GGeeoorrggiiaa SSttaattee UUnniivveerrssiittyy SScchhoollaarrWWoorrkkss @@ GGeeoorrggiiaa SSttaattee UUnniivveerrssiittyy Anthropology Theses Department of Anthropology Spring 4-26-2013 CCoommiinngg ttoo CChhrriisstt:: NNaarrrraattiivveess ooff PPrraayyeerr aanndd EEvvaannggeelliissmm ffrroomm BBoorrnn-- AAggaaiinn CChhrriissttiiaannss iinn AAttllaannttaa Richard B. Bledsoe Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/anthro_theses RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Bledsoe, Richard B., "Coming to Christ: Narratives of Prayer and Evangelism from Born-Again Christians in Atlanta." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2013. doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/4074794 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Anthropology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMING TO CHRIST: NARRATIVES OF PRAYER AND EVANGELISM FROM BORN- AGAIN CHRISTIANS IN ATLANTA by BRANDON BLEDSOE Under the Direction of Emanuela Guano ABSTRACT Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with a Southern Baptist congregation in Atlanta, this thesis analyzes members’ experiences of becoming born-again Christians and their engagement with prayer to explore the affects that permeate the practice of developing a personal relationship with Jesus. INDEX WORDS: Anthropology, Religion, Evangelism, Southern Baptist, Church, Prayer, Affect COMING TO CHRIST: NARRATIVES OF PRAYER AND EVANGELISM FROM BORN- AGAIN CHRISTIANS IN ATLANTA by BRANDON BLEDSOE A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2013 Copyright by Brandon Bledsoe 2013 COMING TO CHRIST: NARRATIVES OF PRAYER AND EVANGELISM FROM BORN- AGAIN CHRISTIANS IN ATLANTA by BRANDON BLEDSOE Committee Chair: Emanuela Guano Committee: Jennifer Patico Faidra Papavasiliou Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2013 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the congregation members of Moreland Heights Baptist Church, with special thanks to Pastor Randy and the members of the congregation who sat down to share their testimonies with me. My goal in setting out to get my MA and conduct this research was to grow intellectually. Their names (and the name of their church) may have been changed for this publication, but they welcomed me into their family with the hope that their stories can provide a greater understanding of their culture and change lives. It is my hope that this thesis does justice to both of our efforts. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the endless patience and valuable guidance that my advisor, Dr. Emanuela Guano has shown me over my time with the Georgia State University Anthropology Department. I would also like to acknowledge the valuable insights, literature suggestions, and comments that Dr. Faidra Papavasiliou and Dr. Jennifer Patico have contributed during the course of my research. The entire faculty and student body in the Georgia State University Anthropology department have given me suggestions, feedback and support over the past three years, and much of the process of finding my ultimate research question has come from what they have told me they found most interesting about my research. My family and my parents have been supportive of me (most of the time) since birth, despite protests from my parents about continuing with graduate studies. My friends have kept me sane during the whole process. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Isa Blumi in the Georgia State University History Department for motivating me to think critically about the world around me and exposing me to ideas that I might not have otherwise pursued. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................v   CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION....................................................................1   Defining and Debating Born-Again Christians......................................... 4   Religion and Epistemology ...................................................................... 6   Affect, Effervescence, Constructed Liminality, and the Heart..................8   Historical Background of the Southern Baptist Convention.................... 11   Situating the Community Church............................................................13   Methodology...........................................................................................18   CHAPTER 2 – COMING TO CHRIST: THE PROCESS OF BECOMING “BORN-AGAIN” ........................................................................................ 28   “God Has a Plan:” Testing One’s Faith.................................................... 32   Being “Broken”...................................................................................... 34   CHAPTER 3 – “HAVE A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS”: PRAYER................37   “Effervescent” Prayer ............................................................................40   Prayer and Healing.................................................................................47   CHAPTER 4 – SPREADING THE “GOOD NEWS”: EVANGELISM............. 50   Witnessing............................................................................................. 50   Sharing Testimony..................................................................................53   CHAPTER 5 – EXPANDING “GOD’S KINGDOM”: DISCIPLESHIP IN THE COMMUNITY............................................................................................ 56   “I’d Like to Invite You to My Church this Sunday” .................................60 vii Church Planting and the Community Church......................................... 62   The “Church Family” .............................................................................68   CHAPTER 6 – “TO JERUSALEM, JUDEA, SAMERIA, AND THE ENDS OF THE EARTH”: MISSIONS..........................................................................71   International Missions............................................................................73   “Taking the City”: Inner-city Missions....................................................74   HOPE and Opportunity...........................................................................79   CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION..................................................................... 82   REFERENCES...........................................................................................86 1 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION At 10:30 on a Sunday morning in an eastside neighborhood in the city of Atlanta, the congregation of the Moreland Heights Baptist Church stands as the worship team begins to play one of its most frequently played worship songs, “The Stand” by Hillsong United. The worship team is responsible for the music at the beginning of the worship service, and is led by Daniel, a white male in his early twenties who plays the guitar parts for the songs. A three-piece vocal ensemble and a drummer, the latter of whom is encased in a sound-dampening booth constructed on the right side of the altar, accompany him. The music lasts for about the first twenty minutes of the service, and during the musical performance, latecomers file in and join in singing, hand-raising, and praying silently at their seats as the music plays. During one of the musical interludes, Daniel plays an extended guitar part as the associate pastor’s wife, who is in the vocal ensemble, reads a passage from the Book of Matthew before continuing on to the next verse of the song. One latecomer is William, an African-American male in his 50s who arrives in his T-shirt and blue jeans. Several members of the congregation shake his hand or give him a hug as he walks toward his normal spot near the front of the seating area in the sanctuary, and he begins to sing along immediately after settling into his spot. As the music concludes, Pastor Randy invites William up to the altar and sets up a chair for him to sit down. “Many of you know that William’s wife has been sick and battling cancer for some time,” Randy says. “This past Thursday evening, she went home to be with the Lord.” I recall that I have just seen her in church with William two weeks prior to this Sunday, and that she was wearing an oxygen tank at the time. Pastor Randy speaks about William’s wife a bit more, and then invites the entire congregation