A few weeks ago I wrote an article titled What We Lost When We Lost Our Hymnals and was rather surprised to see 300,000 people stop by to read it! I meant to point out that there are consequences in shifting from one medium to another—in this case, shifting from hymnals to PowerPoint projection. (I use “PowerPoint” to stand in for all forms of projection.) It is true of every new technology that it brings benefits and drawbacks. Neither hymnals nor PowerPoint are exempt from the rule. Where that article focused on what we lost when we shifted from hymnals to projection, today I want to focus on what we gained. When our churches turned away from hymnals to instead sing lyrics projected on a screen, here is some of what we gained. We gained immediacy. Not all of the good songs are old songs. In fact, today we are seeing a great resurgence in hymnody that has generated many wonderful new songs. There are some that are almost too good not to sing. Yet hymnals made us wait years or even decades before we could add them to our services. “In Christ Alone” became a modern day staple in part because PowerPoint made it so easy to add it to our services. Other songs like “He Will Hold Me Fast” or “Before the Throne of God Above” are worthy of singing and of standing the test of time, but can only easily be sung by churches that are not reliant on hymnals. PowerPoint projection … Continue reading What We Gained When We Lost Our Hymnals