Editorial Matters: hymnody and worship

I was brought up in a hymn singing church, and the songs of that upbringing still feed me. That is a common experience, and a vanishing one. Most Christians under forty now know a much smaller repertoire than their grandparents did, and the reasons are worth examining.

Why hymns matter

Congregational song carries doctrine, shapes memory and forms the praying life of a congregation more deeply than most sermons do. When the repertoire narrows, something is lost that no amount of good teaching easily replaces.

The articles in this issue

This issue looks at worship from several angles. One article examines John Stott's teaching on worship as whole life offered to God. Another assesses the alternative worship movement and asks what it owes to mission. A third considers the dilemmas facing congregations as they choose what to sing, and two further pieces celebrate the craft of Timothy Dudley‑Smith, whose eightieth birthday falls this year.

A closing review

The issue ends with a review of a substantial work of reportage, included here as a change of key after so much attention to song.