A hymnal is a deeply human work. What you hold in your hands is real music, written and selected by real believers who you will one day spend eternity with.⁠ And what’s in there stays there. There is no refresh button. No infinite scroll. No additions or subtractions. And that’s a wonderful thing. The nature of the hymnal pushes against a culture always pursuing the novel. It calls us to know these songs, and know them intimately. 

I had the pleasure this past week of attending the Getty Sing! worship conference in Nashville where they released, in collaboration with Crossway, the Sing! hymnal. Yes, that’s right – it’s 2025 and I’m geeking out a little bit over the release of a hymnal. The scope of it is impressive – a thousand pages of hymns, old and new, Scripture readings, written prayers, poems, etc. It’s a beautiful blend of song and liturgy, featuring classic hymns from centuries past and newer works by the Gettys, CityAlight, Sovereign Grace, and more.

As I stood in the same room with thousands of other believers at the Sing conference, belting out praise to God with our hymnals in hand, I found myself grateful that this wonderful new resource exists. It’s caused me to pause and reflect on what we lost as a church and as believers when we collectively decided 30 some years ago to exchange the hymnal for the projector screen. Was that a wise move? Maybe. Maybe not. I can see advantages to each, though I believe the nature of the Screen introduces within the church community a unique temptation towards a culture of amusement.

But that’s an article for another day. For now, rather than focusing on what we lost when we tossed out our hymnals, I want to share some things I noticed while using the Sing! hymnal in worship this past week. If you want a more formal review of the hymnal itself, check out this review Tim Challies published the other day.

The Beauty of Singing in Parts

I’ve been to six or seven Sing conferences over the years, and I can tell you that as impressive as the musical performances are, the most beautiful moments of each conference happen when the band drops out and all that is left is the voices of thousands of believers – many of them singing in four part harmony. It’s breathtaking.

Sadly, I never learned to sing in parts. I did some choir singing back in high school, but that was two decades ago and I more listened to those around me than read the music to learn the baritone parts. The beauty of the hymnal is that it opens a door of access to singing in harmony for the uninitiated. You not only see the words, but you see the music wedded to those words – the key, the notes, the timing. Even if you don’t read music, you can get a sense just by looking at the flow of the notes where the harmonies are going.

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