LifeWay Research studies use of, beliefs about private prayer language, speaking in tongues

Half of Southern Baptist pastors believe the Holy Spirit gives some people a special language to pray to God, according to a recent study on the use of private prayer language from LifeWay Christian Resources.
  
The study — conducted by LifeWay Research — also indicates the majority of Protestant senior pastors (63 percent) and laity (51 percent) believes in the gift of a private prayer language.
  
The study was conducted by phone survey to 1,004 Protestant laity, 405 Southern Baptist senior pastors and 600 non-Southern Baptist Protestant senior pastors in April and May. In addition, seminary graduates were called upon to answer related questions. All 1998–2004 master’s level graduates from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.; Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; and Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta, were invited to participate. A limited subset of graduates from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., were available for the study. 
  
The survey asked Protestant pastors, Southern Baptist pastors and laity their beliefs about private prayer language using this question wording: “Do you believe that the Holy Spirit gives some people the gift of a special language to pray to God privately? Some people refer to this as a private prayer language or the ‘private use of tongues.’” 
  
Fifty percent of Southern Baptist pastors answered “Yes,” 43 percent said “No” and 7 percent responded “Don’t know.” 
  
Non-Southern Baptist pastors are more likely to believe that the Holy Spirit gives some people a private prayer language than Southern Baptist pastors. Sixty-six percent of non-Southern Baptist pastors responded “Yes,” 32 percent responded “No” and 3 percent responded “Don’t know.” 
  
Protestant pastors (Southern Baptists and non-Southern Baptists) are more likely to believe the Holy Spirit gives some people a private prayer language (63 percent) than Protestant laity (51 percent).
  
Of the Protestant laity surveyed, 15 percent responded “Don’t know” when asked if they believe in the gift of private prayer language. Of the Protestant pastors, only 3 percent are unsure. 
  
Southern Baptist senior pastors are more likely than non-Southern Baptist Protestant pastors to understand “tongues” in the New Testament to mean the “God-given ability to speak another language” (62 percent vs. 54 percent). 
  
The majority of Protestant pastors understand “tongues” in the New Testament as “the God-given ability to speak another language you had not previously been able to speak” (55 percent). Thirty percent of Protestant pastors understand “tongues” to mean “special utterances given by the Holy Spirit meant as messages to the congregation with the help of an interpreter.” The remaining pastors selected the “Don’t know” category (15 percent).
  
Laity are divided between the meanings “God-given ability to speak another language” (32 percent) and “special utterances given by the Holy Spirit” (37 percent), while 31 percent responded “Don’t know.” 
  
Southern Baptist pastors are more likely than non-Southern Baptist pastors to believe the gift of tongues has ceased. 
  
Forty-one percent responded “this gift was only given in the days of the apostles” vs. 29 percent of non-Southern Baptist pastors. 
  
The majority of Protestant pastors believe the spiritual gift of tongues is “still given today to some believers” (53 percent). Thirty percent believe this gift was “only given in the days of the apostles,” 13 percent believe “the gift is still given today to all true believers” and 3 percent “don’t know.”
  
When asked about speaking in tongues publicly, the majority of Protestant laity also believe the gift of tongues is still given today. Only 20 percent indicates the gift was only given in the days of the apostles. Twenty-seven percent said the gift is given today to all true believers, and 26 percent responded the gift is given today to some believers. Twenty-seven percent of the laity responded “Don’t know.” 
  
Recent Southern Baptist seminary graduates are more likely to believe the gift of tongues has ceased than current Southern Baptist pastors. Fifty-five percent of recent Southern Baptist seminary graduates believe “the gift of tongues (as described in 1 Corinthians) ceased to be a valid gift in times past.” A minority of Southern Baptist pastors (41 percent) believes the spiritual gift of tongues was only given in the days of the apostles. 
  
“More recent graduates tend to be more ‘cessationist’ than their pastoral counterparts in [Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)] churches,” explained Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research. “A majority of recent SBC seminary graduates are cessationists — the only group in our study that identified with this position at over 50 percent.”
  
Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, noted there are two sizeable yet contradictory positions among SBC pastors. Half believe the Holy Spirit gives today the private use of tongues, and at the same time, 41 percent identify themselves as cessationists.
  
The pastors and laity were not asked if they personally practice the gift of tongues. However, recent Southern Baptist seminary graduates were asked if they “pray in tongues, practice glossolalia or have a private prayer language.” Less than 6 percent of the graduates practice the gift, and less than 4 percent of those graduates who currently work in Southern Baptist ministries practice the gift. 
  
When asked why LifeWay Research conducted this study, Brad Waggoner, vice president of research and ministry development at LifeWay, said, “LifeWay Research is committed to studying issues and trends that impact churches. This is an issue that is being discussed throughout the convention, and we wanted to determine the perceptions and opinions of SBC leaders.”
  
An Inside LifeWay podcast featuring Waggoner, Stetzer and McConnell discussing the study is available at www.lifeway.com/insidelifeway. (LifeWay)