Life

Tippett was born in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and was a missionary to the Fiji Islands for more than 20 years. He earned his Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in anthropology at the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 in 1964 and taught part time in the Institute of Church Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary

Fuller Theological Seminary

Fuller Theological Seminary is an accredited Christian educational institute with its main campus in Pasadena, California and several satellite campuses in the western United States...

.

Tippett also served as professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of Missionary Anthropology at Fuller Theological Seminary's School of World Mission in Pasadena, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

.

In the spring of 1965, an invitation was extended to him and Donald McGavran

Donald McGavran

Donald A. McGavran was the founding Dean and Professor of Mission, church growth, and South Asian studies at the School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California...

 to move the Institute of Church Growth to Pasadena, where the school would become another satellite school to the Fuller Theological Seminary.

The faculty was expanded to include such scholars as Ralph D. Winter

Ralph D. Winter

Ralph Dana Winter was an American missiologist and Presbyterian missionary who became well-known as the advocate for pioneer outreach among unreached people groups. He was the founder of the U.S...

 in history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, Arthur Glasser

Arthur Glasser

Arthur F. Glasser was the Dean Emeritus of the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary...

 in theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

, Charles H. Kraft

Charles H. Kraft

Rev. Dr. Charles H. Kraft is an American anthropologist and linguist whose work since the early 1980s has focused on inner healing and spiritual warfare...

 to join Tippett in anthropology, and C. Peter Wagner

C. Peter Wagner

Charles Peter Wagner Christian missionary, writer, teacher, and church growth specialist, notable for his controversial spiritual warfare practices and beliefs...

 in church growth

Church growth

Church Growth is a movement within evangelical Christianity which emphasizes mainly missionary work combined with sociological awareness of the target population. The "seeker sensitive" label for this approach characterizes the would-be converts as "seekers".-History:Church Growth began with the...

. As church growth ideas matured, they were incorporated by McGavran into the basic textbook of the movement, Understanding Church Growth (Eerdmans), published in 1970.

Books

• Tippett, A.R., 1954, The Christian (Fiji 1835–1867), Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland.
• Tippett, A.R., 1967, Solomon Islands Christianity: a study in growth and obstruction, Lutterworth Press, London.
• Tippett, A.R., 1970. Church Growth and the Word of God, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids.
• Tippett, A.R., 1971, People Movements in Southern Polynesia, Moody Press, Chicago.
• Tippett, A.R., 1973, Aspects of Pacific Ethnohistory, William Carey Library, Pasadena, CA.
• Tippett, A.R., 1977, The Deep Sea Canoe: Third World Missionaries in the South Pacific, William Carey Library, Pasadena, CA.
• Tippett, A.R., 1987, Introduction to Missiology, William Carey Library, Pasadena, CA