Assemblies of God Surge, But Speaking in Tongues Slumps

[DC Al Fine]

H/T Christianity Today

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I applaud the AOG on their growth in a difficult church climate, but have mixed feelings about their decline in speaking in tongues. While I believe speaking in tongues in the modern era is incorrect theology, it's relative decline speaks to the decline in diversity among conservative churches as we drop all of our distinctives to go after the mega church model. I also wonder how much of their growth is coming at the expense of other denominations, and if so, which ones?

Thoughts?

[afleitch]

Credibility perhaps? Socially you pay a price when you start talking gobble or admit that you do.

[CatoMinor]

One of the coolest places to see evidence of the surge just happens to be the university I attend. We have something like 19,000 students now (give or take a thousand), and just the one campus ministry I am part of (affiliated with assemblies of God) alone has around 1000 regular attendant to our weekly services. Then you can add in the campus baptist group, Methodist, Catholic, episcopalian, and a handful of other small non-denom groups. From the time I first started attending to now the changes in the students on campus have been pretty noticeable and seems borderline 3rd Great Awakening at times.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

As someone who is in the A/G I love the surge in growth. Needless to say it could be better throughout all of Christendom in the United States.

Now the slumping in speaking in tounges is quite disturbing to me. It is a Biblical thing that still stands to this day (Nothing personal DC but I must disagree with you on this one).

As for this talk that we've had a Third Great Awakening, I wish we had or were in the mist of one but we haven't had anything close to it since the beginning of the 20th Century and the Pentecostal Outpourings.  (which wasn't considered an Awakening)

[barfbag]

I was at a church where they started to speak in tongues and it freaked me out so I left.