What if I told you that “speaking in tongues” wasn’t just an emotional experience? What if it’s not just a psychosomatic, cultural phenomenon amongst “low IQ pentecostals or charismatics”? I unapologetically speak in tongues as a part of my prayer life, and although pentecostalism has abused the gifts, abuse hasn’t eradicated their reality.
There’s been so much of an attempt to counterbalance the negative perception of speaking in tongues, that many of my continuationist friends are Baptists in practice and public ministry. Unfortunately, the unwillingness of popular continuationts to operate in the gifts of the Spirit in their own churches and itinerate events has caused a “pentecostal-light” or “baptist-plus” culture to be the most pervasive, especially here in the US.
I personally believe that in their attempt to be more assessable they’ve become less attractive, spiritually. Salt loses its savor. What happened to tongues being a sign to unbelievers? Why throw about the proverbial baby with the bath water? The Apostle Paul observed the rampant abuse of spiritual gifts in the first century and his response wasn’t to restrict, ban, or block them— it was to administrate them. The solution to becoming more “assessable” to the world isn’t neutering the Holy Spirit by demanding His presence, but not receiving His gifts. To deny the gift is to deny the gift giver. By honoring the gift, you honor the gift giver.
To be a “seeker sensitive church” in this era, you must awaken to the reality that this generation is no longer seeking “relatability” or “relevancy,” but rather: Spiritual Significance. Even multi-national, secular companies understand this, in this era, and market appropriately. It seems that, as usual, it’s the church that is behind once again. My prayer is that this sparks a boldness in my continuationst friends to wield every tool they’ve been given; even the ones mishandled by previous generations.
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