Raymond W Bond

About the Author

Marvin Botts holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Christian Ministry from Mid-Continent University, a Southern Baptist accredited preacher’s school begun in 1948. And has pursued graduate studies in Theology and ministry leadership. A lifelong member of the Assemblies of God, Lutheran, Episcopal, Southern Baptist, and Four Square; he brings decades of firsthand experience in Pentecostal, liturgical, Evangelical, reformed Jewish and charismatic church culture to the observations in this book.

His background spans an unusually wide range. He began studying electronics engineering in the 1970s and went on to become a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, with additional certifications in networking and multimedia production. That technical foundation proved directly relevant to his study of speaking in tongues—using audio analysis tools to examine glossolalia recordings in ways that few theological writers have attempted.

For several years, Marvin served as Network Administrator and Technology Director for a large church, overseeing two database servers, numerous web platforms, three weekly television productions, and a multimedia ministry involving up to thirty staff and volunteers. That role gave him an extended view of institutional church life from the inside—its sincerity, its strengths, and the gaps it sometimes prefers not to examine.

He has worked as a farmer, an IT contractor, a web developer, a videographer, a photographer, and a graphic designer, and has produced television programming and commercial media throughout his career. He lives in Florida with his wife Kandi, for 37 years.