The power of music to get in our hearts and stay there: I’ve covered more a dozen Billy Graham crusades and I can’t tell you exactly what he preached at any of them. But I can recount moment by moment the tears that flowed as the mass choir broke into Just As I Am, thousands poured out of their seats for the altar call, and a feeling of hope filled the stadium somewhere in this world.

I could sing a little of Just As I Am for you, but why ruin the image when the music speaks for itself?

The power of music to speak to us was there for all to hear Sunday evening at the 12th annual Hymn Sing in the Sanctuary. Our various church choirs hearkened back to Billy Graham (and George Beverly Shea) with an amazing rendition of How Great Thou Art by soloist George Washington III. The Men’s Chorus harmonized on an upbeat Bound For Jubilee. The Children’s Choir, Youth Choir, Church In The Round Singers, Chamber Choir – they all rose to perform, as did soloist Windy O’Connor and trio Lisa Blanton, LouAnn Vaughn and Allyson Ware.

But the most unifying moments – and I’m certain those who shared their gift from the altar would agree – came when we sang together the hymns of our raising. The hymns we know by heart. The hymns that have provided the soundtrack of lives lived for and with our God. O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!

I heard the singing that lifted us from our seats at all those Billy Graham crusades in my former professional life, from Germany to New York to uptown Charlotte. But I also covered congregations that fussed and fought over church music, losing sight of the substance amid the bickering over style. Should we stick with the old stuff? Should we go more Christian pop in an effort to try and draw a younger crowd? What if we dispensed with hymnals and flashed the lyrics on a big, cool screen? And on and on and on…

These questions can be important at times as the church seeks to open its doors ever-wider, to draw the lonely and lost inside. If singing a different tune can do that, then do that.

But there is also a time to stand as one and sing the anthems that have stayed with us for a lifetime, constant companions that will stay by our side long after the last note sounds, that will lift our hearts when they need lifting.