We alternate between my husband’s Methodist formal church, and my Assembly of God less formal. That way we both get what we like. Strangely enough my AG Church, I would prefer to skip the praise hymns they have adopted for the youth, and go in for the preaching. And love the older more up tempo of the formal Methodist. Yeah, some are draggy and hard to sing kind, I skip those.
You have a multi fold problem. The number of generations in a church. Youth like the more modern hypnotic hard to sing to repetitious praise hymns. Seniors don’t care for them. NO MEANING in them.
Middle age like their gospel older, but with more up tempo beat.
Seniors get left out.
Old gospel tunes have depth, they just need to be modernized with up tempo, blue grass and C & W beats where possible. This gets rid of the draggy stuff that is hard to sing to, much less listen to. Then you have those choir directors who want to do 6-8 verses of a song. When the 3 main ones would be enough.
You have to think how long you keep your congregation on their feet, Seniors don’t do well with long standing hymn services.
This is some of the music I listen to on a USB stick in the car, or Tape, or CD at home.
The Old Love Letter, The McKameys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgC1-5WciFE
Alan Jackson “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqOjJJjE_Gw
He set me free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRvGI1kWkZ8
Where the Timbers cross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOT5z2arQzc
Note the difference between the 2 songs. First is the original, second is the more modern version.
Gathering Flowers for Master’s Bouquet (Hank WMS Sr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0zQEBlgnjI
Master’s Bouquet - Dennis Keasling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQSXBcjrGP4
More up tempo, a little Jerry Lee tweedy added in.
Great Speckled Bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6KtUuQLYJs
Why do great hymns HAVE to be modernized? What is wrong with singing a great piece of music the way its author intended?
And your remark about seniors...in my church we spend 20-25 minutes singing CC dreck every Sunday, all in one concert set, and our seniors stand for every minute of it. They don’t sing, but they stand for it until the 19-year old ‘worship team’ leader says to “have a seat”.
I go to my church because it offers superior Bible teaching. I sure don’t go for the music.