Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal [Paperback]

T. David Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2010

Changes in music have affected the way we think, the way we worship -- even the way we are able to worship. We are steeped in a culture of pop music that makes other genres seem strangely foreign and unhelpful.



Worship has become a conflict area, rather than a source of unity. T. David Gordon looks at these changes in worship and not only examines the problems, but also provides solutions. They are solutions of great importance to us all -- because how we sing affects how we live.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" 'Worship forms, tunes, and practices are neutral.' 'We may worship God in any way that is not forbidden.' T. David Gordon criticizes these widely held assumptions in light of the biblical doctrine of worship. He makes a vigorous case for traditional forms of worship. Those who have never considered the tradition will benefit from this critique, and all those who read will find this essay stimulating." --R. Scott Clark, Professor of Church History and Historical Theology, Westminster Seminary California

"T. David Gordon's writing is refreshingly candid and insightful. In this very readable volume, he helpfully contextualizes the ways pop music has impoverished our culture and worship in so many churches, while calling us to embrace again the enduring values of hymnody and psalmody. I encourage anyone concerned about biblical worship to read this book." --Paul S. Jones, Music Director, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia

"Witty, persuasive, and gracious, he challenges the conventional wisdom in the midst of the so-called 'worship wars,' asking for a serious inquiry into the nature of worship song and the media appropriate to it. He convinces us that if we are to worship with reverence and awe, we must not unthinkingly accept the message of popular music." --Gregory Edward Reynolds, Pastor, Author of The Word Is Worth a Thousand Pictures: Preaching in the Electronic Age

About the Author

T. David Gordon has been Professor of Religion and Greek at Grove City College since 1999.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596381957
• ISBN-13: 978-1596381957
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.5 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars True to its Title June 28, 2010

By Beulah P. Williamson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book follows through on the promise of its title. It actually explains why Johnny can't sings hymns, not why he should.

The author, who teaches media ecology at Grove City College, states that media ecology is a sub branch of cultural anthropology, and it is from this perspective that he attempts to answer his title question. Why, for so many people, do traditional hymns seem so foreign, strange, inaccessible?

He only states the obvious when he says that as "background music," contemporary music is everywhere. We hear it on TV, radio,in commercials,. We shop to it, dine to it in resturants,bake to it, and brush our teeth to it. We are so saturated with contemporary sounding music that any earlier music is foreign sounding.

"There are many people in our culture whose musical listening has been almost entirely banal; 98% of the music they have heard has been pop. To their ears, this is just what music sounds like; they haven't heard enough significant music to distinguish significant music from insignificent music."

Things were different for his father's generation. No one had TV, and those who had radio did not play it all day long. They did not buy groceries or shop for clothing to music. They experiencd music in four different idioms: sacred, folk, classical, and pop. (For them, pop music was Tommy Dorsey, Glen Miller, etc.) Each was accessible, each sounded familiar, and none sounded unfamiliar.

He explains not only why Johnny now has a preference for church music that is often theologically and musically inferior, but he posits how it came abut.- (the determination of the 60's generation - and Johnny is their offspring - to shake off everything to do with the "dead past....") So having shaken off the past we are left with a pop culture that is neither beautiful nor ugly. It is simply banal, trivial, inconsequential.

The author's chief concern is church worship and the jettisoning of centuries of Christian hymnody. For the first time in Christian history we hve churches totally cut off from the worship experience of past believers. - from the "communion of the saints", from parents and grandparents, from "the spirits of just men made perfect" of Hebrews 12. No Apostles Creed. No Gloria Patri, No Doxology - No "Sacred Head Now Wounded.". . . .churchs that are mono-generational.

The book opens with a dedication to "the memory of our
first child, Marian Ruth, who, before leukemia took her at fourteen weeks of age, taught her parents the ancient Christian practice of singing praise through tears.

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou Lord their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle; they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!"

What will Johnny sing when he faces such loss?. . .

The closing chapter of this book, "Teaching Johnny Hymnody," deals with ways to help Johnny. Read more ›

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly logical consideration of worship music August 16, 2010

By John Gardner

Format:Paperback

It's no secret that, in most of today's churches, hymns have given way to "praise choruses" as the predominant form of music used in corporate worship services. Why is this? Is this a conscious choice to not sing hymns, or is it -- as the title suggests -- that the average Christian today can't sing hymns?

These are the type of questions asked in Gordon's book, a sequel of sorts to his previous book Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. Both books take their title from a 1955 book by Rudolf Flesch called Why Johnny Can't Read: And What You Can Do about It, which showed that changes in society and in the educational methods being introduced to the schools at that time (particularly what has now become known as the "look-say method" of reading) had produced a generation unable to read.

In this latest book, Gordon successfully builds his case that the average Christian today is unable to understand or appreciate either the musical or theological content in traditional hymns. While he also argues for the importance and value of the church's rich tradition of hymnody, he avoids making any sort of legalistic claims that churches must use one form of music over another. As he says in the introduction, this book is intended to be descriptive, rather than prescriptive.

The reasons for our inability to sing hymns are many, but can be more or less separated into two categories: musical and theological.

Musically, "pop culture" has conditioned us to not even recognize -- much less appreciate -- non-pop forms of music.... Whereas in previous generations, people were likely to be familiar with (and hear roughly equal amounts of) several different genres of music, today we are surrounded by one genre of music all the time. We hear commercial music while we drive, while we watch TV, while we shop, while we exercise, etc. We hear it so often, "pop" music has become our definition of "music", to the point where other forms of music sound foreign to us.

Furthermore, because almost all music and television programming today is designed to get us to buy stuff (if we won't tune into a TV or radio station we won't hear and be influenced by the advertising), it is produced around a lowest-common-denominator type of thinking. It can't disgust us or make us think too hard. It must be neither beautiful nor ugly, but banal and inconsequential.

This affects our ability to sing hymns in a couple ways. First of all, the general level of musical appreciation and aptitude is greatly reduced from previous generations. Most people today never learn to read music, much less sing harmonies. Neither is required to learn and sing today's popular music.

Secondly, because we have learned to tune out (no pun intended) most music we hear as inconsequential (how often do you actually listen to, rather than merely hear, the music playing while you buy your groceries?), we begin to treat all music in this style as inconsequential. When the songs we sing at church sound just like the music we hear all the time, it becomes very easy to tune them out and treat their content as inconsequential.

This leads into our theological inability to sing hymns. As Gordon states, the form of music is itself part of the content of a song's message. We must be conscious of the "meta-messages" (nonverbal messages that accompany our actual words) conveyed by the music we sing. If Christians say that Christ is of utmost importance, and that the Lord's Day is the time we come together to actually meet with the Lord of the Universe, what message is communicated by singing His praises using a form of music judged to be inconsequential?

Gordon illustrates his point with the example of a wedding. Most Christians demonstrate that we still believe that some events are more significant than others, and that we mark these significant events with significant, formal music (and attire). If weddings, graduations, and other rituals are marked by challenging music and fancy clothes, yet our worship services are marked by inconsequential music and casual dress, which do we communicate is more important: a human wedding, or Christ's wedding to the church?

These meta-messages have also been combined with a mentality (consistent with our society's at-large rejection of things that are old and/or difficult) that churches should be designed to appeal to and attract everyone, even non-believers. One result has been a "dumbing-down" of worship song lyrics. When combined with shorter, pragmatic sermons and a general lack of discipleship, a theologically illiterate congregation is produced, which is unable to comprehend the deep doctrinal truths contained in our hymnals.

There are a few areas where I would disagree with Gordon, or at least ask for more clarity. For instance: though I agree that our churches would benefit much from a greater focus on traditional hymns (distinguished in the book from "old" hymns, as he points out that there are great hymn writers living and working today; Stuart Townend is a specific example given), I do believe that there is a place for "contemporary Christian music", though where that place may be is certainly debatable. Does Gordon object to this style of music even as casual listening in non-corporate worship settings? He doesn't say.

I also believe there is value to setting older traditional hymn lyrics to newer music, which Gordon seems to reject. I think the claim that people will automatically fail to grasp or understand the significance of lyrics simply because of the musical setting is false, and doesn't give today's Christians enough credit... surely we aren't that dumb yet. Of course, without solid preaching and discipleship it won't matter what the music sounds like.

Finally, Gordon seems to have a personal vendetta against the guitar. This is a point which is quite overstated in the book. While many of his arguments against the guitar as an accompanimental instrument are valid, most of his experience seems to be with poor guitar playing and sound mixing. I wonder whether he ever accounts for the possibility of someone taking the guitar seriously as an instrument, and playing it tastefully and appropriately for worship settings. Of course, as a guitarist myself, I have a definite bias in the opposite direction!

Those few issues aside, this is a great book, and one much needed in the discussion of church music. Even on the points when others may not agree with Gordon's conclusions, his questions are the right ones. It is refreshing to read a logical, well-reasoned consideration of worship music. I commend it to anyone, but to pastors and worship leaders in particular. Read more ›

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting June 27, 2010

By Patti Chadwick VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This is a very well-written book on a relevant topic. Some might disagree with the author's quote "..how we sing affects how we live." but I think he is right on. As a young Christian 25 years ago, I learned much of my theology from the hymns I sang at church. While I'm not saying that music styles don't change, (it is obvious they do) I agree with the author that we need to make sure the songs we sing in church represent the way we live our lives as followers of Christ. I think this is definitely worth the read!

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Polemic for hymnody July 12, 2010

By Paul B Clark Jr

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

T. David Gordon makes his position clear and does not deviate from his position assessing the value of traditional hymn forms verses music used in public worship that is influenced if not drawn directly from pop culture. Gordon's introductory chapter places his argument squarely in reality as he voices his experience as a pastor and father. A notable posture is exposed when he writes how his weekly choices of hymns for worship were not only selecting what worshipers would sing, but what they would not sing. Song selection for congregational singing in worship is by nature exclusive of other songs in the church's repertoire.

Gordon's style is persuasive and direct. He boldly challenges present day conventional wisdom that chases pop styled songs for public worship based on the assumption that doing so will draw the unchurched. He values time-honored music expression as well as rich poetic texts and makes a strong case for evaluative measures that result in selecting such material for worship. Those who favor contemporary worship forms for use in congregational singing will be appropriately challenged and confronted through this book. Some may find it difficult to read the essay without becoming defensive. Serious worship planners, nevertheless, would benefit by its reading to consider ways spiritual formation is taking place through worship music among the congregations to which they belong. Gordon's final chapter on "Strategic Issues" sums up the current scenario and his reasoning to push against it very well.