Play, Tongues, and Liberation Power

Book excerpt: The recent Pixar animated movie Soul illustrates what happens when we are caught up into something. The movie uses the common language of being "in the Zone." Another word for this is being in the state of "play." Spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues are about normalizing a regular way to enter the zone or play of the Holy Spirit in a way that then empowers us for the rest of non-play life. Pentecostalism has exploded around the world, in part because people have direct encounters in play that empower them to act in new ways. This short work explores the nature of play and what happens in "the Zone."