A brief look at the controversial gift of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, by Pastor John Lathrop.

The twentieth century has witnessed the rapid growth of two remarkable religious movements, the Pentecostal Movement and the Charismatic Movement. The Pentecostal Movement, which appeared first, attracted widespread attention in the early 1900’s. This was due largely to the revival services that took place at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles beginning in 1906.[1] A little more than fifty years later the Charismatic Movement burst on the scene claiming the same spiritual manifestations that had previously appeared in the Pentecostal Movement. The charismatic renewal, sometimes called neo-pentecostalism, began to make its way into the mainline Protestant churches in the late 1950’s and by 1967 had infiltrated the Roman Catholic Church as well.[2] The impact of these movements has been profound. The sheer number of people involved indicates that. In 1995 the number of adherents to the Pentecostal Movement was said to be 410 million.[3] These movements have touched the world. While there are differences between the two movements, the one thing that they hold in common is the claim to fresh outpourings of the Holy Spirit, complete with healings and the other gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of tongues.

The gift of tongues, referred to by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14, is perhaps the most controversial of the gifts of the Spirit. The reported reappearance of this gift in the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements has produced responses ranging from joy to horror. The purpose of this paper is to consider the controversy regarding this gift, examine the contribution that the gift can make to the church and to contend for the restoration of this gift to its rightful place in the life of the church.

The major controversy regarding the gift of tongues concerns it’s existence. The Christian Church today is divided on the issue of whether this gift exists in our day or not. Christians who believe that the gift of tongues still exists are called charismatics or Pentecostals. Christians who do not believe that the gift exists today are called cessationists.

Regardless of one’s theological or denominational persuasion one thing that must be admitted about the gift is that it did exist in the first century church. The apostle Paul makes repeated reference to it in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14. No other New Testament epistle makes any direct reference to this gift. However, this is not to suggest that the gift was something unique to the church at Corinth. The cessationist, Benjamin B. Warfield believed that the gift existed in the apostolic church and that it was not limited to Corinth.[5] In fact he goes so far as to say that an apostolic church without the gifts would be an exception.[6] The gifts, including tongues, were a regular part of church life in the first century.

Describing himself as a curious skeptic, Martyn Wendell Jones set out to find out for himself if what was happening in Redding, California at Bethel Church was indeed a move of God and that revival was taking place.

Jones who attends a Presbyterian (PCA) church in Toronto admits that he has never heard anyone speak or pray in tongues. He also declined prayer for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit when asked by some members of Bethel.

In spite of his background Jones provides a balanced assessment on the ministries of Bethel. He writes that he half-expected to find an organization of hucksters or a community of believers devoted to God. Neither fit his expectations.

In this in-depth article Jones describes in detail the ministries of the church and the people who attend Bethel. Because of this, I believe that readers of his article will have a good idea of what to expect should they decide to visit Bethel.

Bethel was at one time an Assembly of God church affiliating in1954. In 2006, the church voted to become independent. Today, Bethel boasts of a weekly attendance averaging over 8,600 and an operating budget of over $9 million dollars.

Four ministries make-up Bethel: the church itself, iBethel, Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), and Bethel music.

The more than 2,000 students from 57 countries and 45 states at BSSM are trained to become “revivalists”. A description of the courses and interviews with the teachers would have been helpful for the reader of his article to perhaps get a better idea as to what is being taught at BSSM and of the attendees of Bethel.

Jones states that the unifying theme at Bethel is revival.  In fact the walls above the auditorium floor have banners with images of people holding signs that say “I am revival”.

McCurdy says that some Bethel students have been kicked out of some of the local stores for their “erratic behavior”, including a BSSM student who had been trying to prophesy to a customer through their dog.

Phil Johnson, who spoke at a John MacArthur Strange Fire conference, says that Bethel “constitutes a whole different message from biblical Christianity” and that it is “totally devoid of any true and consistent proclamation of the gospel.”

On a positive note, the mayor of Redding estimates that Bethel’s members have saved the city the cost of five full-time jobs annually as a result of their pro bono work. Jones does not elaborate on what those jobs entailed.