But from my conversations with a number of different missionaries who go back to the states regularly and visit many churches while they are there, the vast majority of "evangelical" churches sing only the new stuff. They don't even have the old hymnals anymore.

I imagine this is less true for the more traditional and ritualistic denominations. But I know it is true for the evangelicals.

Personally I share this writer's opinion about the matter:

The church in the later part of the twentieth century is being served a variety of styles of Christian music. Whether our music decisions are conscious or not, the music we choose reveals our theology and even shapes our future. I believe that many of the contemporary Christian music trends are moving in dangerous directions. Often when Christians try to be relevant to the culture we lose more than we gain. Many Christians will often argue that we must adopt the music styles of the culture in order to win the new generations. But I remember the words of one brother who said, "What we win them with, we win them to." Much of contemporary Christian music is at best spiritual milk. There is not much solid meat for mature Christians to sink their teeth into. If we attempt to attract our culture with milky music, we are really doing them a great injustice. The maturing Christian will not find much nourishment in many of our contemporary songs. Therefore, we can discard the notion that the preferences of the older generation must give way to the newer. The acceptance of the newer music is not simply a matter of generational tension but is often a debate over doctrinal purity.

Remember that music is not only for the praise and glory of God but also for the exhortation of people. Therefore, it is necessary to have doctrinally rich music. A Contemporary Christian Music writer admits, "I am scratching my head trying to come up with any contemporary titles which stand up very well to hymns like 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God' or 'O Sacred Head Now Wounded" (Melissa Riddle, March 1998, p. 44). We often sacrifice theology for what we think is relevance, but in the end we may have distorted the gospel. Much contemporary music is self- centered and an individualistic following of the spirit of our culture. There is a spiritual excitement in our society toward personal religious experiences and emotional healing. But doctrinally rich hymns call worshippers beyond themselves to focus on God, His attributes, and His works. While it is good to verbalize and confess our spiritual failures and problems, as the Psalmist often did, it is not good to stay there. We only find real encouragement, strength, and healing as we move
beyond ourselves to focus on the nature and work of God. Styles of Christian music may differ, but the New Testament teaching is that we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We must remember that a compromise in theology will always be to our detriment.