The purpose of this research project is to examine the communication phenomena within a modern Evangelical church in the context of the emergence of a contemporary worship style and the increasing use of media during church services. The researcher intends to provide insight into the feelings and perceptions of the congregation members of the sample church as they relate to the changing landscape of worship within the Evangelical faith. The project utilized a qualitative methodology that includes interviewing, participant observation, and textual analysis. The data analyzed in this project were gathered from a Southern Baptist church located in a college town in the southern United States. The findings of this project are explicated in the chapters through the major themes that emerged. The first theme is the incorporation of "secular" elements such as media technology in the church service. The second theme examines a dichotomy in the way the congregants experience and perceive worship is discussed. The final themed chapter is the influence of contemporary worship on feelings of belonging and togetherness within the church. All together, the study finds that complex communication phenomena can be observed as a result of changing perceptions, expectations, and feelings in the congregants of the evangelical church studied in the project. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master
of Arts. / Fall Semester, 2008. / August 20, 2008. / Theology, Media Richness Theory, Auto-Ethnography, Grounded Theory, Sacred / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen McDowell, Professor Directing Thesis; Arthur Raney, Committee Member; Donna M. Nudd, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253906 |
| Contributors | Williams, Trevor C. (authoraut), McDowell, Stephen (professor directing thesis), Raney, Arthur (committee member), Nudd, Donna M. (committee member), School of Communication (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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