What is Speaking in "Tongues?"

Discussion with Ken LaPrade (former "tongue" speaker) and Clare McNaul (former "demon" speaker) about what speaking in "tongues is, and what it is not.

KEN: I first began "speaking in tongues" in late June, 1972, after attending a Charismatic Catholic meeting and getting excited about seeing a group of about 500 folks sort of chanting melodiously "in tongues" altogether. This was about a week after having stood up in a crowd to respond to Billy Graham's "altar call" regarding John 3:16. The young lady who had invited me to the Charismatic meeting showed me the record in Acts 2 (Pentecost) and told me that (the speaking in different languages) what was happening at the meeting. {By the way, I had not yet read 1st Cor. 14:23 which indicates that if a congregation all speaks tongues simultaneously, folks will say they are mad.)
Within a few months of this time, I had enthusiastically bought into the Way International's (or Wierwille's) exuberant explanations about tongues, and at some level I stuck with that way of thinking for 45 years. In 2017, I decided to restudy the whole subject carefully with a discerning attitude, and I began to doubt the use of "tongues" as a tool in my private prayer life. I stopped the "tongues" practice after assessing that I had been speaking gibberish (both publicly and privately) for 45 years. This was about two years after getting baptized in 2015. I feel now that I am not being deceived emotionally by an addictive, man-made counterfeit of the real (unknown/ foreign) language practice of Acts and 1st Corinthians.

Leaving "The Way Ministry"" was kind of a slow, convoluted experience. After Wierwille's 1985 death, (about a year later) a minister named Chris Geer challenged the top Way leaders, using documentation of his final, personal conversations with Wierwille, before his death. These top leaders (including president Craig Martindale) admitted to having been unfaithful to Wierwille's principles and were very apologetic for a while. By 1989, Martindale changed his mind and boldly challenged us (as graduates of the Way Corps - leaders) to choose whether we "stood" with him or with Chris Geer (then living in Scotland.) By not being "yes men" to this request, we (me included) were officially booted out of Way. So, except for what I later read in The Cult that Snapped, I have no real knowledge of The Way International after 1989.

So, I drifted among different ex-Way associations for years, culminating with some friendships involving Vince (the dad - a prominent Way leader in earlier years) and Sean Finnegan in New York; (Living Hope is really an ex-Way organization.) Some of them began to question certain aspects of Way dogma in a way that was truly helpful to me, and they were eventually influenced by Anthony Buzzard to begin considering Kingdom truths.

Eventually, (in 2015 and afterwards) it was hard for me to try to communicate and to juggle certain clear beliefs (like the continued, adamant rejection of baptism - by some), with my growing knowledge of Kingdom truths, so I pretty much lost contact with the Living Hope group as a whole (despite some continued, friendly communications with a few.)
So, there has been a difference between my very abrupt 1989 dismissal from The Way, and my very gradual deliverance from Way dogma and deceptive influences.

CLARE: Fellowship with demons during her 27 years of participation in the occult has given Clare McNaul both personal experience and a deeper understanding of the subtlety with which the demons tempt mankind into deception. Before coming to Christ Clare received and spoke many messages from the demons and was witness to tongues of demons (glossolalia) being spoken through mediums during spiritual / trance channeling, shamanic, pagan and other practices.
Though well behind her now, her years in the occult have given Clare the perspective to recognize that much of what is called the gift of tongues being practiced and encouraged in the church today is exactly the same as that which she’s seen spoken through people by demon spirits. She firmly believes that tongues must be approached with caution and discernment, as believers actively seeking after this gift can be unwittingly led away from God and into idol worship and apostasy. Clare rigorously adheres to the Scriptures regarding all things, including the gift of tongues and urges other believers and churches to do the same.