The Hymn Debate
I recently heard a podcast with some old guys (Ok, they were my age) grumping about people changing hymns. The big complaint was that young songwriters were adding choruses and bridges to their beloved hymns. Before I get into the meat of things I need to say, I love these brothers. I listen to this podcast twice per week and will continue, but since we all have blindspots, and mine are bigger than most, I am also not an expert hymnologist. There are people with education degrees in hymnology, and I am at my core a former punk rock drummer who has had the honor of leading God’s people in worship since 1991 as a pastor and before that in many different situations since I was in high school. I’ve been around the block a time or two.
There are benefits to singing hymns, but with that we have to understand that just because a hymn is old, that doesn’t make it good. There are some bad hymns. There are also some hymns that are solid theologically that are difficult to play with a worship team. The melody won’t work if the chords are simplified. The “go to” hymns that we use for memorials and church services when someone says, “we have to have a hymn,” are typically “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art”. These two hymns are easy for a worship team to play, have solid theology, and they are easy to sing. Like these two, there are many hymns that will work in a contemporary setting. Thanks to Don Chapman with Hymn charts and Nathan Drake with Reawaken Hymns there are a lot more to choose from.
Let's address adding choruses and bridges to hymns. First, hymns have changed throughout the years. Many were written hundreds of years ago, at a time in which the writers didn’t have the ability to record them. And over time the melodies have changed. I do agree that we should keep to the known melody, but I recognize that lyrically hymns are not scripture and should not be treated as such. To be clear, the gentlemen on the podcast were not saying that hymns are equated with scripture, but I have had many a discussion with people who want to make hymns as sacred as scripture. Secondly, there is an advantage to adding a chorus or bridge to a hymn. These additions should connect the theology of the hymn from the head to the heart of a worship song.
One way to do that is through a mashup or a medley: Put a worship song the church knows with a hymn to help the church see the hymn in a new light. Paul Baloche does a fantastic job of that with Christmas hymns. A great example is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Glorious”. The two songs flow together and singing “Glorious” lifts up our worship and praise to the good news of the birth of our Lord. The trick is to use songs that complement each other, lyrically and musically, which is not always doable.
'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.’ Colossians 3:16
I am thankful that we can have different opinions in the body of Christ and still love each other.
There are benefits to singing hymns, but with that we have to understand that just because a hymn is old, that doesn’t make it good. There are some bad hymns. There are also some hymns that are solid theologically that are difficult to play with a worship team. The melody won’t work if the chords are simplified. The “go to” hymns that we use for memorials and church services when someone says, “we have to have a hymn,” are typically “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art”. These two hymns are easy for a worship team to play, have solid theology, and they are easy to sing. Like these two, there are many hymns that will work in a contemporary setting. Thanks to Don Chapman with Hymn charts and Nathan Drake with Reawaken Hymns there are a lot more to choose from.
Let's address adding choruses and bridges to hymns. First, hymns have changed throughout the years. Many were written hundreds of years ago, at a time in which the writers didn’t have the ability to record them. And over time the melodies have changed. I do agree that we should keep to the known melody, but I recognize that lyrically hymns are not scripture and should not be treated as such. To be clear, the gentlemen on the podcast were not saying that hymns are equated with scripture, but I have had many a discussion with people who want to make hymns as sacred as scripture. Secondly, there is an advantage to adding a chorus or bridge to a hymn. These additions should connect the theology of the hymn from the head to the heart of a worship song.
One way to do that is through a mashup or a medley: Put a worship song the church knows with a hymn to help the church see the hymn in a new light. Paul Baloche does a fantastic job of that with Christmas hymns. A great example is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Glorious”. The two songs flow together and singing “Glorious” lifts up our worship and praise to the good news of the birth of our Lord. The trick is to use songs that complement each other, lyrically and musically, which is not always doable.
'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.’ Colossians 3:16
I am thankful that we can have different opinions in the body of Christ and still love each other.
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