English
Korean
Spanish
Transcript of Inside LifeWay podcast featuring Brad Waggoner, Ed Stetzer and Scott McConnell discussing the study on the use of private prayer language released June 1 by LifeWay Research. The audio file is available at www.lifeway.com/insidelifeway. Inside LifeWay is the official news podcast of LifeWay Christian Resources.
Host Brooklyn Noel: Got a private prayer language or don’t believe they exist? We’re sorting through the latest research on this edition of Inside Lifeway. Welcome to Inside LifeWay, the official news podcast of LifeWay Christian Resources. I’m your host, Brooklyn Noel.
Speaking in tongues, technically known by its Greek word glossolalia. It is currently at the center of much discussion in the Southern Baptist Convention and beyond. What exactly is it? Why does it seem to invoke strong opinions and why research this topic? We’ll answer all these questions today with my guests from LifeWay Research.
All three guests have been on Inside Lifeway podcasts before but this is Ed Stetzer’s first visit as director of LifeWay Research. Brad Wagonner is here and so is Scott McConnell. Thank you gentlemen for joining me today.
Before we really get into this study, I really want to inform our listeners there’s no way we’ll be able to cover everything that this study’s covered in the amount of time we have so I want to encourage everyone to go to LifeWayResearch.com for more in depth ideas of what this project encompassed, there’s more detail about the methodology. All of that is available at lifewayresearch.com. I also think it’s important that we define some of these terms that are going to come up throughout this conversation we need to get listeners up to speed on what this discussion is about. Let’s just lay out some groundwork. First of all, let’s define glossolalia. Ed, how about you?
Ed Stetzer: Glossolalia is, depending upon your understanding, the Spirit-given gift where individuals pray in a language unknown to them. Some would say it is an earthly, physical language. Some would say it is an ecstatic speech in such a manner that it edifies their spirit?those who have a private prayer language would say [that]. Or it can be used for evangelism?those who would hold a different view of the purpose of the gift. Basically, glossolalia is from the Greek word for tongue, it is the unintelligible or other language speech that is considered a spiritual gift in the New Testament.
Brad Waggoner: That’s a good definition.
HOST: Next, we need to talk about — I guess there are kind of two schools of thought related to this. There is the cessationist thought and renewalist or continualist thought. What are differences in those two, Ed?
STETZER: Good question, there are nuances, of course, in each of those. Cessationists hold that at some point, most of them say at end of apostolic era, some at formation of canon where the Bible was formed–at some point in the past, the gift of tongues–some cessationists would say all the sign gifts, and even other cessationists would say all the miraculous gifts–ceased to be a regular function in the local church. Some would say God still does miracles, but they are not a normal part of life of the church. And so cessationism, and again there are different nuances to that ? basically, the idea is these gifts ceased at a time in the past.
Renewalist language is a little less used than the continualist. The continualist would say gifts of the Holy Spirit continue today. There can even be nuances in there particularly on the gift of tongues. For example, Pentecostals would [say] what they would call the baptism of the Holy Spirit would be subsequent from salvation, the initial, physical evidence being speaking in tongues. They would be continualists, but with this being a normative part of the life of a Christian.
