[This post is part of a series on Your Guide to Selecting and Leading Songs for Worship. Check out the rest here.]
I never knew the phrase “we should do more hymns” would feel like a stab in the heart. It hurts even more when it’s followed up with the leg sweep of “we don’t like your songs”.
So as I lie there bloodied and battered down, I wonder, “Do these people know how much time I put into worship for Sunday morning?” Praying through the setlist, scheduling the band, preparing for a great rehearsal, praying for God to move, showing up early, getting nervous, pouring my heart out.
And then I hear it echoing through my head like an annoying baby toy: “we should do more hymns, we should do more hymns, we should do more…”
I know that was maybe slightly dramatic. But in all honesty, it’s how we as worship leaders feel when it comes to hymns: it’s an all-out war! The elder segment of the church desire the rich theology of the songs they sang when they were saved, while the young people desire the new, fresh expressions of worship because they just don’t “get” the hymns.