EMQ » January–March 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 1
Edited by Hanna-Ruth van Wingerden, Tim Green, and Graham Aylett
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Increase Association, 2018
296 pages
USD $12.38
Reviewed by Perry Shaw, Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon.
Church growth in Asia and elsewhere is an exciting feature of the global Christian movement in the twenty-first century. But this growth comes with challenges: Among the most significant is the transformation of new believers into effective and reflective leaders.
While traditional theological schools can play a role in this process, in many places the most effective training needs to be more local, accessible, and affordable. The Increase Association is one of the most influential agencies in networking those involved in developing and implementing “tools to equip and empower” (TEE).
Originally known as theological education by extension, TEE has been viewed by some as passé – even while the movement has been growing and its influence becoming more profound. TEE in Asia is an edited collection that highlights the impact and innovative developments of TEE among growth areas in the global Christian movement. The authors are members of the Increase Association, a network of those involved in developing and implementing “tools to equip and empower” (TEE).
The text sets the scene with some introductory material on the theological foundations for TEE and a summary description of the basic educational philosophy and practice of TEE. This is followed by an overview of the three historic waves of TEE: from the early emphasis on in-situ training of pastors in the 1960s and 1970s, through a second wave of broader discipleship and leadership training in the 1980s and 1990s, into the third wave (twenty-first century) characterized by innovation initiated and led by national leaders with a strong emphasis on contextual significance.
The larger portion of the text provides reports on TEE in different regions of Asia. This section is full of short personal testimonies from church leaders, local tutors, and participants in TEE. There is the expected tone of positive promotion. However, this section also provides firsthand reports of how the church is seeking new and creative approaches to providing leadership training in complex and challenging situations, most notably in limited access countries. This continues to be the strength of grass roots approaches such as TEE.
The book concludes with a section that looks to the future, introducing the reader to initiatives within TEE that are responding to the changing world of the twenty-first century. These initiatives include the support of church planting movements, reaching out to the diaspora, exploring digital technologies, training and equipping small group leaders with clear goals in mind, introducing new approaches to instructional methodology, developing synergetic relationships with residential institutions, and moving from curricular fragmentation towards greater integration. These themes should be of interest to all who are serious about quality theological education in the contemporary world.
As with any collection such as this, the writing is uneven, but the editors have managed to sustain a laudable continuity throughout. There are many testimonials, mostly running only a paragraph or two, and these certainly give a taste for the ongoing impact of TEE in Asia. I believe some more in-depth case studies would have been valuable, perhaps describing unresolved challenges that could have been the basis for small group discussion. Perhaps a supplemental collection could provide these.
Although specifically focused on leadership training TEE in Asia provides encouragement, hope, and reasons to pray for anyone interested in the growing church in Asia, particularly in limited access contexts. For those interested in alternative models for theological education, TEE in Asia is a must read, as it provides multiple practical examples of what might be done. And for anyone involved in theological education – traditional or non-traditional – TEE in Asia is a good dialogue partner for investigating new pathways into the future.
