March 2001 Table of Contents

In Spirit and Truth
Sing Unto the Lord and Old Song
The Integral Use of Hymns in Contemporary Worship

By Steve Phifer
Worship and Arts Pastor
Suncoast Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Florida

STRATEGY NUMBER THREE--- Do The Hymns Well

Musical Integrity. One of the reasons sincere worshipers have tuned hymns out is the musical language they employ. In contemporary songs, with their melodic orientation, the harmonies can be intriguing, complex, and quite beautiful but these songs are generally sung by the congregations in unison while worship teams sing the often demanding harmonies. Traditional songs emphasize harmony so much that changing the harmony is a common method of contemporizing them. These songs are designed for an age when congregations were filled with sopranos, altos, tenors and basses, not just worshipers. Contemporary songs and traditional hymns and choruses are different types of songs from different generations. It should not be surprising that those nurtured in one generation would prefer the songs peculiar to it.

Another reason worshipers turned away from traditional songs is because of the way they usually heard them performed. The accompaniment was organ or piano and organ. Tempos were slow and all the verses were sung in exactly the same way. It is difficult to get further away from the music of their lives. Also, the language used in the texts of the hymns was often archaic and totally removed from everyday speech. These are formidable barriers for any music to overcome.

The effective use of hymns at strategic points in the service happens when these barriers are overcome. Whatever you do with the hymns please do not just toss them off. Put the same amount of musical effort into them as you do contemporary songs. If you do them just to "throw the old folks a bone" now and then, you might as well not bother. That isn't integrity. Here are suggestions:

Present the hymn as a solo on the stanzas, perhaps with altered harmony, and as four part harmony on the refrains.

Use rhythm section, synthesizers, solo instruments, brass or even full orchestra, varying the accompaniment each time to interpret the words.

Put some life into the hymns. They should not be performed as funeral songs unless it is for a funeral service.

Modernize the words when possible. But be careful! These songs are evangelical. That means hymns are vitally concerned with words and not so much with feelings. But if you change things too much, the feelings of angry "worshipers" will surface in a hurry. Still, updating the words is not anathema. For example, the song 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus carries a wonderful spirit of worship. But the words are set in a testimony, or praise, mode: "Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him...". We can make the words match the mood of the music as we personalize them: "Jesus, Jesus, how I trust You...". We have moved the song from praise into worship without doing it any damage.

Actually, this type of translation has to happen every time a song is moved from one culture to another. We must face the fact the youth culture is far removed from that of the previous generations. We cannot expect people of the twenty first century to be carried away by language (and music for that matter) from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries without some translation. For instance, earlier this year, we staged a lay ministry campaign. I decided to use the hymn Rise Up, O Men of God as a theme for several weeks. I did a classical-contemporary, symphonic orchestration of the hymn. I changed the words and the title to Rise Up O Saints of God. As a pastor, I wanted to exhort our people to ministry involvement with the outstanding words to this hymn, especially "have done with lesser things, Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings." When I put time and effort into the presentation of this great hymn, I saw it leap from its century into ours.

STRATEGY NUMBER FOUR--- Reach Out With The Hymns

Inclusive Music. Some pastors and denominational leaders seem to leave the worship leader in the position of being a man-pleaser. "You must use a hymn every week for the older folks." "Mix it up more. Have something for everybody." "Sing the contemporary songs and don't worry about the old folks. We've got to reach a younger generation or this church will die." Others in the contemporary movement put the pressure on from the other side. "Have you done the latest song from_______?" "Man, you're stuck in the 80's aren't you?" "If you're not doing this music, you're just not current!" All of these statements are rooted in pleasing men, either old folks who hold the power or young folks who hold the future. I do not advocate the use of hymns or contemporary songs for such political purposes. That is not integrity.

There is another person we need to please, the most important person of all, the Lord Himself. The worship service is for Him, not us. We all need to learn how to minister to Him with our personal sacrifices of praise. If the congregation has been taught that the purpose of the service is to minister to God, the worship leader can then reach out to all the generations with whatever song is appropriate, old, new or otherwise. I do advocate the use of hymns to reach out to traditional worshipers just as I advocate the use of contemporary songs to reach out to contemporary worshipers. I want to lead them all in worship. While my goal is to please the Lord, I want to reach out to everyone in the church. "...in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee." Ps 22:22 (KJV)

My job as a worship leader is to find the will of God and to craft and lead music that will engage my whole congregation in worship that fulfills God's plan. The will of God's includes everyone. So, if I use both the contemporary songs and the traditional songs with integrity, and, if I keep them flowing in and out of each other in ways that make musical and spiritual sense, and, if I see these songs help my church come together as one in its worship,---then I am doing my job. When Paul told the Colossians about "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" he also included the phrase "with all wisdom". Never have those whose ministry it is to choose worship music for the whole congregation needed wisdom more than we do today.

Ten Tactics for the Strategic Use of Hymns in Contemporary Worship

1. Use an Key Index. Newer hymnals will have one but for older hymnals, you may have to make one. It is worth the time spent. Hymns, like contemporary songs, need to flow from key to key in ways that make musical as well as thematic sense.



2. Use hymns as openers. Whether as a Call To Worship or as an Invocation, the beginning of a service is a good place to use a hymn. Since this song stands alone, there are no flow problems. I suggest that the key be well chosen so that the next song flows from the key of the opener even if someone prays in between.



3. Use hymns as closers. Hymns can be great wrap-up songs. Ending with something familiar is always strong. Thematic links can be made with contemporary songs if you flow out of a new song into an old song that says the same thing.



4. Use the same hymn as both the opener and closer. Have you discovered the power of the reprise? The significant repeat of a song can be most effective when the worship set has a theme. Many of my orchestrations of hymns are designed to be used as openers or closers. With Holy, Holy, Holy and All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name, for instance, at the opening I use the introduction and keep the tempo brisk. As a closing, I skip the introduction, do the first stanza slow and rubato, and add tempo and full orchestra on the second stanza. It flows; it builds; it wraps things up with a great sense of recapitulation.



5. Announce more than one page number. Stopping the worship to call out page numbers interrupts the flow of worship. When using more than one hymn, I announce the two page numbers and ask the people to hold the second as we sing the first. Then I can flow into the second without stopping, just the way I do with contemporary songs. We also project the hymn titles and numbers.



6. Vary the orchestration of each stanza. Don't let the accompaniment of the hymns be boring. Vary the instrumentation. I do this by section: 1st stanza-all; 2nd stanza-woodwinds and strings; 3rd stanza-brass and percussion; 4th stanza-organ; 5th stanza-all, etc. Other variations include: rhythm section, piano only, orchestra without rhythm section and a cappella. Select the instrumentation by the context of the words. An intimate stanza would call for a smaller sound. A mighty message calls for a bigger sound.



7. Vary the tempo of certain stanzas. For many hymns a broader, majestic last stanza is effective. If one of four stanzas has a contrasting message, match that message with an altered tempo. For instance, with Come Thou Almighty King, the third stanza is a prayer to the Holy Spirit, "Come Holy Comforter...". This is effective when done slower than the other stanzas. The slower tempo brings out the meaning of the prayer and the return to a faster pace for the last stanza, "To the Great One in Three..." is most effective. Also, feel free not to do all the stanzas. Use the ones that carry the theme or are otherwise appropriate for your congregation. Don't just always sing "Stanzas one, two, and four."



8. Use contemporized arrangements. This can be overdone. The hymn must still be singable by the congregation and recognizable as a traditional song, otherwise it fails to be congregational at all. But, the accompaniment can and should be updated. It can be as simple as adding a snare drum cadence or using rhythm section with organ, or modulating to a higher key for the last stanza, it can be a full orchestration. Everything should be done so that the music brings out the meaning of the words, not to show off our musicianship. Key changes should not pitch the song out of congregational range. This is one of the hidden dangers of using choral arrangements as congregational song. One of the favorite tricks of good arrangers is the placing of the song in very low key for the choral beauty of the setting. It makes terrible accompaniment of congregational worship because it forces people to invert the melody at odd places to accommodate their range. The sound of the men in the congregation shifting to a lower octave in the middle of a phrase is sign the song is in a bad key.



9. Use a hymn as a monthly or seasonal theme. Hymns carry themes from week to week very well. If the the hymn has both stanzas and a refrain, use a different stanza each week. I have used Angels from the Realms of Glory as a theme for the whole Christmas season. The refrain, "Come and worship, come and worship..." was used at a different time in the song set each week while a different stanza was used as a call to worship each week. Other theme ideas: a missions emphsis: We've a Story to Tell to the Nations, lay ministry emphasis: Rise Up O Saints of God, evangelistic emphasis: Jesus Saves!, etc.



10. Project the words for use in the body of a song set. I generally use hymns at the beginning of a song set because I like for the congregation to use hymnals. However, when I work a hymn into the body of the song set or use it as a finale, I always project the words for the congregation. Once they have put the books down, picking them up again destroys the flow of worship.

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