An Open Letter to the Pentecostal Churches - Speaking in Tongues

Dear Pentecostal, dear Charismatic, dear person who believes that speaking in tongues is for today, as Paul came to Corinth in the Scriptures, I come to you today saying, I speak in tongues. But what a portion of you have been doing is disorderly, speaking in tongues, many at once, often without interpretation in the church, and at times without any protocols at all. As Paul said, if an unbeliever comes in, will they not think that you are out of your mind? But now much of the world thinks this about you. Due to the lack of order in the churches surrounding this gift, we have confused the world and hurt our witness. Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful gift, but one that has become despised because of the abuse. It is a gift that I wish all could taste and see as the Lord intended it to be, for it testifies of his glory. But it has been turned into a spiritual competition, our validation before God or even a measure of our salvation. And it's none of that but a supernatural move of the Spirit upon a mere weak man to proclaim the words of God. Speaking in tongues won't save you. Speaking in tongues won't validate you before God. Speaking in tongues doesn't make you more spiritual than your brother or sister in the pew next to you. But when it becomes this in your church, you quench the Spirit by bringing disorder into the fellowship and bringing a bad witness to the Gospel of Jesus. What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 14:27? If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two, or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Allow speaking in tongues. Do not quench the Spirit and seek the interpretation when someone speaks. But if no interpreter is found, then let them speak quietly between them and God alone, for that tongue is not for the assembly. If this simple instruction that Paul in all of his wisdom from the Spirit gave us were to be followed, that would eliminate so much of the abuse, the confusion, the distraction and the creation, the twisting of this gift into something that it was never intended to be. Let us take accountability. And if you have a church, if you're a leader of a church in which this has been permitted wrongly, then continue forward, but repent. Turn. Let others see that you are turning. Let them understand what was wrong so that we can carve ahead of us a better path forward. But none of this can happen unless we start upholding the Scriptures as our authority and something that is to be taken seriously and followed. If you want to learn more about speaking in tongues, check out our Speaking in Tongues series up here, where we go through everything the Bible has to say about speaking in tongues, its application, how to practically practice it, biblical protocols and more. I'll see you there. Shalom.