Ever since God called me into ministry, I’ve served Southern Baptist churches. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t serve churches of another denomination (or ones with no denominational affiliation) if He called me to do so. But as it stands, I’ve only served Southern Baptist churches. Even so, you couldn’t call me a “fanboy” of the SBC. I love the Cooperative Program and I believe it is the strongest infrastructure of global missions anywhere in the world. But just because something might be proposed or published by the SBC or its publishing arm, LifeWay Christian Resources, doesn’t mean I fall all over myself to buy it and use it. In fact, I’m often skeptical because sometimes we just flat out get it wrong.
Note: This is a long article. If you would like to skip to the conclusion, feel free to do so and come back later and read the rest. Skip to the conclusion.
The Southern Baptist Convention typically publishes a new hymnal every fifteen or sixteen years. The last Baptist Hymnal was published in 1991 and the one before it was published in 1975. So we’ve been expecting a new version for some time. This summer, LifeWay Worship released the latest edition and here’s my conclusion: Stop what you’re doing, call whoever you need to call at your church and start raising funds to purchase this hymnal. Seriously. Mike Harland and his team have provided the church with an incredible resource that combines the rich tradition of historical hymnody with modern worship songs.
Theological Importance
One of the main concerns the folks at LifeWay addressed in compiling this hymnal was the theological depth of the material. I’ve communicated here and elsewhere many times that the theological content of what we sing is so much more important than the style in which we sing it. The new hymnal weighs that thought heavily and makes theology a hallmark of the new publication.
More Songs
The 1991 hymnal had 666 (yes, that’s right–whose decision was that?) songs. The 2008 edition includes 674 sings in the printed edition and an additional 250 songs and arrangements are available online. LifeWay says they’ll be adding roughly 100 songs to the online repository each year, making this the first truly expandable hymnal. Of course, that isn’t going to appease those brothers and sisters who strongly believe you should be holding a book in your hand when you sing in corporate worship. But it does provide the church with additional resources.
Additional Resources
The 1991 Baptist Hymnal included resources such as an organ edition and a piano edition and a singer’s edition, but these were nothing more than repackaged versions of the pew edition. This time, LifeWay has made these versions idiomatic for their intended instrument. The organ edition uses three-staff scores. The piano edition (and likely the organ edition, too, although I haven’t seen it) includes written intros. The singer’s edition is an enhanced version of the pew edition, and includes full vocal scores for the songs. This will be of great help to your choir or praise team. All of these resources are available in printed form and as PDFs on a CD. Other available resources include full parts for just about every orchestral instrument (including the harp) and a DVD-ROM of Finale files, although you’ll need a generous donor for that product.
Online Tools
The internet has become a ubiquitous part of our lives in the last decade. LifeWay Worship is taking advantage of that and has become the first hymnal publisher to provide online downloads of all of the songs (and more) available in the printed hymnal. The keystone resource of the online hymnal is a technology LifeWay calls “song mapping.”
Song mapping allows the user to make custom arrangements of songs and print scores and download tracks for the custom arrangement. For example, let’s say I want to schedule a hymn that uses verses and refrains. And let’s say I want to sing Verse 1, followed by the Refrain, followed by Verse 2. But what if I wanted to go right back into Verse 3 without singing the Refrain? With song mapping, I can create the arrangement to follow that flow. Verse 1 > Refrain > Verse 2 > Verse 3 > Refrain. I can then purchase and download that arrangement and I won’t have to spend time in rehearsal explaining to our instrumentalists how we’re going to play the song.
In addition to song mapping, there will be a rudimentary worship planning tool. It doesn’t appear that it will be able to rival other more established online worship planning sites, but additional functionality is slated for the first half of 2009.
Conclusion
When I first picked a copy of the new Baptist Hymnal, I was reading through and naming some of the songs included and my wife said at least a dozen times, “That’s in there?” The level of thoroughness the team at LifeWay Worship accomplished is quite stunning. In fact, “hymnal” is probably a bad term for the book. It includes standard hymnody and so much more. Their goal in compiling this edition was to include songs the church is singing, not songs the church should be singing. There has been a welcomed shift in recent years toward doctrinally-sound material for corporate worship. Had LifeWay Worship insisted on maintaining the practice of previous hymnal committees by publishing a book of songs they thought we should be singing, the 2008 Baptist Hymnal would not have been as successful as this one no doubt will be. I’m grateful for such a resource and I look forward to using it for many years to come.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
P.S.: By the way, the hymnal is also available as The Worship Hymnal. If your church is not a Baptist church, or if it is a Baptist church but doesn’t want to send the message that there is a specific “Baptist way” to worship, this is probably what you’ll want to look into. The content is identical to Baptist Hymnal. Only the cover title is different.
So, I've searched the internet and couldn't find an example page from the pew version (or any other version for that matter). So, I've got a question. I'm a guitarist and usually like to get music in "lead sheet" format: melody, lyrics, and chord symbols. Which version should I look for?
A few years back I was given the pew edition of the Episcopalian hymnal, "Gather," as a gift. I love the song and liturgy selections, but it only had melody and lyrics. Without either chord symbols or harmonies from which to extrapolate the chords, it's been a lot less useful than I've wanted.
Obed, Thanks for stopping by. The Baptist Hymnal is available in both lead sheet and what LifeWay refers to as "quick chart" format. The lead sheets include the melody and chord symbols. The quick charts are simply the text to the songs with chord names printed above the text. I'm not sure if either is available in printed form, but I know they're both available on CD-ROM.
Rhonda B shared your blog with me – I was blessed by your comments. I know there are going to be "kinks" as we move forward but thanks for believing in what we're trying to do. Your insights sound like you've been in a few of our meetings!
blessings on you – Mike
Mike, I've been a believer in this project since I first saw the hymnal several weeks ago. I've only been in one meeting where the hymnal was introduced (this past weekend), so some of the factual information came from that. But the opinion was formed long before this weekend. Thank you for your service to the Body of Christ.
It looks really good. I only with they had included "O The Deep Deep Love of Jesus" with the Ebenezer tune.
Our interim music minister went to Glorieta for Music Week this past summer and was introduced to the new hymnal. He was enthusiastic. He ordered copies for the choir. I have been separating the sheets to get them organized numerically.
Is anyone aware that the middle pages of these songs have no markings? I had volunteers here separating the sheets and have wound up with a middle page of some song that I have no clue where it belongs. They are not named. They carry no number.
This doesn't matter when you have a book in hand but working with the sheets only makes me think it would have been nice to see some kind of title or number on the inner pages of these multi-paged songs.
Suzanne Cranford
Music Secretary
First Baptist Church
Big Spring, Texas
Are there Chord charts already available that coincide with the 1991 Baptist hymnal? I personally don't see the need to "upgrade" to the worship hymnal. We're primarily contemporary with word projection so any newer song we do most likley will not come out of the hymnal. I'll find the music elsewhere. But we still do a few hymns and it would be nice to have a hymnbook with chords that match our existing 1991 Baptist hymnal.
tommy everett
worship leader
FBC Genoa, AR
Tommy, I haven't done an extensive side-by-side analysis, but from what I've seen, the two should work fine together. In fact, I've done that on a few occasions. But I would say there are probably other sources you could use to accomplish your goals, Hymns for Praise & Worship (published by WORD) and HymnCharts, just to name a couple.
I want a listing of the songs in the new hymnal in view of purchasing new hymnal for our small congregation.
Rev. Wilson
Gary, I recommend you visit LifeWayWorship.com. The list you're looking for is there, but not necessarily in a way you can print out and peruse. Probably the best way would be to buy a single copy. (I promise I'm not on their sales team.)
I am just a music loving, not very good at playing the piano, Baptist. I love this new hymnal. I bought a copy at the LifeWay store in Lubbock, TX. before Christmas and recommended it to everyone I know who plays the piano really well! Even my Methodist friends are loving it!
I am looking for a hymnal that only uses King James verses in it. We have the 1991 addition and has a lot of NIV. Our Pastor is very conservative and would like to find KJV if possible. What does the new 2008 addition have and do you know of any others that are KJV only?
has anyone got an answer for this? I am also interested in KJV as well for our Southern Baptist Church.
Mitch,
Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any hymnal that uses KJV only. They may be out there, but I doubt it. If they do exist, I would guess the selection of usable hymns would be extremely limited. Having said that, I rarely (read maybe two or three times in my ministry so far) use the scripture portion of the hymnal. So I would recommend finding a solid hymnal and coupling it with your preferred Bible translation.
You can find the Baptist Hymnal 2008 online at http://www.hymnary.org/hymnal/BH2008. Only some of the full texts are there; if anyone wants to help out making it more complete there is more information at Hymnary.org!
"Had LifeWay Worship insisted on maintaining the practice of previous hymnal committees by publishing a book of songs they thought we should be singing, the 2008 Baptist Hymnal would not have been as successful as this one no doubt will be."
The 1991 hymnal was tremendously successful – millions sold. It will be interesting to see if the 2008 can come close to matching its success. I'm grateful for the hymns introduced in the 1991 such as "Worthy of Worship" which were unknown prior to the 91 hymnal's release. It's a good thing someone thought they "should be" sung!
Kimo,
Thanks for dropping by IsaiahSix.org! I really appreciate it. You're exactly right that "Worthy of Worship" was a wonderful addition to the 1991 hymnal; and I'm glad it made the cut for the latest edition, too. Apart from that singular highlite, however, I'm afraid the 1991 hymnal was quite poor in its overall quality.
Citing numbers of volumes sold is of little significance, given that most churches are likely going to purchase new hymnals every decade or two. And the vast majority of Southern Baptist churches won't even research their options; they'll simply purchase whatever Baptist Hymnal is current. So sales are kind of built in and in no way speak to the quality of the product.
The 2008 hymnal adds many pieces (not just one or two) I think the Church will still be singing in 200 hundred years. "In Christ Alone" and "How Deep the Father's Love" are just two examples of many.
Gregory,
We'll disagree on the quality of the 91 Hymnal which I consider to be exceptional. It introduced Southern Baptists to gifted text and tune writers such as Pablo Sosa, Thomas Troeger, and Bryan Jeffrey Leech.
I love Rae Whitney's "Christmas has its Cradle" and "Oh what a Wonder it is." Fred Pratt Green's "When in our Music God is Glorified" is another jewel in the crown of the 91. I could go on.
(We can agree that the sales figures of hymnals offered by two competing publishers are no gauge of quality. That's not, however, the case here.)
When a hymnal only offers what the people are already singing, its primary value is to provide another way of distributing what churches already have or have access to. Certainly some brave publisher introduced the fine songs by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend you mentioned because they "should be" sung.
A great hymnal offers new discoveries along with the accepted and known – not just "historical" hymns but modern "hymns" written specifically for the congregation's voice to be sung alongside the modern songs from the voice of the contemporary Christian artist.
It is time for a new hymnal. Many of our Baptist church musicians are following with great interest the development of "Celebrating Grace, Hymnal for Baptist Worship."
Finally, I like your site! You are engaging people in thought provoking topics as I'm sure you can tell from my long response.
The new Baptist Hymnal is proof that agencies of the SBC are still not convinced that the automoblie is here to stay. But that is just my opinion.
To answer your question about whose idea it was to put 666 hymns in the '91 version: I was friends with a member of the committee that put the '91 hymnal together, and I asked him about that. He said that the group spent hours and hours in prayer over which hymns would go in, and when it all came down, there were 666 hymns. They sat there and thought, "can we not just add one, or take one away?" Ultimately they concluded that this was the group of songs they wanted in the book, and to add one over what he referred to as a superstition (the number 666) would be to second guess God, after they had prayed so much about which songs to put in. To take one out over the number would leave out a song that they felt God wanted in. So they decided to just leave it at that.
Jason,
I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're saying. You say the new hymnal is "proof that agencies of the SBC are still not convinced that the automobile is here to stay" but then you move on to the 1991 hymnal. Can you clarify your arguments?
Sure, Gregory. My comment on the '91 hymnal was in response to the question posed over the issue of 666 hymns in the book.
My comment on the issue of the SBC and the automobile is a reference to a quote made several years ago by Lyle Schaller. For example, there is a pastor in our city whose wife and daughter were tragically killed in a car accident a few years ago. He was able to put the pieces of his life back together, eventually meeting and marrying a delightful lady. He was let go from his church, because he had married a divorced woman. He moved to a new city, and started a new chuch, but the NAMB refused to help him with funding, due to the fact that this wife had been divorced. I know, I'm off-topic. Sorry.
My point is that publishing a new hymnal is another example of agencies of the denomination hanging on to the way things used to be. We live in an age where good, quality church music can come from any corner of the world, at any time. "Shout to the Lord" emerged from a worship leader at a local church in Australia, for example. I'll bet that by the time the committee got close to finalizing their list of songs to be included in the 2008 version, there were already fifty new songs that could go in it. By the time it hit the shelves, there might be hundreds of new songs that could be included.
So why go to the expense of publishing a new hymnal? Outside of the obvious (profits), it doesn't make sense in a 21st century paradigm.
That says nothing about the poor stewardship associated with printing thousands of new hymnals.
Just my opinion. It doesn't make sense to print bound hymnals anymore.
Jason,
I find it greatly helpful during worship to pickup a hymnal and review song texts unsung but which come to mind during the course of the service. This is not unlike exploring scripture other than the sermon text.
Placing the collected song testimony of different eras, cultures, and denominational persuasions in the hands of the congregation via a bound book seems like good stewardship to me. Bible teachers turn to the hymnal as a lesson help. Children's workers direct kids to the rich poetry and music which will help develop their prayer language. There are many ways for hymnals to be used!
New songs can be added to the core hymnody and viewed by the congregation via handouts or projected images. But why should the members be limited to what the song leader picks out for the service? Why should they not have a ready source of their own to explore how God's truth has affected human experience?
Personally, the new hymnal just doesn't have it, especially if you are a traditional Baptist with a formal worship style. We still use the 91 Baptist hymnal and pull hymns and tunes from other denominations and hymnals. We have a pipe organ to accompany the hymns, an excellent choir that does classical and hymn arrangement anthems, and a congregation that actually sings hymns in harmony! We did buy a couple copies of the 2008 hymnal to use on occasion, but we were so disappointed that so many of the traditonal hymns were left out. Also, keys were changed from the originals.
We sing hymn tunes like: Austrian Hymn, Hanover, during Easter the "Sound Aloud the Trumpet by Hal Hopson, Truro, Duke Street, Ascension, St. Magnus, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath", Leoni, "To Worship, Work, and Witness, Awake, Awake, To Love and Work, "Depth of Mercy" sung to the tune Seymour.
The 2008 Baptist Hymnal is great for blended and contemporary worship but not for certain traditionalists who still love the hymn tunes from ages past.
regarding the 1991 hymnal, did you notice that not all the 666 are hymns? many are responsive readings, including number 1, "The Glory of God." after 666 there are more responsive readings, the last of those being number 721. following that there are "spoken benedictions." so the final number is 734, not 666.
sometimes 666 may be just a number.