Tim Keller (pastor)

Biography

Keller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Bucknell University (BA, 1972), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1975) and Westminster Theological Seminary, where he received his D.Min in 1981, under the supervision of Harvie M. Conn. He became a Christian while at Bucknell University, due to the ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, with which he later served as a staff member. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and served as a pastor at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia for nine years, while serving as director of church planting for the PCA. He also served on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife Kathy were involved in urban ministry.

Keller was recruited by his denomination to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989 despite his relative lack of experience and after two others had turned down the position. Today the church’s attendance is over 5,000 each week.

In 2008, Keller published his first book in 20 years (since his report to his denomination on diaconal ministries titled “Ministries of Mercy” in 1989). The book, entitled The Reason for God, was based on common objections to the Christian faith heard during his ministry in New York City. The book reached #7 on the New York Times Nonfiction bestseller list, and Keller has since continued to write popular books based on his ministry, becoming a well-known figure only toward the end of his career as a pastor.

Keller currently resides on Roosevelt Island in New York City with his wife, Kathy. They have three sons, David, Michael and Jonathan.

Ministry

Keller has been described as a "C.S. Lewis for the 21st Century", although he has disavowed comparisons to his hero. He frequently draws on secular or academic sources like The New York Times, and media coverage has treated him as an anomaly: a pastor who appeals to Manhattan yuppies and intellectuals.

Redeemer Presbyterian Church

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 him "the most successful Christian Evangelist in the city." In 2004 Christianity Today praised Redeemer as "one of Manhattan's most vital congregations".

The church's emphasis on young urban professionals, whom Keller believes exhibit disproportionate influence over the culture and its ideas, 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." Keller often critiques both political parties and avoids taking public stances on political issues, resulting in a politically centrist church.

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.

Keller is a co-founder of The Gospel Coalition, a group of Reformed leaders from around the United States.

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.

Theology

Keller shuns the label "evangelical" because of its political and fundamentalist connotation, preferring to call himself orthodox because "he believes in the importance of personal conversion or being 'born again,' and the full authority of the Bible." He identifies with Reformed Theology, although he has been critiqued by some in that tradition for his modern interpretation of its doctrines. He has been described as a "doctrine-friendly emerging pastor" and a "neo-Calvinist."

The Gospel versus religion

The centerpiece and underpinning of Keller’s ministry has been 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.” This understanding of the gospel is contrasted to what Keller calls “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.

Apologetics

Another pervasive influence and distinctive characteristic in Keller’s preaching and writing is his apologetics, which is characterized by a respectful orientation towards an educated and skeptical audience outside the faith. His most explicit work on the subject is The Reason for God, which reached #7 on the New York Times bestseller list, and which he attributes to thousands of conversations with skeptical New Yorkers over the course of his ministry (Reason, xix). Elsewhere he has written about the loss of a Christian culture in the West, including in the academic and cultural establishments, and the need for Christians to contextualize to the current secular and anti-religious cultural climate.

On creationism, Keller states his view is not strictly literal and that evolution is "neither ruled in nor ruled out" in his church. Keller has written on the topic for the Biologos Foundation.

Keller’s major influences in apologetics include C.S. Lewis, Cornelius Van Til, John Stott, Alvin Plantinga and Miroslav Volf.

Idolatry

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

Social justice and politics

Keller disavows the “social gospel” that has characterized Mainline Protestant churches, which advocates liberal political causes and de-emphasizes the doctrines of sin and substitutionary sacrifice. However he has 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 (see his books Generous Justice, Ministries of Mercy). He has also critiqued both conservative and liberal politics for having a reductionistic view of the poor, among other things.

Cultural engagement

Attributed partly to his congregation of upwardly mobile Manhattanites, Keller has been 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 is an avid fan of the work of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, both well-known Christian authors, and also supports the Harry Potter novels which have been considered pagan by certain conservative Christians.

Sex and gender

Keller has a complementarian view of gender that believes that the Bible teaches defined roles for both genders, but the specific duties accompanying each gender's role is undefined. He believes that "Marriage provides the personal growth that comes through cross-gender relationships." He elaborates on the biblical view of sex and marriage in his book The Meaning of Marriage. Keller is a signatory of the Manhattan Declaration and is opposed to abortion, but is not opposed to contraception.

Cities and urban church planting

While at Westminster Theological Seminary, Keller was mentored by Harvie Conn, an early advocate of ministry in urban centers, and was recruited to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church due to a shortage of biblically orthodox churches in center-city Manhattan.

He has since become a worldwide spokesman for the need to create new kinds of churches in urban centers to address rapid urbanization. He delivered a plenary address on the subject at the Lausanne Conference of 2010.

Through Redeemer City to City, Keller mentors and chairs a network of center-city churches that represents similar ministry values worldwide. He writes extensively on the importance of cities and gives a biblical theological framework for ministry in cities in his book on ministry, Center Church.

Books

Contributions in edited volumes

Sermons

All of Timothy Keller's sermons and church-related talks at Redeemer Presbyterian Church can be found at www.gospelinlife.com.

Interviews