Does your church sing hymns?

[Tabrett]

Just wondering.....

My church sings a mixture of hymns and praise song. Personally, I think it makes the service music sound odd. We have many elderly people who really love hymns, but our church wants to draw families in without making the elderly feel like we don't care or respect them. I use the term 'elderly' because it truly is the people 70-75 and up that doesn't like the praise and worship.

Do you like singing hymns?

[Starr]

Music for everyone is difficult. I know college kids that don't like praise music.

[TN Mama]

I voted other. At the traditional services they play hymns. At the contemporary services they play mostly praise music with a few hymns mixed in.

[higginszoo]

Ours does a mixture, but not necessarily all at the same service (there are 6 every weekend). Some are all hymns, one is no music, one is all praise and worship, a couple are a mix -- which I agree can end up kind of awkward sometimes.

We are in a VERY liturgical tradition, but in our last church, we had MANY senior citizens who preferred the lively praise and worship service.

Edited September 15, 2010 by higginszoo

[Melinda in VT]

I love hymns!

 

I'm very uncomfortable with praise and worship music in church. (I'm fine with most of it for daily listening.) I think this is because the few times I've been in a church with praise and worship music, I felt the leaders were trying to emotionally manipulate the congregation. They'd have us repeat the chorus again and again, or sometimes even the entire song until we apparently reached the appropriate fervor?

 

But then, I am drawn to a more liturgical form of worship. I like the solemnity of it, the connection with the past. It's rare for me to really like a hymn written after about 1900.

 

I would not choose to attend a church that substituted hymns for praise and worship music, and if my church changed to that, I would probably leave.

[JessaMae]

I voted "other" as well. Our first service is contemporary praise and our second service is hymns. It is interesting to see - some young people prefer the hymns and some older prefer the praise, but mostly it is the other way around. We ended up splitting into two services b/c it was so difficult to mesh the two styles and "keep everyone happy."

[FaithManor]

We sing a mixture and once or twice every couple of months we have a hymns only Sunday.

 

Faith

[Heatherwith4]

We have different services due to space issues, and also a couple of different rooms (venues). We are just running out of space. The earliest service is mostly hymns. The middle two services are a mix of praise and worship plus hymns (which are often sung with a new twist), and the last service is a more contemporary one.

I like hymns, especially when we sing them in a new way. I love praise and worship, though.

[Heatherwith4]

We have different services due to space issues, and also a couple of different rooms (venues). We are just running out of space. The earliest service is mostly hymns. The middle two services are a mix of praise and worship plus hymns (which are often sung with a new twist), and the last service is a more contemporary one.

I like hymns, especially when we sing them in a new way. I love praise and worship, though.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

We used to attend a church that had a mixture of both. Our current church has more of a 'band' style worship with only contemporary songs. I think hymns are an important part of our religious and cultural heritage, so we choose to add them in at home. We listen to hymns on CD, our boys play them on the piano for practice, and we read Hymns for a Kid's Heart.

[Nicole M]

I attended a funeral mass for our dear neighbor yesterday. We got to a "hymn" that was totally unsingable, and sounded like it was written for guitar to be sung around the campfire. I mentioned to my son (quietly, of course) that it was probably written in the 70s. We looked, and yes, it was.

 

The church that I currently visit sings hymns at the old folks service, which I attend, and praise music a little later, in a different space, where younger families attend. More of those younger folks are drifting into our service though. I like to believe they're seeing the light. ;)

[simka2]

Mostly contemporary praise and worship...alot of it written by our band. Our worship leader was a part of Worship Together over in Engand before immigrating to the US. So, even if we do hymns...the music is changed.

[Ottakee]

We sing almost all hymns in the morning and a mix at night, leaning more towards hymns. My girls just LOVE when we sing Be Thou My Vision and other very old hymns. Quite often the music director will tell a bit of the history behind the hymn as well.

 

Personally I like the hymns (esp. those that move along) as they have very good doctrine/message to them and I find that many choruses are what we call 7/11 songs---11 words repeated 7 times. Some just lack the spiritual depth that the hymns have.

 

Now for everyday listening, I have no problems with more contemporary music. Some I personally like, some I don't but I really like the hymns in church and would hate to see them disappear.

[Nicole M]

We sing almost all hymns in the morning and a mix at night, leaning more towards hymns. My girls just LOVE when we sing Be Thou My Vision and other very old hymns. Quite often the music director will tell a bit of the history behind the hymn as well.

 

 

 

Be Thou My Vision is one of my all time favorites! Yay for your girls!

[Tabrett]

I kinda consider updated hymns comtempary. Simply because they are sang in a a different style. I would like to incorporate more updated hymns in the service, but where does one find these updated hymns. The only two I can think of is There is no Rock (Rock of Ages) and My Chains Are Gone (Amazing Grace). I really love both of these songs. Can you give me some more?

[Ottakee]

Be Thou My Vision is one of my all time favorites! Yay for your girls!

 

Nothing beats it when sung close to St. Patrick's day with an Irish flute playing. They look forward to this each year.

[edithcrawley]

I voted other. We have 2 traditional services and 1 contemporary service at the church. The traditional service (the one I attend) is all hymns all the time. The contemporary service is all praise and worship stuff. The 8:30 service (traditional) is mostly older folks, the 10 AM contemporary is a few older folks with some young families and some college students. The 11 AM (traditional) is a mix of old and young, lots of college students at this one as well (we're right next to a campus)

 

Personally, I'm not a fan of the praise and worship style of music, I like having a hymnal to read the notes out of instead of just reading the words off of a projection screen and trying to figure out the melody.

 

 

Many people think it is odd that I enjoy the traditional style of worship, partially because of my age (21), and that I didn't become a Christian til a few years ago.

[Dobela]

For us it depends on who is leading singing that service. Our song leaders are volunteers and pick their own songs each service. There are a few praise songs I like but I prefer hymns.

[abbeyej]

Do you like singing hymns?

 

I do.

[DesertDweller]

I voted other. Sometimes they do. If they do, it's usually one at the end of the praise and worship. It works well since usually at that point the music played is slower and more along the lines of worship.

 

They also have a special service every few months where they do songs from each decade along with hymns.

[Mama Geek]

I didn't vote b/c we are about to start the search for a new church.

 

I have grown up in a liturgical church with traditional hymns and that is where my heart is.

 

Most of the churches within my denomination have separate services for traditional and contemporary worship. Very little of the praise and worship music impresses me, but what bothers me more is that most churches water down their service including the sermon when they switch to contemporary music. :glare:

[ecj98]

I voted hymns, but we also sing a lot of Psalms. We have both a hymnal and a psalter that we sing from. I love the theological depth of hymns, and I also love singing Psalms, the Bible's own words. My kids learn a hymn each week (just the 1st verse for now) as part of their schooling.

[Mom22ns]

Our church sings mostly choruses and contemporary worship song, but throws in the occasional hymn.

 

I hate singing hymns. Id didn't grow up in church and have no attachment and just can't stand them.

[Daisy]

Sigh. I love hymns. My children love hymns. My husband loves hymns.

 

Sadly, our church is one of many contemporary churches that seem to think hymns are too old-fashioned.

 

Give me O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing over a feel-good song any day of the week.

[AFwife Claire]

I love hymns!

 

I'm very uncomfortable with praise and worship music in church. (I'm fine with most of it for daily listening.) I think this is because the few times I've been in a church with praise and worship music, I felt the leaders were trying to emotionally manipulate the congregation. They'd have us repeat the chorus again and again, or sometimes even the entire song until we apparently reached the appropriate fervor?

 

But then, I am drawn to a more liturgical form of worship. I like the solemnity of it, the connection with the past. It's rare for me to really like a hymn written after about 1900.

 

I would not choose to attend a church that substituted hymns for praise and worship music, and if my church changed to that, I would probably leave.

 

I agree with you, Melinda! I also feel emotionally manipulated with praise music and praise and worship leaders in general. Plus, so many praise and worship songs are of the "God is my boyfriend" genre--where you could substitute any other name in there, and the song would still make sense. As others have said, hymns have such incredibly rich theology--they give your brain something to chew on while you are singing!

 

Our church has a mixture of hymns and contemporary, but even so, their contemporary is not really what is played on our Christian radio station (which I love listening to--but don't want to sing in church).

[eaglei]

We sing almost all hymns in the morning and a mix at night, leaning more towards hymns. My girls just LOVE when we sing Be Thou My Vision and other very old hymns. Quite often the music director will tell a bit of the history behind the hymn as well.

 

Personally I like the hymns (esp. those that move along) as they have very good doctrine/message to them and I find that many choruses are what we call 7/11 songs---11 words repeated 7 times. Some just lack the spiritual depth that the hymns have.

 

Now for everyday listening, I have no problems with more contemporary music. Some I personally like, some I don't but I really like the hymns in church and would hate to see them disappear.

 

I highlighted the parts with which :iagree:

And I *love* your 7/11 analogy!

[ladydusk]

I voted hymns, but we also sing a lot of Psalms. We have both a hymnal and a psalter that we sing from. I love the theological depth of hymns, and I also love singing Psalms, the Bible's own words. My kids learn a hymn each week (just the 1st verse for now) as part of their schooling.

 

:iagree:

 

We do a verse of a hymn each week (so about a hymn a month)

 

I do not like most P/W music. I remember hearing about the song "I Can Only Imagine" and how it was written so quickly after the event that inspired it and, honestly, my first thought was, "and it sounds like it." The me centered, theological shallowness of most P/W music makes me shudder. And, as someone else said, the emotional manipulation of it concerns me as well. And, I like having the music to read while I'm singing (not that it is needed with most P/W songs ...)

 

Not all hymns are good, but it is easy enough to avoid the bad ones, generally. (There's this one hymn that we sing often enough at my church that I always wonder why The Church's One Foundation isn't sung instead ... and then we went to a church on our way to vacation and we sang the awful one there *too!* Ah, well.) I love when we sing Psalms or Psalm-inspired hymns. And in a Minor Key (Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence is my favorite hymn). And the historicity of singing hymns that God's people, through the ages, have sung. There's something special about that.

 

Sorry, ramble-y. We definitely looked for and found a "traditional music" church on purpose :)

[Willow]

I voted other. As traditional Quakers, we meet in silence.

 

Willow.

[eaglei]

Sigh. I love hymns. My children love hymns. My husband loves hymns.

 

Sadly, our church is one of many contemporary churches that seem to think hymns are too old-fashioned.

 

Give me O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing over a feel-good song any day of the week.

 

I highlighted that with which :iagree:

I am SO very thankful that ds prefers hymns to choruses and contemporary. Just the other day he commented to me that he missed the hymns the way I play them (simply - not a lot of embellishment [because I don't know how to do embellishment :sad:]), and has been reminding me to play my piano!:D One of the songs he likes for me to play is "And Can It Be That I Should Gain?"

[LaissezFaire]

Ours is doing a mix right now and I cannot stand it. One or the other, make a choice. It's been a huge issue. We are actually leaving our church and one of my requirements in a new one is consistency in the music.

[AFwife Claire]

One of the songs he likes for me to play is "And Can It Be That I Should Gain?"

 

I LOVE that song too!!

[Heather in OK]

Very rarely.

 

And it really bugs me. I LOVE hymns!!! What I don't love is services that do hymns only without any joy.

[Heather in WI]

I love hymns!

 

I'm very uncomfortable with praise and worship music in church. (I'm fine with most of it for daily listening.) I think this is because the few times I've been in a church with praise and worship music, I felt the leaders were trying to emotionally manipulate the congregation. They'd have us repeat the chorus again and again, or sometimes even the entire song until we apparently reached the appropriate fervor?

 

 

I would not choose to attend a church that substituted hymns for praise and worship music, and if my church changed to that, I would probably leave.

 

:iagree: This is exactly how how feel!

[eaglei]

hymns have such incredibly rich theology--they give your brain something to chew on while you are singing!

 

I could not have said it better!

 

I find, too, that God can speak to my heart (or perhaps it would be better stated to say that I can hear from God) better through a hymn than a repetitious chorus.

 

There are a few chorus type songs or contemporary ones that touch me almost always with the message, but only a few.

[Prairie~Phlox]

Our church sings mostly choruses and contemporary worship song, but throws in the occasional hymn.

 

I hate singing hymns. Id didn't grow up in church and have no attachment and just can't stand them.

 

 

Our church sings quite a few hymns and I hate singing them as well. I really prefer the contemporary worship. Actually right now, the worship team struggles some weeks, they just don't have the rhythm it takes and some songs are too slow, some are too fast last week was really hard to get through. I wish I could sing, but sadly, it's not one of my gifts.

[Anna]

I voted "other". We use hymns only but we don't "sing" them, we "chant" (ie, Christian Orthodox). It's similar to Western Church Gregorian chanting only ours is Eastern Church.

[eaglei]

I guess I should answer the original question, now that I've commented on other responses!

 

Our church currently does a mix, based on who is leading the worship. It may be mostly hymns with a few choruses / contemporary, or it may be all one or the other. Usually, it is the former.

 

I personally prefer hymns for church.

[rookie]

I do not go to church, but if I did I would only want to sing or hear hymns. I cannot abide "praise" or "worship" music.

 

I am in my 40s.

[FO4UR]

I can't really vote b/c I have been a part of so many churches in the past 13 years...Most churches I've been a part of have some sort of mix.

 

Some churches do this well, and have transitional music arranged so that it's a seamless time of worship and one would not realize that we just sang a hymn first and a chorus 2nd unless one was purposely watching for one or the other.

 

Some churches throw out a "pity hymn" or a "pity chorus" to appease the opposing team (or it feels that way) and it's obvious.

 

Some churches think they are SO modern and contemporary and shun any hymn (that hasn't been "remade" and sung on the radio by some famous Christian artist), only to wind up in the SAME KIND OF RUT that their grandparents generation dug with "ole' time hymns"...the only things that have changed are a few notes, trade the organ for a guitar, and a big screen that goes up and down at the touch of a button. This kind of church is "traditional," but repainted if we can expand the metaphor of white-washed tombs... (Not all contemporary churches are like this! The churches who want to be like the *real* contemporary churches are in danger of this ime. It's a fuzzy line drawn by the heart of the worship pastor, but it's an obvious distinction when you find yourself sitting in the pew.)

 

I like good music. I don't care the date it was written. The lyrics need to be meaty (c'mon, give me some theological substance and enough with the 101 repetitions of - insert very annoying tag-). The melody needs to be....melodious. And, let's find some new chords to tinker with...:D

 

Most of all, the music should be an expression of worship from the congregation as a whole. It is NOT a tool to be used to entice young families into the church doors. It isn't a tool used to bully a segment of people, or shun a segment of people, or manipulate people in any way. It is supposed to be worship. Song selections should come from a corpus of music that is built off of the congregation's natural bent, and that corpus should ever be in a state of *gradual* movement.

 

fwiw - Most old hymns...and I mean *old* hymns have passed the test of time. Every time a new hymn book is published they weed out some of the old to make way for some new, so the old ones that haven't been cut are more likely to be of high quality *musically* and *theologically* than the new. That said, I truly LOVE quite a few of the new modern hymns.

 

We are between churches (dh is a pastor...well, resigned recently and is looking for another church...so we are in that in between stage). We have been visiting Parkside Church (Alistair Begg's church), and I think they have *the* best music I've ever heard at a church. They have a variety of old and new. Some pieces have a high church feel and others are very simple...all are God-focused and meaty. They mix up the instruments, yet have continuity. The music is worth a long drive for us, not to mention the challenging preaching...:auto:

[Teachaheart]

I kinda consider updated hymns comtempary. Simply because they are sang in a a different style. I would like to incorporate more updated hymns in the service, but where does one find these updated hymns. The only two I can think of is There is no Rock (Rock of Ages) and My Chains Are Gone (Amazing Grace). I really love both of these songs. Can you give me some more?

 

Two of my favorite sources for updated hymns are Sovereign Grace Music and Indelible Grace Music.

 

Here is a link to the sheet music PDF's from Sovereign Grace Music. http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/category.aspx?categoryID=1173

Just click on the letter groups at the top and then choose titles from the side. When you choose a title, the available downloads (lead sheets, guitar chord charts, lyrics, etc) will appear in the center. A large number of these are free.

 

http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/home.html is the link to the Indelible Grace hymnbook. You can browse by title or author to see the various resources available for each song. Most of them have demos you can listen to.

[FO4UR]

I should have given the warning that this is a soapbox issue for *some* people...(some people being ME:lol:).

:leaving:

[6packofun]

Our church usually has 1 hymn and a few other more contemporary songs, but occasionally we'll have 2-3 hymns or more "old-fashioned" songs, for lack of a better term. I particularly like when hymns are given a slightly different tempo and style--not drastically different from the original, but new. :) Our church's idea of "contemporary" and MINE are at odds, though. LOL!!

[JillZ]

Two of my favorite sources for updated hymns are Sovereign Grace Music and Indelible Grace Music.

 

 

:iagree:

We sing a mix of hymns and contemporary music, but the contemporary music all has meaningful theology (no mindless repetitions, etc.). We sing a decent number of Sovereign Grace songs, and songs by the Getty's. I love the mix at our church!

[Alenee]

I didn't read the whole thread so please forgive me if this is a repeat. Our church plays both hymns and contemporary music. Sometimes the hymns are sung in their original way and at other times they are put to a bit catchier music but the words remain the same.

 

I was once uninterested in hymns but as my relationship with the Lord grew, I started actually *listening* to the words of the hymns and I truly grew to love them. I have one of Alan Jackson's hymn cd's with original hymns sung in a country-ish way. It's one of my all-time favorites!

 

Oh, and we have a range of people in our church, from young to over 80 yo and even the 80 yos are singing with the praise music. I'm curious if the elderly in your church are complaining or is this just an assumption? Is it possible for your band to do both as I said above?

[Kirch]

I like good music. I don't care the date it was written. The lyrics need to be meaty (c'mon, give me some theological substance and enough with the 101 repetitions of - insert very annoying tag-). The melody needs to be....melodious. And, let's find some new chords to tinker with...:D

 

Most of all, the music should be an expression of worship from the congregation as a whole. It is NOT a tool to be used to entice young families into the church doors. It isn't a tool used to bully a segment of people, or shun a segment of people, or manipulate people in any way. It is supposed to be worship. Song selections should come from a corpus of music that is built off of the congregation's natural bent, and that corpus should ever be in a state of *gradual* movement.

 

fwiw - Most old hymns...and I mean *old* hymns have passed the test of time. Every time a new hymn book is published they weed out some of the old to make way for some new, so the old ones that haven't been cut are more likely to be of high quality *musically* and *theologically* than the new. That said, I truly LOVE quite a few of the new modern hymns.

 

 

 

:iagree: This. I'm the worship leader at our church, and sometimes it's hard with so many different opinions and preferences pulling in every direction. I wish I could just feel free to choose meaningful, beautiful songs without having to mentally check off if I've used enough hymns lately or if we're doing enough of the more modern songs to keep the other side happy. Overall, though, our church is really good about not whining either way.

 

There are definitely some "7/11" songs out there, but there's a LOT of meaty, rich praise and worship music too. Hymns tend to be objective (singing about God rather than to Him), while praise and worship tends to be subjective (singing to God). Both have a place, IMO, and both are valuable. Many, many of the Psalms, esp. the ones by David, are incredibly subjective. Many times I find myself searching for a good praise and worship song to sing just after a deep, old hymn *in response* to the hymn--thinking about what the hymn says about God moves me to want to express my adoration and worship.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Kirch
Forgot to finish a thought!

[petepie2]

I coordinate all of the music at our church. We usually always have a couple of hymns. We may occasionally have a 'chorus' type song, but not very often. We sing a lot of music from Sovereign Grace Ministries and songs written by the Gettys. Their songs are theologically sound and yet have a contemporary sound. All of our music is accompanied by a piano, and on occasion, I'll play the guitar as well. I make a point to avoid selecting songs that are primarily experience-based. (And yes, there are songs in the hymn book that are 100% experience-based! It's not just praise & worship music!) If we're supposed to teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, then I want songs that actually say something concrete. It's not that experience-based songs are bad, it's just that I think they're more appropriate outside of corporate worship.

 

While I love hymns, I also feel they can be better served with a good piano player. (I don't mean I'm against a cappella. I love it!) I think hymns start to sound so familiar that it's easy to just sing them and not think about what you're singing. Sometimes, just changing the tune or the style of the accompaniment music can really make the words of a hymn come to life. I think accompaniment music should drive and support the lyrics of the song and not just serve as a backdrop to dish out the notes. That's where a good piano player comes in handy. For example, when we sing about a big idea or have a climax in a song, I think there should be big piano behind it. One of our piano players does this very well. I absolutely love to hear him play "And Can It Be?" I notice that our congregation tends to sing stronger when he plays. I can't understand how it all works, but music is just like that. It's a wonderful gift from God!

 

However, at the end of the day, if we think we need "this song" or "these instruments" or "this atmosphere" or "this style of music" to worship, then I think we have fallen into a form of idolatry.

[FO4UR]

:iagree: This. I'm the worship leader at our church, and sometimes it's hard with so many different opinions and preferences pulling in every direction. I wish I could just feel free to choose meaningful, beautiful songs without having to mentally check off if I've used enough hymns lately or if

 

There are definitely some "7/11" songs out there, but there's a LOT of meaty, rich praise and worship music too. Hymns tend to be objective (singing about God rather than to Him), while praise and worship tends to me subjective (singing to God). Both have a place, IMO, and both are valuable. Many, many of the Psalms, esp. the ones by David are incredibly subjective. Many times I find myself searching for a good praise and worship song to sing just after a deep, old hymn *in response* to the hymn--thinking about what the hymn says about God moves me to want to express my adoration and worship.

 

Ahh..."yes, yes," to the objective/subjective distinction.:iagree:

 

dh and I had a conversation just this past Sunday about how many personal pronouns are used in contemporary Christian music. It dovetails on the question, "Do I read the Bible through the lens of my experience or do I read my experiences through the lens of the Bible?" I, me, and mine...

 

...and :grouphug: b/c you have a very tough job! The old cliche about lving between a rock and a hard place is very ...applicable...

[FO4UR]

 

 

 

However, at the end of the day, if we think we need "this song" or "these instruments" or "this atmosphere" or "this style of music" to worship, then I think we have fallen into a form of idolatry.

 

:iagree: Wow! That is the truth!

[petepie2]

 

There are definitely some "7/11" songs out there, but there's a LOT of meaty, rich praise and worship music too. Hymns tend to be objective (singing about God rather than to Him), while praise and worship tends to be subjective (singing to God). Both have a place, IMO, and both are valuable. Many, many of the Psalms, esp. the ones by David, are incredibly subjective. Many times I find myself searching for a good praise and worship song to sing just after a deep, old hymn *in response* to the hymn--thinking about what the hymn says about God moves me to want to express my adoration and worship.

 

I like this. Yes, it's a nice combination. I like linking songs together like this...it's just hard to find the right ones sometimes!

[Parrothead]

I voted "other". We use hymns only but we don't "sing" them, we "chant" (ie, Christian Orthodox). It's similar to Western Church Gregorian chanting only ours is Eastern Church.

We do sing hymns. I would really like to hear some Georgian chant at mass.