Thinking About a New Hymnal #4—Contemporary Music and Worship

When our current 1989 United Methodist Hymnal (UMH) was being put together in the mid-1980s, there were great changes going on in our church. There had been civil, political, and liturgical upheavals since the last hymnal was published in 1966, including:

• The Vietnam War and its supporters and protestors;
• The Civil Rights Movement and heightened sensitivity to the needs of ethnic constituencies of the church;
• Political assassinations and a presidential impeachment in the U.S.A.;
• Vatican II and its reforms of leadership, language, and music;
• The ecumenical movement and efforts of cooperation and mutual interest among denominations;
• The women's movement and associated changes in roles and language;
• The rise of contemporary Christian music and worship music as entertainment;
• The explosion of new, contemporary hymns being written, particularly in Great Britain;
• The rise of interest in and popularity of ethnic, multicultural, and global music;
• The modernization of language in liturgy, worship, and hymnody from King James to more modern forms;
• The increase of supplemental song and worship books of all kinds and musical styles by many publishers.
• The merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and Methodist Churches in 1968 to form The United Methodist Church, with the new church existing without a new hymnal for twenty-one years.

The compilers and editors of the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal took all these into consideration as they put our hymnal together. In the nearly twenty years since our hymnal was published, we have not seen the kind of political, societal, and liturgical upheaval that preceded its publication; and there is no merger of denominations on the immediate horizon for United Methodists. But what we have seen are dramatic changes in worship and musical styles and other aspects of worship.

• Traditional congregational song (hymns, chants, canticles) is increasingly replaced in worship with more contemporary forms (songs, praise choruses).
• The language of traditional hymns, often thick with symbolism and obscure historical and theological references and concepts, is increasingly replaced by simple, easy-to-understand texts with short phrases and modern language.
• The chanting formulas and pointing for singing the psalms that are contained in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal have not been eagerly accepted or enthusiastically offered by United Methodist worshipers.
• The mechanics of United Methodist worship are changing, with growing numbers of congregations making use of hymn projection and screens, sound systems, MIDI, use of CDs and accompaniment tracks.
• The newer stylings and sounds of praise teams and praise bands in worship call for music quite different from traditional hymns.
• The proliferation of popular, modern, secular musical styles has found its way into our worship music without the normal 30-50 year delay that accompanied past changes in styles of congregational singing. United Methodist congregational song today includes traditional hymns, praise choruses, traditional gospel songs, spirituals, contemporary Christian music, contemporary hymns, urban gospel, southern gospel, global, ethnic, indigenous, pop, rock, hip hop, rap, folk songs, Taizé and contemplative, country, bluegrass, and avant garde.
• We have underscored the importance of various ethnic constituencies of the church by publishing official denominational hymnals in Spanish and Korean languages. Other United Methodist songbooks have been published with the assistance of the church's general agencies in French, German, Danish, Hmong, Cambodian, Russian, Lithuanian, and Macedonian, with current efforts underway in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Namibia, and others.
• The sources of congregational song are many more than in the past. The time when a single bound hymnal in the pews was sufficient for selecting hymns and songs for worship is past. In addition to a denominational hymnal, congregations now make wide use of supplemental hymnals and songbooks; and increasingly, Internet websites deliver the latest music available from sources that completely bypass traditional publishers.
• Technology is bringing about a great shift in the materials congregations will use in worship, including music, ritual, liturgy, and worship resources. In the past that choice has been made by denominational agencies, hymnal committees, and General Conference. The only choice congregations had was whether to purchase the hymnal or not, and that choice was often decided for them by pastors, district superintendents, and bishops. But that choice of music and liturgy is now very much in the hands of the local musician, pastor, and worship planners. Even with the hymnal in the pew rack, they can quickly, easily, and affordably elect to use material outside the hymnal and deliver it through local songbooks or screens.

Add to these changes in United Methodist music and worship the fact that there are generations now growing up in the church who will replace the aging Baby Boomers as congregational leaders, financial supporters, and worshipers. They will bring with them their own musical expectations and desires. They will want to remake congregational singing in their own image, just as did the Baby Boomers and the generations before them.

There is no good definition of contemporary music or style; it changes with each person and each generation. What is clear today is that what was contemporary for the United Methodist Church in 1989 is not contemporary for the church in 2008; and what will be contemporary in 2012, 2016, and beyond will not be what is contemporary in 2008. The question for us today is how best to serve the church today and in the future as it gathers in worship and sings its collective song.

(NOTE: Discipleship Ministries and UMPH boards of directors have proposed to the 2008 General Conference that it is now time to begin production of a new United Methodist hymnal for the USA. Discipleship Ministries directors has also proposed a four-year study into the need and possible publication of an official United Methodist hymnal for African American and Africana congregations. Both hymnal petitions are available on this site.