The Baptist Hymnal is a book of hymns and songs used for Christian worship in churches affiliated with the United States denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. There have been four editions, released in 1956, 1975, 1991 and 2008. The 2008 edition is also published under the name The Worship Hymnal. [1]
The 1956 edition was the first Southern Baptist Convention publication to use the title "Baptist Hymnal". However "The Baptist Hymn and Praise Book", published in 1904 in Nashville Tennessee, is considered the predecessor to the Southern Baptist Convention's "Baptist Hymnal" series. [2]
The 1956, 1975, 1991 and 2008 editions have all been printed by LifeWay Christian Resources, formerly known as the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; however, the 1956 printing names Convention Press as the printer and secured holder of copyright.
The group working on the 2008 edition was called The Worship Project. In addition to revising the Baptist Hymnal, it produced an online hymn and worship song resource, lifewayworship.com. [3]
At a summit meeting in January 2007, leadership from across Southern Baptist life came together to contribute directly to the overall makeup of the project. Attendees included music professors from Southern Baptist seminaries and 21 Baptist colleges, as well as church musicians, worship leaders, music industry leaders, representatives from the staff that created the 1991 Baptist Hymnal and current LifeWay employees who were devoted to the project. Among other priorities discussed, the summit served as a means to get feedback from music practitioners on criteria for selecting the hymns, worship songs and praise choruses to be included. [4]
In October 2007, a Theology Committee was convened at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for a theological review of songs that will be included in the project. Jon Duncan, state music director of the Georgia Baptist Convention, served as a committee leader. [5]
The project was released in 2008.
The American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia published a book in 1883 called "The Baptist Hymnal". [6]
Aylesbury Press in Surrey Hills, Sydney, Australia published a book in 1967 called "The Hymnal" but also known as "The Baptist Hymnal". [7]
For information on Baptist hymnals in a more general sense, see this list.
A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook. They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts ; written melodies are extra, and more recently harmony parts have also been provided.
"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" is a Christian hymn by Charles Wesley on Christian perfection. Judging by general repute, it is among Wesley's finest. Judging by its distribution, it is also among his most successful.
The Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) is a worship book and hymnal published in 1978 and was authorized for use by several Lutheran denominations in North America, including predecessors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod was initially involved in the hymnal's development but officially withdrew.
Decisions concerning the conduct of public worship in the Church of Scotland are entirely at the discretion of the parish minister. As a result, a wide variety of musical resources are used. However, at various times in its history, the General Assembly has commissioned volumes of psalms and hymns for use by congregations.
The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) is one of the official hymnals of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Published in 1941 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the denomination's second official English-language hymnal, succeeding the 1912 Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book. The 1969 Worship Supplement contains additional hymns and service music.
Julian Keith Getty is a Northern Irish businessman, Christian singer and songwriter, best known for writing the song "In Christ Alone" in 2001 with veteran songwriter and worship leader Stuart Townend. Getty and his wife, Kristyn, also release music under the musical duo Keith & Kristyn Getty.
Charles Davis Tillman —also known as Charlie D. Tillman, Charles Tillman, Charlie Tillman, and C. D. Tillman—was a popularizer of the gospel song. He had a knack for adopting material from eclectic sources and flowing it into the mix now known as southern gospel, becoming one of the formative influences on that genre.
"Palms of Victory", also called "Deliverance Will Come", "The Blood-washed Pilgrim", and "The Way-worn Traveler", is a Christian hymn that appears to have been written in 1836 by John B. Matthias, a Methodist Episcopal minister in New York State. This attribution is not well documented, and Matthias had no known history of songwriting, but there is no other author to whom it can be attributed.
Milburn Price, born 9 April 1938 in Electric Mills, Mississippi, has served most recently as Dean of the School of Performing Arts at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama from 1993 to 2006. Following his retirement, he continued to conduct the Samford Orchestra and to teach one church music course each semester until 2011. Prior to moving to Samford, he served as Dean of the School of Church Music at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky from 1981 to 1993. Earlier he was Chair of the Music Department at Furman University from 1972 to 1981. During the 2011–2012 academic year he was Visiting Professor and Acting Chair of Choral Music at Stetson University. Subsequent appointments as Visiting Professor include Mercer University (2013–2014) and Mississippi College (2014–2015).
Lutheran Worship (LW) is one of the official hymnals of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Published in 1982 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it is the denomination's third English-language hymnal and was intended to replace The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH). Additional hymns and service music are contained in the companion, Hymnal Supplement 98.
Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal (CW) is a hymnal of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) published in 1993. It was prepared by the WELS Commission on Worship and published by Northwestern Publishing House, the official publisher of the WELS.
"What Wondrous Love Is This" is a Christian folk hymn from the American South. Its text was first published in 1811, during the Second Great Awakening, and its melody derived from a popular English ballad. Today it is a widely known hymn included in hymnals of many Christian denominations.
"Crown Him with Many Crowns" is an 1851 hymn with lyrics written by Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring and sung to the tune 'Diademata' by Sir George Job Elvey. The hymn appears in many hymnals.
Acharya A. B. Masilamani or Abel Boanerges Masilamani (1914–1990) was a Golden Jubilee Baptist pastor and evangelist on whom parallels had been drawn comparing his ecclesiastical ministry with that of Saint Paul. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church, one of the Saint Thomas Christian Churches founded by Thomas the Apostle in the first century which holds the annual Maramon Conventions used to have Masilamani preach at its conventions since the 1970s. During one such Maramon Convention held in 1983 at Maramon, Masilamani was one of the main speaker who spoke on Christology in the presence of the two patriarchs of the Mar Thoma Church, Alexander Mar Thoma and Thomas Mar Athanius.
Brian A. Wren is an internationally published hymn-poet and writer. Wren's hymns appear in hymnals of all Christian traditions and have been influential in raising the awareness of theology in hymns. Brian Wren is married to Rev. Susan M. Heafield, a United Methodist pastor.
Jann Aldredge-Clanton is an ordained Christian minister, author, teacher, and chaplain, who leads workshops and conferences throughout the United States. She has authored eleven books, six songbooks, a children's musical, and a children's songbook. She has also published many articles in publications such as Christian Feminism Today, The Journal of Pastoral Care, The Christian Ministry, and Patheos. She specializes in feminist theology and inclusive worship resources.
Hymns of Universal Praise, also known as the HUP, a Chinese hymnal published in 1936, is considered to be an ecumenical attempt at Chinese hymnology from the early twentieth century. According to the Hong Kong hymnologist Andrew Leung, the first edition, HUP1936, established the foundation of Chinese hymnody and is now set as a model of Chinese hymnology.
"Sun of Unclouded Righteousness" is a little-known 1758 Christian hymn written by Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. It was written as an intercessory hymn praying for the salvation of Muslims and calls for their conversion to Christianity. It had fallen out of use by around 1880.
"At the Name of Jesus" is a hymn with lyrics written by Caroline Maria Noel. It was first published in 1870, in an expanded version of Noel's collection The Name of Jesus and Other Verses for the Sick and Lonely. At the time, Noel herself experienced chronic illness, which persisted until her death. The hymn has become popular across Christian denominations, and appears in over 200 hymnals. It has been set to many different tunes, including compositions by William Henry Monk, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Michael Brierley.