I recently finished reading Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns by Dr. T. David Gordon. This is more than a book on the worship wars but an attempt to understand why the church at large can't and won't sing hymns and what we lose in the process. We live in a day when contemporaneity rules the day. Newer is considered better merely by the fact that it is new. Therefore, anything that we cannot immediately relate to or understand is considered irrelevant and outdated. But is being contemporary a valid criteria for songs fit to sing to God? Dr. Gordon listed 6 criteria that are typical for selecting hymns for a hymnal: 1. Theologically orthodox lyrics 2. Theologically significant lyrics 3. Literarily apt and thoughtful lyrics 4. Lyrics and music appropriate to a meeting between God and His people 5. Well-written music with regard to melody, harmony, rhythm, and form. 6. Musical setting appropriate to the lyrical content How many praise choruses would pass this c...