It was a cold December evening in the PVG lobby. Weary students, anticipating the end of the first semester, forced down another cup of coffee and muscled out the last few hours of finals week.
Suddenly, the intense melancholy that hung in the air thicker than the fog outside was pierced by something out of the ordinary.
Members of a church from the Willamette Valley were demonstrating a couple of charismatic spiritual gifts: speaking in tongues and prophesy.
“I was there that night,” said student Dani Horne.
Having grown up surrounded by skeptical opinions about the modern practice of these gifts, Horne admits feeling a little uneasy at first.
“When I first heard the Pastor talking about them in a different light, I was pretty apprehensive and had a lot of doubts,” said Horne.
The church was visiting only a couple of students, but as time went on, more and more people gathered to see what the frenzy was about. That was when PVG Resident Director Ben Pearson stepped in.
“I walked out into the lobby, and it looked like some sort of an event was going on,” said Pearson. As an RD, he was alarmed by this unauthorized use of the space.
In an email sent to PVG residents after this incident, Pearson stated: “While we highly encourage spiritual develop and the pursuit of God’s truth, we also need to have any events that will require much of the lobby space and atmosphere to be ran by us first (Nicole and Ben).”
Yet in the wake of this event, there has been a good deal of contention on campus over the use of spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues and prophesying.
“This controversy comes from the fact that Corban’s theological background differs from charismatic backgrounds,” said Pearson.
Theologically, speaking in tongues is practiced primarily in Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity. These traditions have interpreted scriptures such as Acts 2 and Mark 16:17 as identifying the practice as a legitimate spiritual gift.
Yet the idea of learning to “practice” a gift like one might practice and learn a musical instrument is an idea that troubles Campus Pastor Dan Huber.
“I feel like it’s a gift that’s being practiced, not a gift that is being used,” said Huber. “Churches today have skewed it to be about something it’s not about.”
In Biblical times, speaking in tongues was used as a means of spreading the kingdom of God to more people. Huber noted that “in our culture, the purpose people tend to talk about it is for spiritual growth.”
Similarly, prophesying is a tradition that is somewhat controversial in modern Christianity.
Despite skeptical opinions, student Jordan Johansen attests to having personally experienced prophesy.
“Prophesying is a buildup of a believer or an unbeliever when they’re going through a hard time,” said Johansen. “It’s always supportive.”
Johansen says he has been prophesied over before, and that people he’s never met before have identified relationship problems in his life, and offered encouragement.
Regardless, theological differences like this are what Pearson called “non-essential differences.”
“We should approach them with love, humility, and open arms,” said Pearson. “Hopefully through that we can understand each other better.”
D. Alexander Miller says
The interaction between the Christian faith, Spiritual Formation and Spiritual gifts, including the gift of tongues, is something I have thought about for quite some time, maybe 30 years or so… And here are a few things that I have thought about:
I have a pentecostal friend who asked me once, “Do you know what a Jesus Freak is?” Intrigued by his question I replied, “No.” He responded, “Someone who loves Jesus a little more than you do!” I looked him in the eye and said, “Jesus Freak!” We laughed and went to lunch. Our friendship and brotherhood in the Lord were primary… our differences in thought always came back to our primary convictions (Mk. 12:29-30).
In Acts 2 it appears to be the miraculous speech in known languages, but in I Corinthians 12-14 it takes on a more personal/spiritual tone. Biblically speaking Paul uses imperative language to say, “Do not forbid the speaking in tongues” (14:39), yet in context he adds, “but let everything be done in an orderly manner” (14:40). 1 Thes. 5:19-20 echoes this idea.
One may ask, Were Paul’s thoughts only for a first century community? Or, do they apply to believers today? In my opinion, it is difficult to say, “pray without ceasing or give thanks always” (I Thes 5:17-18, for example)is for our day but prophetic utterance or quenching the Spirit are not. Selective contextualization is really a questionable biblical hermeneutic… again, in my opinion.
One other thought to consider… I Cor. 12:7 Paul states, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Let’s grant, for the sake of argument, that speaking in tongues is valid for the believer today as a personal form of encouragement. How does this turn into building up the body for the common good? Does my gift turn into words of encouragement for others? Do I pray more for others? Another funny story…
I taught a course in Acts for the Adult Degree Program at Biola a few years back and there was a woman in the class who stated she had the gift of tongues. As the course went on, it became evident that she also had the gift of gossip. What an ironic contradiction!?!? All those passages in James about the tongue came to mind, but the question is still viable… if the gift is alive in our world (and I know a number of solid believers in Christ who have the gift), how does it impact the common good?
Again, I think it comes back to our primary motives: Do we love the Lord and love one another- with our whole heart, mind soul and strength; Is unity of believers and putting others first my primary modus operandi for life in Christ (Phil 2:1-4)? Is building up the body of Christ my goal and all my “gifts” are used towards that end (Eph 4:11-16).
A few thoughts to consider…