Larry Tomczak is a self-proclaimed "apostolic leader" and evangelist. His ministry began in 1972. He led People of Destiny International, a pioneering church planting movement which has established almost 60 churches in the US and abroad (though now under a different ministry name and leadership).
He was editor of People of Destiny magazine and has authored several books, including the quarter-million best seller, Clap Your Hands, the Church Planters Handbook (co-author), Divine Appointments, Reckless Abandon, and The Bullseye Challenge. Larry has been a board member of the "Intercessors for America" ministry for almost 40 years and was an instructor at the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry. He has been married for over 40 years with four grown children. He serves as Executive Director of The Awareness Group (T. A. G.) and resides in the
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
area.
Early life
Tomczak was born into a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
family in Ohio, and in his youth was part of a local rock band.
He became an
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
during the
charismatic renewal
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches.
The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...
of the 1970s, as described in his book, Clap Your Hands.
Working with C.J. Mahaney, Tomczak co-founded the
Covenant Life Church
Covenant Life Church is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Established in 1977, it spawned other churches and was the flagship church of Sovereign Grace Churches until it left the group in December 2012.
Hi ...
which would eventually become known as the
Sovereign Grace Churches
Sovereign Grace Churches (SGM; previously Sovereign Grace Ministries and People of Destiny International, ''PDI'') is a group of Reformed, neocharismatic, Evangelical, restorationist, Christian churches primarily located in North America. It has ...
. Tomczak eventually left the ministry in 1998, citing theological difference in his leaving. Some of this period's tensions also arose because Tomczak's fitness as a father was called into question by church leadership over what Tomczak described as the "teenage rebellion" of his son in which Tomczak claimed to be blackmailed by the ministry. In a 2011 email released by Sovereign Grace Ministries, dated July 4, it is understood that Tomczak and C.J. Mahaney, the senior pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
have since been reconciled and Mr. Mahaney has made a full apology to Larry and his family for any actions or misunderstandings on the part of the ministry. Although Larry was invited to the Leaders Conference in November 2011, the invitation was withdrawn after some time.
Slander Lawsuit Settlement
In 1983, Tomczak paid $150,000 to settle a lawsuit for repeatedly slandering psychiatrist
Thomas Anthony Harris
Thomas Anthony Harris (April 18, 1910 – May 4, 1995) was an American psychiatrist and author who became famous for his self-help manual '' I'm OK, You're OK'' (1967).I'm O.K. - You're OK.
In 1983 ''The New York Times'' reported that Tomczak repeatedly and publicly claimed "'Most people today don't know that the author of that book committed suicide about two years ago, and yet people are still practicing some of his philosophies." Dr. Harris was still alive, and in fact died 12 years later at the age of 85.
According to Dr. Harris, the lies "hurt his reputation, forced cancellation of speaking appearances, and caused a 50 percent drop in book sales."
Views on homosexuality
Tomczak subscribes to the research of
Paul Cameron
Paul Drummond Cameron (born November 9, 1939) is an American psychologist. Cameron has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-gay extremist. While employed at various institutions, including the University of Nebraska–Li ...
which claims that gays and lesbians suffer higher rates of mental illness and suicide, among other things, and links these to their inherent sexuality. Tomczak has expressed his view that sexual orientation is a learned behavior:
People are not born homosexual. According to Scripture and science, homosexuality is not part of someone's biological constitution. People will argue to the contrary, but being gay is not like left-handedness. There is absolutely no scientific evidence of a gay gene. Nature or nurture? The answer is the latter. This is not opinion; it's truth.
In January 2015, Tomczak wrote a letter on The Christian Post to television personality
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
, after she mentioned a recent article of his on her show to argue "I don't have an agenda".
On Donald Trump
Throughout 2020, Tomczak was a strong supporter of Donald Trump's reelection campaign. On November 19, 2020 Tomczak posted a video. Therein he claims that "...the fact that Dems have stolen the election." Tomczak also claimed that Donald Trump would prevail through "divine intervention."
Bibliography
*The Little Handbook On Loving Correction: How To Raise Happy, Obedient, Respectful Children,
*Clap Your Hands,
*Divine Appointments
*Reckless Abandon
*God, the rod, and Your child's bod: The art of loving correction for Christian parents
Founding editor of People of Destiny magazine.