What do you prefer and why?

[trinityisunity]

The question is whether you like hymns and/or contempory style music. I'll start.

I prefer modern contempory worship songs, that is just my personal taste. However I love the hymns like Amazing Grace, Crown Him With Many Crowns and Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty and also How Great Thou Art and Are You Washed In The Blood and Battle Hymn Of The Republic and Great Is Thy Faithfulness and He Lives and especially To God Be The Glory.

So list your style and favourite tunes.:D

[Erinwilcox]

:) In the worship service, I personally like hymns best. However, I do enjoy some of the newer music as well (like the New Irish Hymns by Getty/Townend).

Lord, With Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee
http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/w/lwighipt.htm
How Sweet and Aweful is This Place
http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/s/hsweetaw.htm
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/s/hsweetnj.htm

are only a few of some of my many favorite hymns. They are so theologically sound and it is a truly moving thing to hear the two hundred some people in my church singing it out in four-part harmony--are we all sing OUT. Yes, I love the old hymns best.

[Project 86]

I like both forms of music. The problem I have with some contempory music is that is just focuses on one aspect of God, that is love. The contempory songs I really enjoy are those that are not stuck on just singing about love. Also some contempory songs repeat the same verses over and over again at one time which I find highly annoying. That said there are many contempory songs I don't have problems with.

[PastorJim]

I prefer hymns. For many years, hymns served a duel purpose. One purpose was to worship God, but the other purpose was to teach doctrine.

I feel like they're so much more substantial than modern music.

When we put this new church together, one of the things we talked about was which way we wanted to go with music.

Almost unanimously everyone said that they wanted hymns over contemporary music.

[Katieboo]

I like hymns a lot better than contemporary music. I can't name just one or two hymns that I love, but they're more powerful than contemporary music.
I do like contemporary music for working out though! :)

[AJ]

I enjoy both, but my favorite is definatley the more contemporary praise and worship music. Our church (with an average age of 60+ in the congregation) just sucessfully created a contemporary worship and traditional worship service... The change took place a few months ago and it has really been great.

Some of my favorite artists on the contemporary side are: Jeremy Camp, Marc Schultz, Third Day, Casting Crowns, David Crowder... The list could go on and on. :)

[TwinCrier]

I love the old hymns, but I also enjoy some of the more bluegrass/gospel sounding music like I'll fly away. I don't care for the contemporary stuff. You usually can't hear the words so it's just like listening to the same tunes they regurgitate on the secular radio stations.

[arunma]

I greatly prefer the older hymns to most contemporary music. There are a few contemporary songs I listen to now and then, but for the most part I listen exclusively to hymns. I suppose they appeal to me because these songs are drenched in theology. And as Project 86 said, it's a bit annoying that many modern songs consist of repeating the same phrase again and again.

[MrJim]

The last Mass I attended had a contemporary music service that was very well done but by and large I don't like them at all.

I'm only 41 but maybe I'm already old? But then there are older folks that do like lots of hand clapping and hand waving and swaying and such. Not a thing wrong with it, but just don't care for it--though I guess we'll all be surprised at heavenly worship one day.

[edb19]

For the most part hymns - but there are some really good contemporary songs out there. My problems with a lot of the contemporary music is:
1. much of it is man centered rather than God centered (look how many times I is used as opposed to God, Lord or Father)
2. there's an air of "Jesus is my boyfriend" in a lot of the lyrics
3. they're 7-11 songs (7 words repeated 11 times or maybe its 11 words repeated 7 times)
Overall, I just think there's a lot more substance to the hymns than most of the contemporary songs.

Songs I could sing week in, week out
Amazing Grace
How Great Thou Art
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Fairest Lord Jesus
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
Holy, Holy, Holy

in the more contemporary genre
As a Deer Panteth
Heart of Worship
He is Exalted
Praise Your Name, Holy God
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Isaiah 53 - Every Knee Shall Bow


edie

[RED that's ME]

I like a combination of both. Some choruses are great while others gets mundane/ sometimes called 7/11 songs= 7 words sung 11 times.

[MrJim]

I like a combination of both. Some choruses are great while others gets mundane/ sometimes called 7/11 songs= 7 words sung 11 times.

^_^Never heard that one before but it's spot on....

[Cynthia85]

I like both. The problem is that in both genres, there are songs that are theologically incorrect. And in both genres, there are songs that are. So, it's more of that reason for me rather then the type of music. Type of music, I like both, depending on the song.

[ZiSunka]

I prefer opera and oratorios like The Messiah and Requiem.

[MrJim]

I prefer opera and oratorios like The Messiah and Requiem.

Y'all high falutin' city folk and yer fancy music

...where's my banjo-don't think the bluegrass option has been fully fleshed out yet in these here neck o' the woods.

<<prefer bluegrass over opera ANY day>>

:bow:Bill Monroe...

[ZiSunka]

Y'all high falutin' city folk and yer fancy music

...where's my banjo-don't think the bluegrass option has been fully fleshed out yet in these here neck o' the woods.

<<prefer bluegrass over opera ANY day>>

:bow:Bill Monroe...

I love bluegrass, too. I like to hear that old hillbilly music they play on the radio down in Tennessee, with the dulcimers and fiddles and lap psaltries and all those old homemade instruments. Most of those old songs are about faith in Christ anyway.

I don't care too much for the modern commercialized bluegrass like Allison Krause and all, it's too much of a hybrid between Country and 1980s rock.

[MrJim]

I love bluegrass, too. I like to hear that old hillbilly music they play on the radio down in Tennessee, with the dulcimers and fiddles and lap psaltries and all those old homemade instruments. Most of those old songs are about faith in Christ anyway.

I don't care too much for the modern commercialized bluegrass like Allison Krause and all, it's too much of a hybrid between Country and 1980s rock.

well now that's just music to this Ozark boy's ears!:thumbsup:

good bluegrass music has a certain amount of "pain" in it--kinda like hillbilly blues....

[EyezOFire]

If it's Hymns it has to be Johnny Cash singing them !

[Joykins]

Y'all high falutin' city folk and yer fancy music

...where's my banjo-don't think the bluegrass option has been fully fleshed out yet in these here neck o' the woods.

<<prefer bluegrass over opera ANY day>>

:bow:Bill Monroe...

Stained Glass Bluegrass! (http://wamu.org/programs/sgbg/) :clap:

[Joykins]

I would say I prefer old-time hymns but some of the contemporary songs are really good too.

Some of my favorites:

And Can It Be
Great is Thy Faithfulness
right now I have "Higher Ground" going through my head...

[AJ]

Our pastor shared this story with us a few months ago as our church was preparing to launch a "Contemporary Praise and Worship" style service. We all found it quite funny:

===============

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him out it was. "Well," said the farmer, "It was good. They did something different however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses," said his wife, ""What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The farmer said, "Well, it's like this - If I were to say to you: Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well, that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows
the white cows, the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN...


then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus.


As luck would have it, the exact same Sunday a young, new Christian from the city church attended the small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was. "Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."

"Hymns," said his wife, "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The young man said, "Well it's like this - If I were to say to you, Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well, that would be a regular song. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclines thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
Their heads show no shadow of sense,
Hearken-est they in God's sun or his rain
Unless the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broken free of their shackles, their warm pens eschewed
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.
So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn.
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.


Then, if I were to do only versus one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."

[trinityisunity]

:thumbsup: That is pretty funny.:clap: I'll show that to some friends who I know will like it.

[Imblessed]

TxAdam

that was great!

Personally, I like both. Our church has been singing more hymns than we used to and it's been great. I spoke with Dan, our worship leader and he said the feedback has been very positive. I hadn't realized how much I missed some of those hymns. :)