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I know what you mean about the sometimes strange behavior by some people who claim to be speaking in "tongues." There's been a lot of confusion over this practice through the years, and most people basically want to know if speaking in tongues is for every Christian. Some even want to know if speaking in tongues somehow demonstrates that you are saved. While I'm no expert (and I've never spoken in tongues), I do have some thoughts on the matter. Hopefully this will help.
First of all, it's important to understand that speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift. The Bible is very clear on this (the spiritual gifts are listed in 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 28-31; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-12; and 1 Peter 4:10-11). It seems pretty clear from the apostle Paul's teaching on this that every Christian has at least one spiritual gift, but not everyone has the same gift (1 Cor. 12:7-11). It follows from this that not everyone has the gift of tongues.
Spiritual gifts are given by God in order to serve Him and to serve others (1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Peter 4:10). They are not for our self-edification. Honestly, it's hard to watch the behavior you describe without concluding that some people who claim to be speaking in tongues are doing it for self-edification, not for the benefit of the larger body of Christ.
The gift of tongues appeared in the book of Acts for a specific purpose, so the believers could proclaim the Good News about Christ to people in their own language. There is disagreement among Bible scholars if tongues should always be in known languages, or in a private "prayer" language. But the Bible is clear that if tongues are done in a public worship service, then they must be interpreted.
Church historians point to times of great spiritual renewal, during which the gift of tongues seems to be more evident. We seem to be in such a time! But again, to say that everyone should speak in tongues, or that speaking in tongues is necessary to show you are saved, cannot be supported from Scripture.
To keep the gift of tongues in balance, read 1 Corinthians 14. A key verse is 1 Cor. 14:19. And in 1 Cor. 12:31, Paul advises us to desire "the most helpful gifts."
Comments
What I am really confused about is why the language of the spirit is not one language, but seems to change with every person and need a translation for every person. Why is that? Also Paul seems to be saying in 1 Corinthians 14:19, that for the churches sake, he would rather say 5 words with his mind (assumedly, his normal language), instead of 10,000 words in tongues. For this reason, I don't understand why people speak tongues in public if it doesn't do much for the church body.
However, it seems very clear that Paul wants us to prophesy. I think this can be as simple as being convicted enough, and also righteous enough, to speak to the church as a witness of the spirit and as a messenger of what God wants to see happen within the church or for the church. I don't believe prophesying is as mystical as it sounds, and by desiring that gift, the church seems like it would be so fruitful. In responding to calls for change (prophesy), within a congregation, instead of becoming self-righteous, I bet a lot of churches would be revitalized and reborn. We would see more work like the Korean World Mission Conference happening.