Up-tempo praise and worship music has become quite the rage at many black Baptist churches, being used to kick off various services, revivals and anniversary programs.

Herbert Terry, 67, a longtime deacon at Macedonia Baptist Church in Martinez, wants to reintroduce the church to an old-fashioned way to do music -- lining and raising hymns.

Dennis Williams, the publisher of The Spiritual Voice, an Augusta-based religious publication, said the tradition has slavery connections in the black church and touches back to 17th century England, when many congregation members were illiterate.

To compensate, deacons or church leaders would take a hymn book, read the first stanzas, or "lines," of a hymn; in call-and-response fashion, the congregation would repeat the words in a melodic form -- "raising" the hymns.

Mr. Terry said the practice is broken down into three styles: short meter, long meter and common meter. The meters are defined by melodic variations, he said.

He learned to line hymns as a young man when his church was considered a country building in the farmlands of then-rural Columbia County.

The 180-year-old church is now situated in a bustling suburban mix of retail and residential growth.

Mr. Terry, who has been a deacon for 40 years, said he won't be a part of letting the tradition suffer a silent death -- even though Macedonia Baptist is no longer just a little country church.

"I learned how to do this under the older deacons when I was in my 20s," he said. "They taught me, and it's just something that sticks with you."

Mr. Terry, a retired Augusta firefighter, said he realizes that not everyone in his congregation can line or raise hymns -- which he says validates the need to continue the practice.

Macedonia's pastor, the Rev. George Smith, said he is an advocate of the tradition carried on by his deacons.

"Lining hymns sets the tone for the sermon,'' the pastor said. "I love it, because it keeps with the tradition of the black church, our heritage."

The Rev. Smith said that he is not opposed to praise and worship music, but that for him, maintaining hymn-lining in addition to some praise and worship makes church services diverse for younger and older members.

M.L. Long, a 50-year deacon of the Christian Methodist Episcopal faith, is one of the few deacons to carry on the tradition at Miles Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Augusta.

"I learned as a junior steward a very long time ago," said Mr. Long, 76.

He learned the skill from admiring and observing older deacons. Although the practice is largely Baptist-based, Mr. Long, a lifelong CME member and retired Lily Cup employee, said he realized the spiritual power in the practice and wanted to learn the nuance regardless of his denomination.

Herbert Gerald, 60, is the primary keeper of the hymn-lining flame at one of Augusta's historic black churches, Tabernacle Baptist, which is leaning toward upbeat praise and worship devotional styles.

Mr. Gerald, a Paine College administrator and Tabernacle deacon, said he learned the craft from his father, a deacon at Ellen Chapel Holiness Church in Mullins, S.C.

"I learned from him at our little country church. He'd break out the old hymn book, and we'd go from there. His favorite was always, A Charge to Keep I Have (A God to Glorify) ."

Mr. Gerald then rattled off several of his favorite hymns, including In My Room, I Got a Feeling Everything's Gonna Be Alright and One More Time .

Mr. Terry said he's committed to making sure the skills are passed on.

On each first Monday, Mr. Terry leads a training class for a group of deacons known as Disciples of Praise.

Wesley Johnson, 42, is the Disciples' treasurer and a deacon at Greater Mount Canaan Baptist Church in Augusta. He represents a growing number of younger deacons interested in learning the tradition, he said.

"I wanted to know it mainly because of its spiritual value. It's something you really feel more so than the newer praise and worship," said Mr. Johnson, a Georgia Department of Corrections officer.

"Really, the people seem to get into it a lot more," he said. "There's so much more spiritual power."