TEDS: What Was, What Is and What Will Be

It has now been more than a week since the news of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, affectionately known as TEDS, “entered a formal, exclusive commitment with its sister school, Trinity Western University (TWU), taking steps for TEDS to become a part of TWU.” For some, this has now become old news, and they have moved on to the next hot take or item of news.

Personally, the Lord used (and continues to use) TEDS in both Karen's and my lives. It was formative in laying a foundation that continues to bear fruit today. We began our family while at TEDS, and our baby son’s first room (who now serves as an EFCA pastor and is presently studying at TEDS) was a closet in a one-bedroom apartment on campus. We made many friends with fellow seminarians who remain friends today. My professors were not only my professors and mentors, they, like Paul, modeled being men of the Word of God, the inerrant Scriptures, and servants of Jesus Christ for the sake of serving the Church. Moreover, they also became my friends and partners in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I confess there is a pain in writing this. There is much surprise, sadness and sorrow/grief from those in the EFCA and especially those of us who studied there. That is not all there is to say, and that is not the final word, but it is a word at this moment. It is also helpful to remember that although many things remained the same, the TEDS of today is not the TEDS of what I experienced, which was for me very encouraging and edifying. That is not intended to be a positive or negative statement, but to reflect that life and institutions are dynamic, not static. They grow and change. It is also helpful to remember that assessing this through a nostalgic lens also affects this. 

Hopeful, trust-in-God realists 

Many continue to ponder and process this news. It is much more than a hot take. This is especially acute for those who studied there or have had connections and history with TEDS. This is done personally, not just objectively. Certainly, one does not want to process this with the spirit of Eeyore or Puddleglum, on the one hand, a perpetual pessimist, or Pollyanna, a perpetual optimist, on the other. The temptation for those leading the way is to do so with a Pollyanna spirit, while the temptation for those following is to do so with an Eeyore or Puddleglum spirit. And the additional temptation is for the one to accuse the other of that spirit. 

As Christians, we are neither optimists nor pessimists. Grounded in God and His truth, we are hopeful, trust-in-God realists. And we do not process objectively, as if we engage and respond in a third-person manner. No, we process this personally, and we do so with both heart and head, head and heart. We do so as Christians. I am attempting to give a personal voice to what some are feeling and how some are processing. (Although I use the unspecified referent “some,” I do not know how many that includes, and I do not want to be misleading or pejorative. Furthermore, although I am deeply invested in both institutions, I am speaking personally, not on behalf of the EFCA or TEDS.) 

Different ways of processing 

There are also different ways of processing this news personally. Of the innumerable ways this can be processed, here are a few:

1. One can emphasize the positive aspects of the decision at the expense of the reality of the change, reflecting some loss, though not a death.
2. One can say that place does not really matter, since it is people that make a place.
3. One can linger long with grief, as if institutions are static and things remain the same.
4. One can consider who or what is to blame for the change.
5. One can attempt to push or pull another into the realm in which they are processing the decision, either hopeful without grief, or grief without hope. 

All are somewhat reflective of how people are processing this decision, and much of it is person-dependent, which is true of me and how I am processing this (though in conversations with others, they share several similar sentiments). And all of us need to help each other to process it in a good and godly way.

The first two points might be a temptation for those who have made the decision, and it can feel like a few of the other ways of processing are not considered. In fact, by focusing only on the positive and avoiding the reality of the change and some of the questions and concerns, for the one processing it can feel like a spin on the story. But a reason it may appear or feel that way is because leaders have already lived with this decision for some time and already processed it.

The rest of the points are generally held by those who were not part of the decision-making process, so they are in the grieving process. Assuming the best of those involved in this must-make decision about the future of TEDS, all were attempting to do what was honoring to God, good for propagating the gospel—remembering the motto of “entrusted with the gospel” (1 Thess 2:4)—and the prolongation of TEDS. 

Additionally, here are a couple of additional thoughts related to these kinds of ministry and institutional changes. First, in ministry, we are often better at beginning things than we are at changing things or letting things go. Furthermore, when we experience those changes or letting things go, we do not really know how to grieve, give thanks and hope at the same time—grieve that what was is no more, thanks for how the Lord used that ministry in that season and hope in God for what He will do, because He is faithful. He does not promise to build and sustain each and every local church or ministry, but the Lord Jesus does promise to build His Church.

Second, as evangelicals, we often treat space and place in more of a Gnostic sense than we do a Christian sense, responding as if space and place mean nothing, since material things are questionable at best, and all that really matters is the spiritual. I do not believe it is intentional, but I think it subtly happens. The TEDS campus is only a place, but it is a special place for many. The Scriptures often address a people and a place. I do not intend to over-spiritualize place, or the location known as TEDS, but throughout Scripture, being embodied in a space and in a place matter. That means that in some ways, because of the relocation to the TWU campus, the TEDS of the past will be different than the TEDS of the future. 

Different lenses through which to process 

In addition to different perspectives, several have also commented on this news through different lenses.

• There is the lens of the leaders and the decision and what it entails, e.g., EFCA ("A Move to Ensure the Future of Ministry Training Through TEDS"), TEDS ("A Singular Vision") and TWU ("Trinity Western University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School expand impact of global Christian education").  
• There is the lens of the changing and challenging dynamics of theological education, e.g., Michael F. Bird ("The Future of Seminaries ... Is Not What You Might Imagine!") and Ed Stetzer ("The Remaking of Theological Education").  
• There is the financial lens, e.g., Bob Smietana ("Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Moving to Canada").  
• There is the historical lens, e.g., Collin Hansen ("Midwife to a Movement: The Legacy of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School") and Daniel K. Williams ("The Decline of Midwestern Evangelicalism").

Each of these perspectives addresses some aspect of TEDS and the reality of what led to this decision. Some focus on the positives and are more future-focused, while others focus more on the present and assess some of the factors that led to this decision, with no perspective denying or being unaware of the others. And more perspectives could be added to this list, e.g., that of students. 

God’s faithfulness  

One cannot avoid the human irony of the publication of the book published in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of Trinity in 2022: Great Is Thy Faithfulness: The Trinity Story—125 Years of Trinity International University (Lexham, 2022). Who would have known that three years later, 2025, TEDS would be undergoing this change? Although none of us knew, God did. We affirm God’s sovereign purposeful plan, and we affirm human responsibility (this is compatibilism). Both are true. And yet, no human decision, however good or questionable and still culpable, thwarts God’s ultimate plan. We trust Him. Sure, there are unknowns and uncertainties. That is true for all of us, including not just our personal lives but institutions like TEDS. 

At this moment, it is good to hear from John Woodbridge, research professor of church history and the history of Christian thought, who has been a part of TEDS for much of its existence at its present location. In the final chapter of Great Is Thy Faithfulness, “Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Faithfulness,” pp. 229-231, he recounts ten themes of remembrance of God’s faithfulness, of which I share the first and the last, which are especially fitting in light of the decision: (1) The Lord has been faithful to care for Trinity even in seriously trying circumstances, including financial shortfalls and spiritual failures. (10) The Lord’s faithfulness during the school’s history should solicit our thankfulness and heartfelt gratitude. 

In the wake of this decision and these changes, today is an important time to recount themes of God’s faithfulness, with gratitude and thankfulness for the past, with grief for what no longer is, and with trust for a somewhat known and unknown future with TWU, with prayerful hope that as in past moves, TEDS will go from strength to strength. 

Giving thanks, grieving and trusting 

Bearing this in mind, dear friends, here is my prayer as I ponder the past, present and future of TEDS: “Our Father and our God, enable us to give thanks to You for what was, to grieve appropriately for what no longer is, and to express once again our hope/trust in You for what lies ahead.” 

People and institutions change, they come and go, but God remains faithful (1 Cor 1:9), and the Lord “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). And He has also promised, “I will build my church,” meaning nothing, even “the gates of hell,” will ultimately prevent the advancement of the Church of Jesus Christ (Matt 16:18). 

May we, by God’s sustaining and persevering grace, remain “steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing our labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58). Amen.