In Defense of Hymnals 

Serving in a church has so many exciting aspects. Admittingly, serving in a church has many discouraging aspects as well, but alas, I digress. I work with our music team to select the weekly song list as well as providing the musicians everything they need for Sunday. We recently purchased new hymnals for our church. I’m not sure if your church has a physical hymnal or more singularly utilizes multimedia for projecting words or notation. As we considered updating our hymnal, I wanted to make sure that we kept something physical in the back of each pew. Practically, I know some people like to pick our harmony lines or see who wrote the hymnal and other technical information. That was certainly not the primary reason. 

Philosophically, I think it is important for church members as well as visitors to have easy access to the church’s doctrinal beliefs. If you want to know what a church believes, take a look at their singing material. If you want to know how a church views the role of the congregation in the worship service, take a look at their music program. I wanted anyone to be able to walk into the doors of our church, flip to any random hymn, and be able to say, “Oh ok, I know what this church believes.” Music is extremely important to the life and character of a church and not because of the means of music. Music is important because of the doctrinal truths it communicates. 

This is not a post to lambast churches who project all their music exclusively, but a word of caution against loosing your people from that anchor of identity. I have been a part of ministries where any number of artists, theologies, philosophies, and principles defenestrated­–thrown out the window to die­– because a new song had rapidly grown in popularity and needed to be introduced that very next Sunday. When a church’s Sunday song list can all be found on current Christian radio, I think that church is risking theological drift, maybe without even knowing it. 

We chose to retain a hymnal, and we project the words of our hymns as the same time. I didn’t think it was a waste of money to purchase all new hymnals because of the reality that that physical book represents. And to put a fine point on this, “church tradition” is not the thing that a physical hymnal communicates. A physical hymnal, songbook, music folder, or whatever specific method is used, allows your people to flip through it and know that their church doctrine is “this.” 

As we introduce new hymns from the hymnal, we teach through the verses and explain why this hymn is important for the life of our body. Our church has a “song of the month” where a new hymn is taught and sung each Sunday for that month. The church learns, sings, and grows together. 

Objection 1: I thought we learned doctrine from the Bible. Why put such a high emphasis of learning doctrine from a hymnal? Paul instructed the Colossian church to “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.” (Col. 3:16) God’s Word actually makes a home in our very beings when we teach and admonish one another through song. The church’s singing material is the primary method this happens. 

Objection 2: What happens if you want to introduce a song that isn’t in the hymnal? We have supplemental folder from which we sing. If folks are interested in looking through those songs, I have extra folders on hand to give them. I project the notation on the screen for any hymn/ song we sing that is not found in our hymnal. 

Objection 3: When I walk into a church that has hymnals in the pew backs, I know immediately that that church is old and stuffy. That could be true. Fine. I’ll admit it. However, it could also mean that the church has a high view of God and wants to clearly identify those songs and hymns that testify His greatness through music and song. 

All this to say, I love hymnals in churches because I love being as theologically clear and precise as possible. I would struggle if my church made the decision to abandon a physical hymnal and will continue to preach its benefit and necessity! 

Written in honor and on behalf of Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley.  

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