churches also produced videotapes for sale). Six of the audio tapes were tran-
scribed in sound-by-sound detail. Seven pastors were formally interviewed
about their church’s services, history, and mission. These interviews were
also recorded and transcribed.
Practices and beliefs were analyzed and compared. Services were analyzed
as a series of sequentially organized interactions between pastors and the
congregation in which the pastor and congregation took recognizable turns.
Patterns of similarity and difference in the expressions of accepted and rejected
spiritual gifts were sought in order to uncover the in-situ characteristics of
enacting recognizable practices. The general beliefs associated with these prac-
tices were explored through pastoral interviews, statements during worship,
and the Assemblies of God national website (www.ag.org). While we found
that the beliefs underlying these messages were essentially the same in both
churches, the practices that members of the congregation enacted in con-
junction with these beliefs differed significantly in their details.
Beliefs: Speaking in Tongues, the Interpretation of Tongues,
Prophecy, and the Discernment of Spirits
While we argue that beliefs do not organize religious practice, they do pro-
vide a context of accountability for those practices, and the practices can be
held accountable to the beliefs. Therefore, before examining the practices, it
is important to know what the beliefs are and what authority they claim.
After examining the beliefs we will go on to examine the practices and their
violations in details.
Pentecostals, as well as Charismatic Christians, are distinguished from other
Protestants by their stance on speaking in tongues. They believe that speak-
ing in tongues is a form of spiritual baptism that is both available to true
believers and necessary for a complete relationship with God. The first time
a person speaks in tongues is referred to as their “baptism in the Spirit.” This
is their second initiation in the Holy Spirit. The first initiation experience is
called being “saved” or “born again.” When a person is born again they are
urged through spiritual interaction to dedicate their lives to God. The belief
is that the Holy Spirit plants the seed of the “new person” within the indi-
vidual. Later, a worshiper hopes to become filled with the Spirit. Speaking
in tongues is considered to be initial evidence of this overflowing of the Holy
Spirit.
Speaking in Tongues: A Dialectic of Faith and Practice • 263