PraiSing 08 Ushers in Baptist Hymnal

If you are in church ministry you know 08-08-08 was not just the opening day for the Olympics but in the Baptist Church it was the release date for the 2008 Baptist Hymnal/Worship Hymnal. It is the first hymnal to be recorded fully and also recorded digitally.

I had the opportunity to go downtown to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center this past Friday Night to PraiSing 08 which was a celebration service for the hymnal release. It started at 7:30pm and lasted over two and a half hours. Wow! What an event! Special guests included the Keith and Kristyn Getty, Buryl Red, Travis Cottrell, Nashville Praise Symphony, Camp Kirkland, and the Tennessee Baptist Men’s Chorale. The symphony did a great job and opened it up with “Jesus Shall Reign” which transformed this night into a full blown worship event.

The Tennessee Men’s Choral then followed with “We Are Not Alone” and “Praise Him” (Based on Psalm 150). This was one of the most magnificent men’s choir I’ve ever heard. They were absolutely amazing. Being a male quartet fan, I was in heaven hearing 120 men sing 4 part harmony. The evening also included lots of congregational singing from the new hymnal. Everyone in attendance that evening received a special PraiSing 08 edition in white. Not a particular fan of white hymnals, but it was included in the price—I can deal with it.

Travis Cottrell led in the “Connective Worship” part which basically was the contemporary style “hymns” section of the concert which included “All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises”, “Hosanna” (both P. Balache), and “Shout to the Lord”. By the way, the newest copyright is 2007 called “As We Go”. This hymnal has some of the latest worship choruses as well as your Gaither songs and your traditional hymns. The oldest hymn in this collection is “Glory Be to the Father”

Our church won’t get this hymnal mainly because there are few people that even use them in our congregation since the invention of projectors. I have found the best part about the hymnal is the Finale orchestration parts as well as the option to create worship services on the web interface. This will hopefully speed up preparation time (copying sheet music and cataloging CCLI info, plus much more). I am anxious to try this and see if it’s something that catches on in the preparation stages among worship pastors. If you are interested in learning more go to http://www.lifewayworship.com/

PraiSing 08 was a great evening to gain fresh ideas as well as a worship service. A big thanks goes out to Melissa Finn for getting Emily and I some tickets. It was well worth the time and money!