I have yet to see anyone speaking in tongues in a Southern Baptist church. Having said that, the lack of speaking in tongues does not necessarily mean that Southern Baptists never speak in tongues or that they do not believe in it as a general rule. Clearly they seem to avoid it.
Nonetheless, what is the Southern Baptist belief regarding speaking in tongues?
The Southern Baptist denomination doesn't hold any particular stance regarding the gift of speaking in tongues.
If you took a survey of all the different Southern Baptist churches, you would come up with a variety of beliefs on the subject.
From their FAQ regarding speaking in tongues:
Probably most believe that the "gift of tongues" as described in the Bible ceased upon the completion of the Bible. Some may view speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift given to some Christians enabling them to communicate the Gospel to foreign cultures in a language the speaker had not known previously. A very small minority might accept what is commonly practiced today in charismatic churches as valid.
There has been some debate among Southern Baptists regarding speaking in tongues, with varying views mentioned above.
I am a Baptist.
In many Baptist churches it is thought that the power to speak in tongues, or prophesy, etc. is evil, and must come from the devil. However, although a rule, it has it's exceptions. For example, my church takes the exact opposite stance, saying that it would be quenching the spirit to suppress that gift.
In Christ!
Based on my personal experience- Southern Baptist don’t want speaking in tongues to be a distraction from speaking in your native tongue. They do not deny it exist but are turned off by many people pretending to speak in tongues, just repeating the same 5 words over and over. Nor do they want meetings disrupted with what no one else understands. If a person with the gift of tongues goes on a mission trip, they are asked to agree not to speak in tongues while on the trip.
