Emphasis Preaching Journal

Priding itself as the church where the "Spirit of God is highly manifest," and tired of its denomination's liberal interpretation of scripture, a lay group, lead by a coterie of discontented deacons, decided to require all members to "speak in tongues." The church adopted a formal decree in the words, "For every member to be an authentic Christian, he or she MUST speak in tongues. This is the only sign for true believers as proclaimed by the Gospel of Christ." The new mandate alienated many long-standing members of the church.