november 17, 2006
Focus VP Joins Counseling Panel for Haggard; Science & Speaking in Tongues
The Rev. H.B. London Jr., vice president of church and clergy at Focus on the Family, will replace Dr. James Dobson on the three-member panel counseling disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard.
London is a mentor to pastors and an expert on the stresses of the ministry. He, along with the Rev. Tommy Barnett and the Rev. Jack Hayford, will supervise the “spiritual restoration” of Haggard. Dobson had received criticism when he stepped down from the team overseeing the restoration of Haggard, citing a lack of time. "Emotionally and spiritually, I wanted to be of help - but the reality is I don't have the time to devote to such a critical responsibility," Dobson said. The other two members of the team, Pastors Jack Hayford of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, Calif., and Tommy Barnett of First Assembly of God in Phoenix, declined to comment.
“Rev. London is an excellent choice for this important duty,” Dobson said in a statement Tuesday. “He has vast experience as a pastor to pastors. He understands the unique spiritual needs and challenges of those who serve in the ministry. As I've said, I wanted to assist Ted and New Life Church personally through this difficult period, but there was no way I could devote the kind of time and attention to the process that it deserves. With H.B. joining the team, Ted's care and restoration could not be in more capable hands.”
Science and Speaking in Tongues
Last week, the New York Times reported that neuroscientists had gotten a look, for the first time, at the brains of devout Christians engaged in speaking in tongues. The scientists compared the brain activity of their subjects in two conditions—first while they sang gospel songs, and second as they engaged in glossolalia -- or speaking in tongues.
According to the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center research report, scientists found that as subjects spoke in tongues, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex diminished, which normally lights up when you're doing something on purpose. "The amazing thing was how the images supported people's interpretations of what was happening," the study's lead author, Dr. Andrew Newberg, told the New York Times. "The way they describe it, and what they believe, is that God is talking through them," he said.
If the test subjects said they were in a state of utter abandon, the pictures of their brains proved it.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took brain images of five women while they spoke in tongues and found that their frontal lobes were relatively quiet, as were the language centers. According to the recent Times report, the regions involved in maintaining self-consciousness were active; the women were not in blind trances.
Donna Morgan, a co-author of the study, was also a research subject. She is a born-again Christian who is quoted as saying the ability to speak in tongues is a gift. "You're aware of your surroundings," she said. "You're not really out of control. But you have no control over what's happening. You're just flowing. You're in a realm of peace and comfort, and it's a fantastic feeling."
Reporter Benedict Carey noted that "contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not."
"Researchers have identified at least two forms of the practice, one ecstatic and frenzied, the other subdued and nearly silent. The new findings contrasted sharply with images taken of other spiritually inspired mental states like meditation, which is often a highly focused mental exercise, activating the frontal lobes."
Read the University of Pennsylvania Study on Speaking in Tongues
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