Book Review: God Chasers by Tommy Tenney

Our January (2025) “Book of the Month” was God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. This book, first published in 1998, fabulously pushes way (waaaaaayyy) outside the boundaries of the “comfortable” and politically correct posture of many churches these days, urging its readers to explore the intimacy and more that God offers when we choose to lay down our programs, control, expectations, and boxes in order to fully seek His heart with reckless abandon.

Make no mistake, this book is very bold in its approach. If you are easily offended, you may feel quite challenged as you read through the author’s unapologetic approach to hard (and often taboo) truths. Tenney is unafraid to point out the shortcoming of followers today (especially in the US) and explain his thoughts on why we are seeing such a lack of hunger, and therefore, a lack of God’s Presence in our church, streets, neighborhood, and country, as a whole. He, the author, writes in the same format that he advises us to live – with an all-in heart and hunger for God’s Presence that is unconcerned and unfocused with the opinions or expectations of others.

This book stretched me and pushed me, at times. It comforted me, validated me, and inspired me at other times. I felt seen in both good ways and uncomfortable ones, if you know what I mean. The author does not shy away from pointing to all the pain points in our walk that can lead to a life of stagnancy and the acceptance of “good,” instead of pushing towards the “great” that awaits our hearts when we fall fully in love with our Creator. Tenney does not hide the fact that our chasing of the “blessings” has all-too-often overpowered our love and seeking of the “Blesser” Himself. It has made us a people heavy after his toys and not after His heart.

My bottom line in this review: We are all guilty of settling in. We are all guilty of chasing man’s admiration and awe, at times. We are all guilty of stopping short, allowing comfort or insecurities to hold us back. And that is why this book is so powerful – it speaks to whatever the pause is in us today … and says… Keep Going. There’s so much more.

In full transparency with this book review, I will tell you that I struggled quite a bit in the middle of the book with repetition. I do not say this to be critical of the author, but more to encourage you, the reader. If you feel inspired by the beginning but struggle towards the middle and want to set the book down, hang in there. It picks back up and has some really meaty chapters in 7-10!

Here is a small selection of some of my favorite quotes from the book: