.As a result of being on a number of mailing lists I [Director of Take Heed Ministry] receive details of upcoming visits to the Province by many ‘preachers and teachers’. Such a notification informed me of a 2-night visit to Belfast [Hilton Hotel – 21/22 April] by Tommy Tenney who was listed as the author of 2 books called ‘The God Chasers’ and ‘The God Catchers’..

I have to confess that Mr Tenney’s name didn’t mean anything to me and I was about to file the invite away when I opened up the latest issue of VANGUARD [issued by a conservative Pentecostal apologetics grouping] and one of the articles listed was ‘Unmasked – Tommy Tenney’. The author of the article is Mike R Taylor who some years ago wrote the book ‘Do Demons Rule Your Town’ – a very helpful exposé of the false ‘territorial spirits’ and ‘spiritual warfare’ teachings associated with the likes of the Marches For Jesus..

If anyone would like a copy of this report by Mike Taylor I will be happy to forward it to them upon request but in the meantime here are some of the facts brought to light in this report on Mr Tenney.

1. Mr Tenney’s father is a leading figure in the United Pentecostal Church. Although Tommy Tenney himself no longer belongs to that grouping it is clear that he regards them as fellow believers and his father openly endorses his ministry and books. The United Pentecostal Church teach the error of ‘Oneness’ and Dr Eryl Davies on page 98 of his book ‘Truth Under Attack’ writes concerning ‘Salvation’ as taught by the ‘Oneness’ groups ‘Baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus alone is essential for salvation. Some groups like the United Pentecostal Church also believe that “speaking in tongues” is necessary for salvation’.

2. Mr Tenney suggests in his writings that God wishes His people to ‘chase after’ a God who is elusive rather than commune with God by the power and presence of His indwelling Holy Spirit. Such thinking and teaching encourages the stampedes that have been witnessed in recent years to places like ‘Toronto’ and ‘Pensacola’ and it comes as no surprise to read later in the report that Mr Tenney has close associations with many of the figures associated with those supposed spiritual ‘hot spots’.

3. Mr Tenney appears to use derogatory language when referring to Scripture – consider phrases such as ‘the mouldy pages of what God has done’ and ‘dusty love letters that were written long ago’. He basically views Scripture as ‘past truth’ that has been overly studied by the Church at the expense of experiencing what he refers to as ‘present truth’. Unlike those who go chasing hither and thither for some ‘blessing’, as encouraged by Mr Tenney, Mike Taylor correctly states ‘There is a powerful blessing for those who actually seek God IN His Word’.

4. Mr Tenney seems to view Scripture merely as an account of where God has been rather than being food for our very soul. He writes ‘Perhaps the masses of people are happy to know where God’s been but true God chasers are not content just to study God’s trail, His truths. They want to know what He is and what He’s doing right now’. This all seems very far removed from our Lord’s petition in John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”.

5. Mike Taylor goes on to cite examples of Mr Tenney both adding to and misrepresenting Scripture. He identifies Mr Tenney’s failure to distinguish between justification and sanctification – ‘Tenney talks about a process of transformation which confuses justification with sanctification, which is also a problem in Roman Catholic teaching’. Mike Taylor concludes, that instead of being ‘God chasers’ as advocated by Mr Tenney, the true reality is that

‘God, who understands us perfectly, has ordained that intense spiritual experience be mediated by His written Word. This pursuit keeps our minds and our spirits active’.
[Source: http://www.takeheed.co.uk/news18.htm ]