I was recently asked what my church’s hymn to contemporary congregational music ratio is. I keep a running chart and continuously update it so I knew the answer to that question; yet, it was apparent to me that the person asking did not understand the meaning of the words, hymn and contemporary. Most people would likely assume contemporary to mean in a modern style. Contemporary, however, denotes an era or timeframe. If I were to ask of a contemporary of Mozart, for example, one might respond with Haydn. Certainly, this is true, while a contemporary of myself could be Carrie Underwood. To restate the question then, I think it would be more appropriate to ask, “What is your church’s ratio of hymns to modern music, though even then, one must define a hymn.
My church is about an 88% hymn-singing church. The problem many worship pastors might experience is not a lack of singing hymns but rather which hymns they sing. Many congregants have a wrong idea of what constitutes a hymn. There are certain characteristics that hymns possess. The age of a song then does not define it as a hymn or not a hymn. Of the hymns my church sings, 72% are what refer to as timeless and 28% modern.[1] In my role as a worship leader over the years, it has become clear that most people do not know what a hymn is. The Apostle Paul tells the Colossians to admonish one another with “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). There is then a difference between hymns and other types of congregational music. I do not intend to delve into the biblical difference between these three categories but only to give specific characteristics of hymns. I will do so by defining first what a hymn is not and then what it is. There are characteristics unique to hymns, both sacred and secular.[2]
[1] The timeless designation has to do with the age of the hymn and whether it is in my denomination’s hymnal. Modern hymns are hymns written primarily in the last fifteen years by living composers and cannot be found in most hymnals.
[2] Secular hymns have existed for centuries, the tunes of which are often also utilized in Christian worship.