The Soweto student Uprising, Desmond Tutu, and TEE College - some painful and hopeful history

Here is a bit of painful, and hopeful, history.

This is an extract from the minutes of the first TEE College meeting that took place on 18 June 1976. Desmond Tutu was elected as the first Chair of the board of the college. As you will see in these minutes, after opening the meeting, he was called away to Soweto to support the community after the horrific police brutality of what is now known as the ‘Soweto Student Uprising’.

TEE College was set up by the Eccumenical Churches to train women and men for ministry during a period when South Africa’s apartheid government would not allow black women and men to study theology at Universities.

In the years since 1976 TEE College has trained tens of thousands of persons for ministry and service via ‘extended’ learning (allowing persons to study while being employed, thus not taking scarce skills and limited resources away from the communities in which they were serving).

TEE College offers a Bachelor of Theology Degree, a Diploma in Theology, and numerous Higher Certificates in Theology and Ministry. We currently have over 3000 registered students.

I am very grateful to serve as the current Chairman of the Board of TEE College. It offers a wonderful service to the Churches and society, with a gifted and dedicated staff based at our new Campus in Brackenhurst.

See the Facebook page for more details: https://www.facebook.com/TEECollege

On remembering Nelson Mandela responsibly? An ethical engagement with history and agency

If anyone is interested, I shall be speaking at the Nelson Mandela Colloquium on 12 November at 14.00 (GMT +2h, South African time). It is open to anyone who wishes to attend. No need to register, just click on the MS Teams link in the event description which you will find here. I am speaking alongside Dr Tomaza-Qwebani-Ogunleye. I am very grateful!

However, I also remain mindful that we must be careful not to 'mythologise' our leaders, or engage in hagiography. Indeed, let's be inspired, let's learn from them and their lives, but let's also be honest about who they are (or were), and engage history ethically.

My most controversial article for 

The Conversation Africa 

(which was read and shared more than 15 000 times, and republished in 13 different newspapers, including the Mail & Guardian, the Times, and Moneyweb) was entitled 'Why the loss of faith in heroes like Nelson Mandela may not be such a bad thing.' You can read it here: https://theconversation.com/why-the-loss-of-faith-in...

The point of the article is that we must not give over our agency to 'super women' or 'super men'. The myth of the Messianic political figure (who will save us) is harmful to our societies. I think, in part, this is what has happened with American evangelicals who see Donald Trump as their 'political saviour'. No, we must learn from leaders, but take responsibility for the ordering of our individual and social lives to work for the common good, and the betterment of society.

So, I hope you will join us for the Nelson Mandela Colloquium, as we remember rightly, but also take up our own responsibility for change, transformation, and justice in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

An overview of Christian History and the Church (video) from the Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town

On the opening evening of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization a superb video overview of the History of Christianity and the shifts of the Christian Church was shown.  It is about 30 minutes in length (if I recall).  This great video from Cape Town was posted on the Global Conversation in two parts.

Here's part 1 (please see the brief description below):

Turning Points, Part 1: After a glimpse of the opening of the Congress, this video traces in two segments the growth of the church from Pentecost to the present in the face of many obstacles. Key movements, nations and figures are presented in this sweeping review of the expansion of Christianity up to the taking of the gospel to China.

Cape Town 2010 Opening Session - Turning Points, Part 1 from Lausanne Movement on Vimeo.

Here is part 2 (see the description below)

Turning Points, Part 2: This video picks up the history with Boniface taking the gospel to Germany and extends to the present time and the Cape Town Conference

Cape Town 2010 Opening Session - Turning Points, Part 2 from Lausanne Movement on Vimeo.

I'd love to hear your feedback on this great video! Please would you also consider leaving some comments on the Lausanne Global Conversation site?