Biography of Tim Keller
Tim Keller was an American Presbyterian pastor, preacher, theologian, and Christian apologist who lived from September 23, 1950, until May 19, 2023. He co-founded and served as chairman of Redeemer City to City, a program that prepares pastors for service all around the world. The New York Times bestselling books The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (2008), Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (2014), and The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (2008) were written by him. He was also the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical (2016) is the prelude to the latter.
Louise A. Keller (Clemente) and William B. Keller, a television advertising manager, welcomed Timothy James Keller into the world on September 23, 1950, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Tim Keller graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary, where he earned his D.Min. in 1981 under the guidance of Harvie M. Conn, Bucknell University (BA, 1972), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1975). Throughout his childhood, he was a member of the American Lutheran Church. He became a member of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship on campus at Bucknell, and while in seminary, he worked as an associate staff member at Framingham College in Massachusetts.
Career
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) ordained Keller. Tim Keller was the PCA’s director of church planting and for nine years a pastor at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia. He and his spouse, Kathy Keller, were active in urban ministry while serving on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
Redeemer Presbyterian
After two others declined, Keller was enlisted by his denomination to create Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989.
Tim Keller released Ministries of Mercy in 2008, his first book since he reported on diaconal ministries to his denomination in 1989. During his ministry in New York City, he heard frequent criticisms of Christianity, which served as the basis for the book The Reason for God. On the New York Times Nonfiction bestseller list, the book came in at number seven.
As Redeemer Presbyterian Church expanded from 50 members to over 5,000 members every Sunday by 2008, Tim Keller was dubbed “the most successful Christian evangelist in the city” by some. Redeemer was hailed as “one of Manhattan’s most vital congregations” by Christianity Today in 2004.
The church has a unique composition for a megachurch in the United States because of its focus on young urban professionals, who Tim Keller felt have disproportionate influence over the society and its beliefs. The congregation is composed primarily of unmarried people, with over 40% of its members being Asian-American. Additionally, many of its members are employed in the financial and artistic industries. When he speaks, “he hardly shrinks from difficult Christian truths, [but] he sounds different from many of the shrill evangelical voices in the public sphere.” The church became politically centrist as a result of Keller’s frequent criticism of both political parties and avoidance of public positions on political matters.
Additionally, Redeemer Presbyterian Church established the Center for Faith and Work to train professionals in Christian theology, Redeemer City to City to train and fund pastors in New York and other cities, and Hope for New York, a non-profit organization that provides grants and volunteers to more than 40 faith-based ministries meeting social needs in New York City.
A coalition of Reformed leaders from around the United States, The Gospel Coalition, was founded in part by Keller. His impact grew throughout the world as a result of his mentoring of younger church leaders, including Steve Chong in Sydney and Scott Sauls in Nashville.
Tim Keller left his position as head pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church on July 1, 2017. The change was a part of a bigger plan to redirect his focus from preaching to founding new churches in international cities through Redeemer City to City and educating the next generation of church leaders.
Tim Keller sermons
Keller’s teaching of the gospel, with a focus on the concepts of complete depravity, unmerited grace, and substitutionary atonement, served as the focal point and foundation of his ministry. He frequently explains this lesson by saying, “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 interpretation of the gospel is contrasted with “irreligion,” which Tim Keller defines as the belief that there is no God or that one does not require the favor of God, and “traditional religion,” which he defines as a system of laws, customs, or behaviors that allow one to gain salvation or favor with God. This has been called a “gospel-centered” or “gospel third way” approach. His version of the Parable of the Prodigal Son (see The Prodigal God), which was influenced by a lesson taught by Edmund Clowney, one of Keller’s teachers, is typical of this teaching.
Christian Apologetics
Keller’s writings and sermons in his apologetics are distinguished by their courteous approach to an informed and cynical nonreligious audience. The Reason for God, his most direct essay on the topic, was based on thousands of discussions he had with doubtful New Yorkers during his ministry.
According to Tim Keller, evolution is “neither ruled in nor ruled out” in his church, and his creationist beliefs are not entirely literal. Keller authored a piece for the BioLogos Foundation about the subject.
C. S. Lewis, Cornelius Van Til, John Stott, Alvin Plantinga, N. T. Wright, and Miroslav Volf were among Keller’s main apologetics influences.
Personal Life
Tim Keller married Kathy Kristy in 1975; they had three children. In 2002, Keller developed thyroid cancer.
He attributes the change in his prayer life to the threat of death and disease, which made him stop and contemplate in the midst of his busy existence.
Death
Tim Keller disclosed that he had received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in June 2020. On May 19, 2023, at the age of 72, he passed away at home in Manhattan while receiving hospice care.
In August 2023, Keller’s wife, Kathy, said during a memorial service at Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral that he was laid to rest in Queens’ St. Michael’s Cemetery, which is close to LaGuardia Airport.
Books by Tim Keller
- Resources for Deacons: Love Expressed through Mercy Ministries (Christian Education and Publications, 1985)
- Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road (P&R Publishing, 1997)
- Church Planter Manual (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2002)
- The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (Dutton Adult, February 2008)
- The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (Dutton Adult, November 2008)
- Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters (Dutton Adult, October 2009)
- Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just (Dutton Adult, November 2010)
- King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus (Dutton Adult, February 2011)
- The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (Dutton Adult, November 2011)
- The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy (10Publishing, March 2012)
- Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Zondervan, September 2012)
- Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work (Dutton, November 2012)
- Galatians For You (The Good Book Company, February 2013)
- Judges For You (The Good Book Company, August 2013)
- Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (Dutton, October 2013)
- Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions (Dutton, 2013)
- Romans 1–7 For You (The Good Book Company, February 2014)
- Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (Dutton, 2014)
- Center Church Europe (Wijnen, Uitgeverij Van, 2014) Contributors are José de Segovia, Leonardo De Chirico, Michael Herbst, Frank Hinkelmann, Martin de Jong, Jens Bruun Kofoed, Daniel Liechti, András Lovas, David Novak, Stefan Paas and Martin Reppenhagen.
- Romans 8–16 For You (The Good Book Company, February 2015)
- Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Viking, June 2015)
- The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotionals in the Psalms (Viking, November 2015)
- Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical (Viking)
- Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (Viking, Nov 2016)
- God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs (Viking, Nov 2017)
- The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God’s Mercy (Viking, Oct 2018)
- The Meaning of Marriage: A Couple’s Devotional: A Year of Daily Devotions (Viking, Nov 2019)
- How to Reach the West Again (Redeemer City to City, 2020)
- On Birth (Penguin Books, 2020)
