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This paper is focused on the ritual practice of worship in a large suburban seeker-oriented evangelical church. Against a backdrop of the persistent gender gap in Christian religious participation, I argue that evangelical Protestants are using music to create a worship experience that re-codes religious practice as masculine. This is in line with a long history of trying to bring men into evangelical Protestantism and resonates with a core theological tenant; the development of a personal relationship with God. I draw on ethnographic data to provide a rich description of one local seeker-oriented congregation as they blend sacred and secular cultural forms. I conclude that practices along this boundary gender the worship experience male. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is based on an ethnographic study of a protestant evangelical congregation in the Midwestern United States. My work examines how the longstanding evangelical tradition of translating religious beliefs and practices into contemporary vernacular is currently practiced using the tools and contents of mass media. Interpretations of the data focus primarily on gender, ritual practice and emotion. In this paper I examine data from observations and interviews with the audio/visual production technicians, performers, and musicians responsible for creating the movement, moods and peak moments of large public worship rituals. I pay special attention to the cues and conventions employed through production of sound and light, and situate these cues and conventions in relationship to the wider media culture. I conclude by suggesting ways that a focus on media lends itself well to the study of emotion in religious contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]