Tim Keller (pastor)

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Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Spouse
​
(m. 1975)​
Children3
OrdinationPresbyterian Church in America
Theological work
Tradition or movement
Websitetimothykeller.com

Timothy James Keller (September 23, 1950 – May 19, 2023) was an American

Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the author of The New York Times bestselling books The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (2008),[1] Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (2014),[2] and The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (2008).[3][4] The prequel for the latter is Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical (2016).[5]

Early life and education

Timothy James Keller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1950, to Louise A. Keller (Clemente)[6] and William B. Keller, a television advertising manager.[7][8][9][10]

Keller was a graduate of

M.Div., 1975) and Westminster Theological Seminary, where he received his D.Min. in 1981[11] under the supervision of Harvie M. Conn.[12] He attended the Lutheran Church in America during his upbringing.[13] At Bucknell, he became a staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.[14]

Career

Keller was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Keller served as a pastor at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, for nine years[15] while also serving as director of church planting for the PCA.[16] He also served on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where he and his wife Kathy Keller were involved in urban ministry.[17]

Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Keller was recruited by his denomination to start

Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989 after two others had turned down the position.[16]

In 2008, Keller published his first book since his 1989 report to his denomination on diaconal ministries, Ministries of Mercy. The book, The Reason for God, was based on common objections to the Christian faith heard during his ministry in New York City. The book reached seventh on the New York Times Nonfiction bestseller list.[4]

Redeemer Presbyterian Church grew from 50 people to a total attendance of over 5,000 people each Sunday as of 2008, leading some to call Keller "the most successful Christian evangelist in the city".[16][18] In 2004, Christianity Today praised Redeemer as "one of Manhattan's most vital congregations".[19]

The church's emphasis on young urban professionals, whom Keller believed exhibit disproportionate influence over the culture and its ideas,[20] has given the church an unusual makeup for a US megachurch. The majority of the congregation is made up of single adults; it is also over forty percent Asian-American, and has many congregants working in the arts and financial services. In his preaching, "he hardly shrinks from difficult Christian truths, [but] he sounds different from many of the shrill evangelical voices in the public sphere."[16] Keller often critiqued both political parties and avoided taking public stances on political issues, resulting in a politically centrist church.[21]

Redeemer Presbyterian Church has also founded Hope for New York, a non-profit organization that sends volunteers and grants to over 40 faith-based ministries serving social needs in New York City; the Center for Faith and Work, to train professionals in Christian theology; and Redeemer City to City, to train and fund pastors in New York and other cities.[22]

Keller was a co-founder of

Reformed leaders from around the United States. His mentoring of younger church leaders, such as Scott Sauls[23] in Nashville and Steve Chong[24]
in Sydney, increased his influence globally.

On July 1, 2017, Keller stepped down from his role as senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. The move was part of a larger vision to shift his efforts from preaching to training the next generation of church leaders and starting new churches in global cities through Redeemer City to City.[25]

Theological views

Keller shunned the label "

Calvinist theology,[26] although he had been critiqued by some in that tradition for his interpretation of its doctrines.[27] He was described as a "doctrine-friendly emerging pastor".[28]

Gospel versus religion

The centerpiece and underpinning of Keller's ministry was his teaching of the doctrine of the gospel, emphasizing the doctrines of total depravity, unmerited grace and substitutionary atonement. This teaching is summarized in his oft-used explanation, "The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope."[29] This understanding of the gospel is contrasted to what Keller called "traditional religion" (which he defines as a set of rules, rituals or actions that enable an individual to earn salvation or favor with God) as well as "irreligion" (which he defines as the belief that there is no God or no need for his favor). This has been referred to as a "gospel third way," or "gospel-centered" approach. Typical of this teaching is his interpretation of the Parable of the Prodigal Son (see The Prodigal God), based on a teaching of one of Keller's mentors, Edmund Clowney.[30]

Apologetics

Keller's preaching and writing in his apologetics is characterized by a respectful orientation towards an educated and skeptical audience outside the faith. His most explicit work on the subject was The Reason for God,[4] which he attributed to thousands of conversations with skeptical New Yorkers over the course of his ministry (Reason, p. xix).

On

BioLogos Foundation.[32]

Keller's major influences in apologetics included C. S. Lewis, Cornelius Van Til,[33] John Stott, Alvin Plantinga, N.T Wright,[34] and Miroslav Volf.[35]

Idolatry

Another central theme in Keller's teaching was idolatry, based on the teachings of Martin Luther,[36] and John Calvin,[37] the Ten Commandments, and other parts of the Bible. Keller stated that contemporary idol worship continues today in the form of an addiction or devotion to money, career, sex, power and anything to which people seek to give significance and satisfaction in life other than God (detailed in his book Counterfeit Gods).[38][39]

Politics

Keller criticized the evangelical alliance with Republicans and argued that Christianity is a much broader global movement that agrees with some liberal and some conservative issues, and critiqued them both.[40][41] He argued for giving to charitable causes and caring for the needs of the poor, based on biblical texts such as the Torah and the parable of the Good Samaritan.[42][43]

Cultural engagement

Attributed partly to his congregation of upwardly mobile Manhattanites, Keller was a leader in applying Christian theology to secular vocations such as business, art and entrepreneurship. The Center for Faith and Work at Redeemer has sponsored business competitions and theological education for working professionals. His views on Christianity and culture are outlined in his books Every Good Endeavor and Center Church.

Keller was an avid fan of the work of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, both well-known Christian authors, and also supported the Harry Potter novels which have been considered pagan by certain conservative Christians.[44]

Sex and gender

Keller held a

contraception.[31][48]

Cities and urban church planting

While at Westminster Theological Seminary, Keller was mentored by

Harvie Conn, an early advocate of ministry in urban centers. He was recruited to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church due to a shortage of biblically orthodox churches in center-city Manhattan. He delivered a plenary address on the subject at the Lausanne Conference of 2010.[49]

Through Redeemer City to City, Keller mentored and chaired a network of center-city churches that represents similar ministry values worldwide.[50] He wrote extensively on the importance of cities and gave a biblical theological framework for ministry in cities in his book on ministry, Center Church.[51]

Personal life

Keller married Kathy Kristy in 1975; they had three children.[7] Keller suffered from thyroid cancer in 2002.[52]

Keller credited cancer and the possibility of death as the pivotal point for the transformation of his prayer life, forcing him to be still and meditate in an otherwise hectic life.[53]

Death

In June 2020, Keller revealed that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.[54][55][56] He died under hospice care at home in Manhattan on May 19, 2023, at age 72.[57][58]

A memorial service was held for Keller in August 2023 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan;[59] his widow, Kathy revealed during the service that Keller was buried in St. Michael's Cemetery near LaGuardia Airport in Queens.[60]

Books

Contributions in edited volumes

Interviews

  • Amanpour, Christiane (2011). Interview with Pastor Tim Keller, ABC News This Week, April 24.
  • Barkhorn, Eleanor (2011), "How Timothy Keller Spreads the Gospel in New York City, and Beyond" The Atlantic, February 21, 2011.
  • Bechelder, Kate (2014), "God Isn't Dead in Gotham" Wall Street Journal, December 20–21, 2014.
  • Kristof, Nicholas (2016). "Pastor, Am I a Christian?" New York Times, December 25, p. SR19.
  • Wehner, Peter (2019). "The Moral Universe of Timothy Keller" The Atlantic, December 5, 2019.
  • Lee, Sophia (2021). "Pastoring the City" World Magazine, December 9, 2021.
  • Bobrow, Emily (2022). "Pastor Timothy Keller Speaks to the Head and the Heart" Wall Street Journal, September 2, 2022.

References

  1. ^ "Paperback Nonfiction". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  2. ^ "Advice, How To and Miscellaneous". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  3. ^ Discussed by Keller at:
  4. ^ a b c "Best sellers: nonfiction". The New York Times. March 23, 2008.
  5. ISBN 9780698194366
    .
  6. ^ "Miss Louise Anne Clemente-Mr. William B. Keller," The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) June 9, 1947, Mon Page 8 (accessible on newspapers.com)
  7. ^ a b Langer, Emily (May 19, 2023). "Timothy Keller, evangelical minister with national flock, dies at 72". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  8. ^ The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), January 31, 1975, Fri, p. 10 (accessible on newspapers.com)
  9. ^ 2013 obituary, https://lankfordfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/545/William-Keller/obituary.html[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "William B. Keller ... there's plenty to talk about!" The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) August 14, 1965, Sat., p. 12 (accessible on newspapers.com)
  11. ^ "Faculty – Part Time". Westminster Theological seminary. Archived from the original on April 1, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  12. ^ Hart, D. G. (2013). "Looking for Communion in all the Wrong Places: Tim Keller and Presbyterian Ecclesiology". Engaging with Keller: Thinking Through the Theology of an Influential Evangelical. p. 217.
  13. ^ "Conservative Christianity after the Christian Right". Faith Angle Forum. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Speaker biography". Christian Life Conference. 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  15. ^ "Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church; Author". Big Think. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e Luo, Michael (February 26, 2006). "Preaching the Word and Quoting the Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  17. ^ Keller, Timothy. "Post-everythings". byFaith (magazine). Westminster Theological Seminary. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
  18. ^ "The Influentials: Religion". New York Magazine. 2006. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  19. ^ Carnes, Anthony 'Tony' (December 2004). "New York's New Hope". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on March 16, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  20. ^ Keller, Timothy 'Tim' (May 2006). "A New Kind of Urban Christian". Christianity Today. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  21. ^ Amanpour, Christiane (April 24, 2011). "Interview With Pastor Tim Keller". ABC News. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  22. ^ "Redeemer Downtown | Hope for New York". www.hfny.org.
  23. ^ Hansen, Collin (June 16, 2017). "Gospel Integrity and Pastoral Succession". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  24. ^ Keller, Tim (March 26, 2014). "Tim Keller on the value of Christian mentoring". www.eternitynews.com.au. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  25. ^ "Keller Shifts from Preaching to Teaching – byFaith".
  26. ^ Oppenheimer, Mark (January 3, 2014). "Evangelicals Find Themselves in the Midst of a Calvinist Revival". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  27. ^ Iain D. Campbell and William M. Schweitzer (eds.), Engaging with Keller (Evangelical Press, 2013).
  28. ^ DeVine, Mark (2009), "The Emerging Church: One Movement, Two Streams", in Henard, William; Greenway, Adam (eds.), Evangelicals Engaging Emergent: A Discussion of the Emergent Church Movement, Nashville, TN: B&H, pp. 17–18
  29. OCLC 1144179189
    .
  30. ^ "Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World – Reformed Theological Seminary". subsplash.com.
  31. ^ a b "In His Words: The Pastor on the Issues". The New York Times. January 25, 1998.
  32. ^ Tim Keller. "Creation, Evolution, and Christian Laypeople: What's The Problem" (PDF). Biologos.org. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  33. ^ "WTS Media Player". Wts.edu. April 18, 2008. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  34. ISBN 978-0-525-56079-1
    .
  35. ^ Renn, Aaron (February 17, 2023). "Becoming Tim Keller | Aaron Renn".
  36. ^ A Treatise on Good Works
  37. ^ Institutes of the Christian Religion, Battles Edition, Book 1, Chapter XI, Section 8
  38. ^ Giridharadas, Anand (December 28, 2012). "Keeping One's Work in Perspective". New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  39. ^ Scarborough, Joe (February 18, 2011). "Morning Joe: Religious Leaders share their spiritual messages". Morning Joe. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  40. ^ Keller, Timothy (September 29, 2018). "How Do Christians Fit Into the Two-Party System? They Don't". New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  41. ^ Keller, Timothy (December 19, 2017). "Can Evangelicalism Survive Donald Trump and Roy Moore?". Newyorker.com. New Yorker. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  42. ^ "Arguing About Politics | Gospel in Life – Sermons, Books and Resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church". Gospel in Life. July 15, 2001. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  43. ^ "March 6pgr" (PDF). Download.redeemer.com. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  44. ^ Michael Paulson, "Some Christians love Frodo but put a hex on Harry Potter", The Boston Globe, January 2, 2002.
  45. ^ a b Prior, Karen Swallow (November 2011), "Interview", Christianity Today (Web only ed.)
  46. ^ "Princeton Seminary Cancels Award to Tim Keller After LGBT Complaint". www.christianpost.com. March 22, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  47. ^ "Manhattan Declaration & Signers". Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  48. ^ a b Colson, Chuck (July 5, 2009). "The Roots of Social Justice". Christian Post. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  49. ^ Keller, Tim (October 20, 2010). "Why Cities?". Lausanne Movement.
  50. ^ Miller, Lisa (February 9, 2008). "The Smart Shepherd". Newsweek.
  51. ^ "Center Church". Timothy Keller.
  52. ^ Kumar, Anugrah (June 18, 2022). "Tim Keller's son shares update on dad's treatment: 'Things were scary for a bit … he is doing much better'". The Christian Post.
  53. ^ Brierley, Justin; Jackson2023-01-27T12:42:00+00:00, Ruth. "Tim Keller: 'I never want to go back to the prayer life I had before cancer'". Premier Christianity. Retrieved January 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ "Tim Keller diagnosed with cancer: 'God has been remarkably present'". Fox News. June 8, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  55. ^ Keller, Timothy (March 7, 2021). "Growing My Faith in the Face of Death". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  56. ^ Timothy Keller [@timkellernyc] (December 3, 2021). "I have Stage IV pancreatic cancer. But it is endlessly comforting to have a God who is both infinitely more wise and more loving than I am. He has plenty of good reasons for everything he does and allows that I cannot know, and therein is my hope and strength" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  57. ^ Lea, Jessica (May 18, 2023). "Tim Keller Will Now Receive Hospice Care at Home: 'I Can't Wait To See Jesus'". Church Leaders. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  58. ^ Roberts, Sam (May 20, 2023). "Rev. Timothy Keller, 72, Is Dead; Pioneering Manhattan Evangelist". The New York Times. p. B11. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  59. ^ Klett, Leah MarieAnn (August 16, 2023). "Tim Keller remembered by thousands gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral: 'Extraordinary servant'". The Christian Post. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  60. ^ Green, Lauren (August 15, 2023). "Thousands attend memorial service for Timothy Keller, beloved Christian pastor: He was 'full of Jesus'". Fox News. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  61. UCCF:The Christian Unions (2016).
    • Spencer, Andrew J. (2016) "Making Sense of God: A Review," Ethics and Culture blog, Oct.
    • Larkin, Andrew (2016). "Making Sense of God: A Review,"
    bethinking.org, UCCF:The Christian Unions.
    • Showalter, Brandon (2016).     "Tim Keller Makes Sense of God for Skeptics, Argues Secularism Is Declining" (interview), The Christian Post (Sept. 20. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
    • Hewitt, Hugh (2017). "Pastor Tim Keller and Making Sense of God, The Hugh Hewitt Show. September 20. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
    • Anderson, Matthew Lee (2016). Mere Fidelity: with Tim Keller, on 'Making Sense of God' podcast interview of Timothy Keller, December 13. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
    • Knopp, Richard A. (2017). "Helping the Skeptical See God," Christian Standard, February 16.
    • West, Steve (2017). "Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical, by Timothy Keller" (summary), Books at a Glance, February 16.

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