"People who speak in tongues rarely...

... suffer from mental problems" says an old report in the New York Times. Read the whole thing here

Thursday Thoughts

A few months ago I was talking to a senior Pentecostal theologian. He commented that most churches, in his opinion, didn't preach or emphasise baptism in the Spirit any longer.

His assessment caused me to think. There certainly isn't the emphasis these days on tarrying to receive the Spirit. And speaking in tongues as initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be the issue that it used to be, perhaps not because we have reached a consensus on it relationship to baptism in the Holy Spirit, but because, if my friend is right, we're not too concerned about baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Is it the case that baptism in the Spirit has become a doctrinal relic of an earlier Pentecostal? Should we set it to one side and talk more in third wave language about a release of the Spirit with any of the fruit or gifts of the Spirit seen as evidence of His work within us? Or is baptism in the Holy Spirit, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones maintained, a major component of revival?

Would love to know your thoughts.

Pentecostal Power

Testimonies like this do your heart good. I loved this testimony of baptism in the Holy Spirit from Ern Baxter. Baxter was a prominent leader in the renewal movement, especially in the 70's and 80's.