Harold Best makes an argument for traditional, hymn-based worship and he does so on unexpected grounds: the actual, physical hymnbook itself, as opposed to the hymns in the hymnbook.
I want to avoid definitional quandaries concerning what a hymn is, compared to, say, a gospel song, or a spiritual or a chant or a chorus. This would take too much time and offer very little to the core of the issue. Therefore I shall extend the idea of hymn-based worship to everything contained in hymnbooks, for it is the book part that interests me far more than typological definitions of “hymn.”
Best sets himself up for unnecessary arguments by making such a statement. By arguing for hymn-based worship that isn’t necessarily tied to a specific book, he could have argued that there is a rich tradition of sound doctrine and teaching in Christian hymnody. And he would be right. By tying his argument to a book, however, whole new problems arise. Which hymnal? The Broadman Hymnal of the 1950s? The Baptist Hymnal? 1975 or 1991? The Worshiping Church? The Celebration Hymnal?
Not all hymnals are created equal. Some have better or worse theology than others. Some are more or less diverse than others. Some go to drastic lengths in order to create a gender-neutral Godhead. At the very least, each hymnal, whether published by a particular denomination or by a publishing house, has its strengths and weaknesses. If one is bound to a particular hymnal, he will be less likely (my opinion) to try to compensate for those weakness. So I would have been much more comfortable with a hymnody-in-general argument rather than a hymnal-based argument.
Best later points out that “the best hymnbooks are treasure troves of theology, prayer, Scripture, song, hymnic information, stylistic variety, and liturgical opportunity.” Yes, the best ones are. But, I’ve never seen a hymnal that meets all of these characteristics. In fact, I doubt one exists.
Now, having played the devil’s advocate so far, let me suggest that Best’s intent is right on target. Christian hymnody is absolutely a rich source of theology and spiritual support and growth. Little apart from the Bible can be used so widely for devotional purposes as hymnals can. And I have encouraged the choirs and churches I have led in worship to use them for such purposes. A hymnal is a volume of systematic theology, parsing into sections doctrine about God, the life of Christ, missiology, etc. But there is more to consider than that.
My concern over a hymn-based approach to worship is not in the use of hymns. Hymns should play a vital role in our corporate worship gatherings. If we were to limit our worship practices to the use of hymnals, however, we would miss a whole world of God-glorifying, Christ-exalting creativity. Why not use a centuries old hymn that for some reason or another didn’t make it into your church’s hymnal? No doubt our hymnals contain some weak hymns at the exclusion of much stronger ones. Or why not seek out music by composers and authors still living? Investigate new music (and old music!!!) thoroughly to make sure it is biblically solid and fruitful for use and use it to the glory of God. “Some of the new music isn’t worthy of singing,” you might say. You’re very right; but a lot of hymns aren’t worth singing, either. We just sing them because we’ve always sung them. And that reason isn’t good enough.
Impacting the Kingdom through Worship,
