There are a number of things which happen in churches that do not get questioned by members and they should. Things are accepted and perpetuated because new people come in, witness what happens, and accept that this is the way something is done.
In Apostolic churches, they will tell people they are lost if they do not speak in tongues (because they teach that is the initial evidence of receiving the Spirit). This creates an unhealthy atmosphere as many people struggle to get this alleged evidence, all the while feeling lost and possibly rejected by God in the process. Some never do.
Many of us never stopped to think while reading the New Testament, that it never speaks of things being done that we see in some churches today. When people spoke in tongues in Acts 2, 10 & 19, it shows no one screaming in anyone’s ears, holding up their arms, grabbing their chin, pounding on their back, wailing while waiting for it to happen, and all of the other things that may be seen today.
I once shared a five minute video that showed people praying with a young male, who supposedly started speaking in tongues. At some point after it was shared, they made the video private.
In the video you could see people talking to him, some yelling, “Come on!” They got by his ear or right in his face and either talked to or yelled at him. Some pounded the floor or stomped their feet near him. They wailed and had concerned looks on their faces, even after he said he had the Spirit. Most everyone was making noise at the same time while he lay on the floor and periodically thrashed around. There really wasn’t much else he could do since he was crowded by church members. It was intense.
There were many hands placed on him. They grabbed his arms, sometimes moving them around. They touched his legs, head, chest- even hitting on his chest. How were any of these actions supposed to help him speak in tongues?
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