EMQ » July–September 2022 » Volume 58 Issue 3
TEE in Asia: Empowering Churches, Equipping Disciples
By Hanna-Ruth van Wingerden, Tim Green, and Graham Aylett
Langham Global Library, Langham Publishing, 2021
279 pages
UK£18.99
Reviewed by Greg H Parsons, who has served with Frontier Ventures (formerly the U.S. Center for World Mission) for 39 years and wrote his dissertation on Ralph Winter include a description of Winter’s involvement in Theological Education by Extension (TEE).
In the late 1950s, James Emery and Ralph Winter noted the shortcomings of residential pastoral training in Guatemala; although residential students usually learned Bible and theology better than people in a local church context, removing them from their place of ministry was extremely costly and often contributed little to character development. Emery and Winter reimagined the idea of theological education by focusing on bringing training to pastors rather than bringing the pastors to training. The modern Theological Education by Extension (TEE) movement was born and promoted around the globe.
Several early TEE programs were launched and some even developed degree programs, such as TAFTEE in India. The 2010 edition of Operation World lists TEE programs in sixty-four countries which enrolled thousands of students.
Now, the book TEE in Asia takes us further to see just how far the movement has matured and grown. Built upon the foundation of the TEE pioneers of the twentieth century, newer indigenous leaders have pushed the movement forward and have multiplied their ministry through those they have trained (2 Tim. 2:2).
TEE has broadened its focus, from training those preparing for ordination to bringing theological education to lay people who desire it. The acronym also has a fitting, new meaning: Tools to Equip and Empower. The book includes sections that describe (1) TEE today, (2) programs in 21 countries, and (3) some of the innovative aspects and practical steps to develop TEE even more fully. It is full of stories of people served by TEE training. It also includes a very helpful bibliography, focusing on materials published in the twenty-first century. Several examples of TEE among diaspora groups are also included, such as Nepalis being trained in India, Malaysia, the UK, and the US.
Some of the significant developments outlined in the book are due to the work of the network Increase (www.increaseassociation.org), which was founded in 2006 and serves the TEE movement by connecting organizations that provide church-based training rooted in and around Asia.
In a day when many experienced global workers move from front-line work into training and leadership development, TEE is a fitting tool we should use and develop to equip those coming to Christ in our time.
EMQ, Volume 58, Issue 3. Copyright © 2022 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
