The United Methodists came out with their most recent hymnbook in 1989. Three years before that, while the hymnal committee was deciding which hymns from the previous book would be included in the new one and which would be deleted, they concluded that "Onward Christian Soldiers" should be omitted. The committee voted to delete it, feeling that the hymn was overly militaristic and thus was inconsistent with the church's goal of eradicating war and establishing world peace. The announcement of this decision, however, made in mid-May 1986, launched a great brouhaha in the church.

The reaction of many laity and clergy against the decision was very strong, so much so that the story was picked up by CBS, NBC, and ABC television news. The latter network even flew in a news crew to interview the…