will stayWe love you. We trust you.
We know that you’re here for the long haul.
So pour out your love. We want it all!Take all our fears lord, we want it all
© Dan Henderlong, 2023
Give us your spirit, we want it all
Wipe all our tears, we want it all
There’s nothing you fear God, we want it all
