Evangelical Bible study groups are the most prolific type of
small group in American society, with more than 30 million
Protestants gathering every week for this distinct purpose, meeting
in homes, churches, coffee shops, restaurants, and other public and
private venues across the country. What happens in these groups?
How do they help shape the contours of American Evangelical life?
While more public forms of political activism have captured popular
and scholarly imaginations, it is in group Bible study that
Evangelicals reflect on the details of their faith. Here they
become self-conscious religious subjects, sharing the intimate
details of life, interrogating beliefs and practices, and
articulating their version of Christian identity and culture.
In Words upon the Word, James S. Bielo draws on over nineteen
months of ethnographic work with five congregations to better
understand why group Bible study matters so much to Evangelicals
and for Evangelical culture. Through a close analysis of
participants' discourse, Bielo examines the defining themes of
group life--from textual interpretation to spiritual intimacy and
the rehearsal of witnessing. Bielo's approach allows these
Evangelical groups to speak for themselves, illustrating Bible
study's uniqueness in Evangelical life as a site of open and
critical dialogue. Ultimately, Bielo's ethnography sheds much
needed light on the power of group Bible study for the
ever-evolving shape of American Evangelicalism.
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