Tommy Tenney

The following is another section from my thesis.

Tommy Tenney
Another popular Modal-Evangelical is Tommy Tenney. He has grown in popularity in recent years particularly because of his most famous book, "The God Chasers." He has authored and co-authored several other books which are following on the heels of his original work. Because of his popularity, he is in demand as a conference speaker around the world, and is a weekly feature on TBN.

History
This self proclaimed “Holy Ghost Arsonist” (Phil, I suppose he is a Pyromaniac too!) was born in 1956 and began preaching when he was at the age of 16. He claimed to have received a genuine experience of the Holy Spirit while he was in the UPC: “I am a fourth generation Spirit-filled Christian, three generations deep into ministry.” He spent almost 10 years pastoring in the UPC until he became an itinerant evangelist in the early 1980’s and continued in that role until he left the UPC in 1992.
It appears that he left the organization because of their strict stance on holiness codes and their condemnatory attitude towards those who do not adhere to all of the holiness code. Tenney says that he left the group when he “‘couldn’t enforce some of the views’ of the UPC – including rules that to this day forbid pastors in the group from owning televisions.” Tenney never mentions the most prominent argument for leaving the UPCI: their denial of the Trinity.
Exposing his Modal-Evangelical position, Tenney says that “when he left the UPC, his eyes were opened to ‘how big the body of Christ really is.’” Apparently any distinction between an Oneness and Trinitarian God is not significant enough to mention. The mere fact that Tenney omits any reference to the nature of God (or a clear definition of it) as being a reason for his break with the UPC is an indicator that the issue had no part in his departure from the organization. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that Tenney still holds to the same view of God as does the UPCI.
The “God moment” that changed Tenney’s life occurred on October 20, 1996. Invited as a guest speaker at Christian Tabernacle in Houston, Tenney was with the church’s pastor, Richard Heard. Heard took the stage and Tenney retreated to the back of the auditorium because he sensed that something awful was about to happen. With no warning, “a loud cracking sound jolted the audience. At that same instant the church’s acrylic pulpit split in half and fell on the carpet with a thud.” Pastor Heard was thrown back several feet and the congregation began to respond with fear.
The condition of the pulpit was the most remarkable display of the event. Acrylic pulpits do not naturally split in half. In the words of J. Lee Grady, “There was no logical explanation for what happened . . . . The company that manufactured the pulpit said it was made of a polymer material that isn’t supposed to crack even under hundreds of pounds of pressure.” In spite of the fact that most preachers would question themselves if God literally destroyed their pulpit, Tommy Tenney believed God was affirming his message. Tenney says that the “tangible presence of God . . . . ruined him forever.” The event traumatized him so much that he says “it messes me up when I talk about it. I cry for days after I do, so that’s why I decided to write about it.” Although the event ruined him, traumatized him, and practically rendered him incapable of re-telling the story, he has profited from the book financially and publicly. He would have his readers believe that he is really “embarrassed by the attention that the book has given his ministry.” However, this ministry is now sending out promotional tapes that require members to include a “$30 minimum” donation for participation (italics mine).

Doctrine
As previously stated, Tommy Tenney’s most famous book is "The God Chasers." It raises many issues that need to be addressed within the mundane Church. Tenney calls for a “chasing” Church dedicated to the Lord, genuinely seeking Him and His manifest presence in worship services. The concerns of this book reflect a heartfelt need of the universal Church, and are very attractive for those who love the Lord and desire a more meaningful relationship with Him. Although Tenney’s concerns are apparently written with the best intentions, there is an underlying spirit of deception in relation to his past in the Oneness Pentecostal movement and his present understanding of the Oneness of God.
Tommy Tenney clearly admits his salvation experience took place in the UPCI and that he ministered for 10 years in the anti-trinitarian organization. In attempt to validate his godly heritage, Tenney states that his father was “a national leader in a Pentecostal denomination in America.” Tenney is careful not to tell his readers the denomination in which his father is a leader. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the Reverend Tom F. Tenney has been the District Superintendent of the Louisiana District United Pentecostal Church since 1978. Even his mother Thetus Tenney is an international speaker and Coordinator of the World Network of Prayer, an international prayer service sponsored by the UCPI.
In a show of unity, father and son have co-authored the popular book, Secret Sources of Power. It is certainly difficult to conceive of writing a devotional book with a man who does not share the same view of the nature of God, yet this book is advertised on “The God Chasers” website, along with other books by Tommy Tenney. Furthermore, Tommy Tenney’s father endorses The God Chasers by saying, “this book points you in the right direction. I commend my son, Tommy, and this book that matches the times.” It appears that there are no serious qualms between the two men vis-à-vis Tommy’s break with the UPCI or on their respective understandings of the nature of God.
In spite of these obvious ties, Tenney downplays the association by describing his departure from the UPCI as being based on legalistic issues, not the doctrine of God. In fact, he never discusses the issue. To try to distance himself as much as possible from the Oneness issue, Tenney says “I am not ‘Jesus only.’ I believe God revealed Himself as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit . . . . I ignore the issue to death . . . . At some point we have to stop caring about where people came from and find out where they are going.” This is made practical on Tenny’s website where there is no doctrinal statement.
In similar fashion as T. D. Jakes, Tommy Tenney’s careful use of semantics guards his views on the Godhead. He denies being “Jesus Only,” but this does not necessarily mean that he denies being Oneness. As previously observed, David Bernard stated that Oneness Pentecostals do not care for the title “Jesus Only” because it conveys the idea that they deny the Father and Holy Spirit as “manifestations” of God. This evidently represents Tenney’s point of view. He says that God “revealed” himself as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but he is careful not to attribute these titles to distinct persons.

Acceptance
Tenney is a regular conference speaker, and regularly graces TBN. In fact, Tommy Tenney’s parents have now become popular guests on TBN. As with T. D. Jakes, Tommy Tenney has all of the pragmatic credentials for someone who is ripe for acceptance within evangelicalism. He has also received endorsements for his publications from popular evangelical personalities such as James Dobson, Bill Bright, and Tony Evans.

Summary
From the evangelical standpoint, T. D. Jakes and Tommy Tenney have gained respect and acceptance for their ability to sell books and draw crowds. Evangelicals interpret their charismatic, powerful, insightful sermons to be evidence of their spiritual giftedness. Many people have been positively impacted by their inspiring messages of hope, and have enjoyed their lively worship services where the manifest presence of God is experienced. In addition, their appearances on TBN with the most prominent charismatic leaders in America are enough to convince most people that they are evangelical.
Modally, Jakes and Tenney clearly avoid describing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as “Persons;” there is an aversion to attributing any numerical system to God; they use key Modal terms such as “manifestations” and “revelations” when referring to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and they have close dealings with Modal organizations and persons. Despite these strong ties, neither man has openly repudiated or criticized the Modal god, nor felt that those Oneness pastors with whom they are ministering are in error. Rather, they seem to be searching for ways to unify despite their differences, no matter how radical they may be. In the opinion of this author, this is adequate information to label T. D. Jakes and Tommy Tenney as Modal-Evangelicals.