For Christ in Canada: A History of Tyndale Seminary, 1976-2001

by Timothy Larsen, John Vickery

95 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Timothy Larsen is McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this brief history of Tyndale Seminary. Authors Timothy Larsen and John Vickery trace the school's birth as a merger of Toronto Bible College and the London College of Bible and Missions and chronicle Tyndale's ups and downs until 2001 (the school wouldn't be called Tyndale until 1998; Tyndale was chosen as a name because he was committed to the Bible but freed of any strict association to one particular denomination). In Larsen and Vickery's telling, Tyndale's ethos combined a deep dedication to the church's ministry (many of the school's faculty had extensive pastoral experience) with an irenic posture that stayed faithful to evangelicalism's tenets without sliding into fundamentalism or liberalism (they even, controversially, had Henri Nouwen, the beloved Roman Catholic priest, speak at one of the graduating classes, though this provoked backlash from more sectarian voices). Although Tyndale had a steady stream of students from a variety of denominations, due to an expensive building project, the school nearly shut down in 1995 before being miraculously rescued and led by the competent Canadian church leader Brian C. Stiller who launched aggressive fundraising efforts to pay off Tyndale's debts.

It was very interesting seeing the cross-pollination between Tyndale and Regent College on Canada's West Coast. One of the pivotal figures in Tyndale's growth was Ian Rennie, a Presbyterian minister who was also a professor of church history at Regent before joining Tyndale as the academic dean. Ward Gasque also briefly served at Tyndale, having played a major role in Regent's founding years. Rod Wilson was an important faculty member at Tyndale who later went on to be Regent's fourth president (2000 - 2015). The book ends extolling the visionary plans of a young academic named Jeff Greenman who implemented exciting study programs into Tyndale's offerings; Greenman would succeed Wilson has president of Regent.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. It gave a good history of Tyndale's roots stemming back to the late 1800s. You really got the impression that Ian Rennie was integral to the school's growth and success, but the near bankruptcy of the school in the mid 90s was also touched upon. Larsen blames the board of governors. I know it was a history of the seminary only, but I would have loved to have read more about the college side.

A good couple of hours for Tyndale alumni.