DC,
Thanks for the reply and for answering the original question in the second paragraph. Although my understanding about 'tongues' does differ from yours, my first reason for posting this was to highlight that even though we have lots of scripture prior to God moving, it seems that we (as humans) are pretty much clueless as to what God actually means...until we experience it.
In other words, God may tell us about something, but those who think they know what it will be like are almost guaranteed to be mostly wrong. Just like there were many scriptures describing the coming messiah, but when he came, few could even recognize it. and few of those had anything to do with the religious majority of the day.
Love in Jesus,
Kelby
Seem to me there are 2 type of speak in tongues.
1. Speak in toungues that can be understand other people from other language.
2. Speak in tongues that can not be understand. This type must be interprate.
For this type, you better stop unless some body
1 Corinthian 14
27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
This verse suggested, yes you can speak in tongues in the church, for a minute or two, than stop, wait if other interprate, if no body interprate, stop.
In other word, it is ok to speak in tongue in the church as long as with interpretation.
How do we know there will be interpretation? We do not know, so it is ok to try.
One day, I read a testimony. There was a girl in my town, her mom had a problem with her mental. She love her mom and try to help her. Doctor can not help, so she learn shamanism to cure her mom. She fail and the devil not leave her alone. Some time she saw a snake in her room and all scary thing. Her friend give her gospel song cd. When she listen that cd, she feel peace. So she ask her friend if she can attend the church with her. She went to church and accept Jesus.
She went home go to her room, and pray, and it happen to be in tounge, her roommate hear and cry, she ask her why she know her sin.
This girls do not speak Chinese, her roommate do. Her roommate say, that she speak 3 Chinese dialect when she pray and those 3 had the same meaning.
As a new believer, she do not know what going on, she call her pastor, then she, her friend, her friend boyfriend were baptized in the same time.