Many of those attending Redeemer found liberation from the pressures of life in Manhattan. The congregation was diverse, young, and cosmopolitan. In less than a decade, 2,000 people were attending by the mid-2000s, attendance had increased to 5,000. People were understandably skeptical that Tim, having left a teaching post at Westminster Theological Seminary, could succeed in planting a new church with theologically orthodox beliefs in Manhattan. He made the discussion of faith seem relevant, and exciting. O NE OF THE THINGS that made Tim distinct was his ability to bring an ancient faith into the modern city, into the lives of busy young professionals who might otherwise have dismissed it, and to do so with quiet confidence and not hostile defensiveness. Tim Keller died of cancer last Friday morning.
It has been a gift to count myself among them. Tim became one of the 21st century’s most influential and revered church leaders-a pastor and theologian an author who sold an estimated 25 million copies of his books the co-founder and driving force behind Redeemer City to City, a nonprofit that promotes church planting and gospel movements in the great cities of the world a mentor to many and a counselor and friend to many more. Tim wasn’t particularly well known at the time, but it was clear to me-from how well he spoke, how well he thought, how well he reasoned-that that would change. I was impressed enough to invite Tim and Kathy to a small gathering in Washington, D.C., to discuss faith and culture. During car rides together we would listen to tapes of his sermons. I didn’t personally know Tim-I was living in Northern Virginia at the time-but Cindy spoke very highly of the Kellers. My future wife, Cindy, began attending Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City shortly after it was founded by Tim and his wife, Kathy, in 1989. But your problem is that you need to love God more in relation to them,” Keller went on to say.I first heard about Timothy J. You don’t want to harden your heart or detach your heart from them. “But what Augustine would say is: you don’t want to love anything here less, because these are God’s good gifts.
What Augustine would say, contrary to the Buddhist or the Stoic, which says you detach your heart from these things so they won’t hurt you when you lose them-or the modern person who says, ‘You only go around once in life, so you grab for all the gusto you can,” Keller said, referencing a fourth century work of theology alongside the slogan of a 1970s beer commercial. In a 2021 interview with Russell Moore, Keller discussed the experience of he and his wife, Kathy, losing certain things they loved as a result of his cancer, such as being able to work on certain projects and travel to certain places. Keller, who was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, is the chairman of the church planting organization Redeemer City to City, and is a best-selling author multiple times over, has been open about his cancer diagnosis, regularly sharing health updates and discussing how he is processing his illness through the lens of his faith and theology.
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