Tim Keller

Tim Keller is the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, New York. He is also co-founder and vice president of The Gospel Coalition. For more resources by Tim Keller visit Redeemer City to City.
 

May

25

2011

Tim Keller|10:33 AM CT

Speaking With Contempt
Speaking With Contempt avatar

I have always found Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:21-22 to be shattering. He begins by reminding his listeners that anyone who murders will be judged. But then he gives three case studies of actions that seem far less serious than murder.
I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, "Raca" is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, "You fool!" will be in danger of the fire of hell.


To be bitter and angry in your heart toward someone can lead to great evil, so that makes some sense. But the term raca means only something like "you air-head!" and the word translated fool is likewise not an outrageous or cutting insult. Jesus’ listeners would...

 
 
 
 

May

06

2011

Tim Keller|4:26 PM CT

Lloyd-Jones on the Efficacy of Preaching Today
Lloyd-Jones on the Efficacy of Preaching Today avatar


In Preaching and Preachers, Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes the case that the mainspring of the church's ministry should be biblical preaching—preaching that expounds the meaning of the biblical text in the assembled community.

The main objection to preaching in our time, however, is a pragmatic one. It is: "They will not come! People today simply will not come out to hear preaching." In our time a whole body of work has grown up around the distinction between "attractional" ministry versus "incarnational" ministry. The attractional model consists of Christians bringing people in to hear the gospel preached inside the church walls. The incarnational model is dispersing and going out beyond the walls of the church to love and serve in the community and talk to people about the...

 
 
 
 

Feb

08

2011

Tim Keller|5:04 AM CT

Three Ways with Families
Three Ways with Families avatar

In Japan, in Western Europe, and in Russia, the birth-rate has fallen precipitously, to below replacement levels. If this does not change, the economic and cultural impact will be very great on those nations. Many have pointed out that interest in child-bearing is lowest in the most secular countries and sectors of society, while it is the highest in the most religious countries. Why is this? One explanation is that more educated people put off child-rearing until later in life and that means fewer children. However, educated religious people have more children than educated secular people, and therefore the socio-economic answer isn't the most basic answer. I don't think anyone can be completely sure that they have a handle on this complex phenomenon, but I think it creates an interesting backdrop for the consideration of the unique Christian...

 
 
 
 

Jan

11

2011

Tim Keller|8:29 AM CT

Revival: Ways and Means
Revival: Ways and Means avatar

How do seasons of revival come? One set of answers comes from Charles Finney, who turned revivals into a "science." Finney insisted that any group could have a revival any time or place, as long as they applied the right methods in the right way. Finney's distortions, I think, led to much of the weakness in modern evangelicalism today, as has been well argued by Michael Horton over the years. Especially under Finney's influence, revivalism undermined the more traditional way of doing Christian formation. That traditional way of Christian growth was gradual—whole family catechetical instruction—and church-centric. Revivalism under Finney, however, shifted the emphasis to seasons of crisis. Preaching became less oriented to long-term teaching and more directed to stirring up the affections of the heart toward decision. Not surprisingly, these emphases demoted the importance of the church in general and of careful, sound doctrine and put all the weight on...

 
 
 
 

Jan

02

2011

Tim Keller|11:00 PM CT

Revival (Even) On Broadway
Revival (Even) On Broadway avatar

I was very glad to see appear the new book by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir, because a generation ago, there was far more interest in and desire for revival than there is now, though everyone had somewhat different conceptions of it. For many in the Baptist and Methodist tradition, "revival" meant a season of vigorous activity for the purposes of prayer, renewal, and evangelism. For Pentecostals and charismatics, it meant a time in which the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were evident. For those in the Reformed-Puritan tradition who looked to Jonathan Edwards's theology of revival as definitive, it meant an intensification of the ordinary means of grace and a great wave of newly awakened inquirers, soundly converted sinners, and spiritually renewed believers.
...

 
 
 
 

Dec

20

2010

Tim Keller|11:30 PM CT

TGC Asks Tim Keller: When Has a Preacher Crossed the Line into Plagiarism in His Sermon?
TGC Asks Tim Keller: When Has a Preacher Crossed the Line into Plagiarism in His Sermon? avatar

Note from Collin Hansen, TGC editorial director: This week we're examining the thorny issue of pulpit plagiarism. We're hearing from pastors, scholars, and researchers to work toward common understanding on this pressing, perennial dilemma. Next we turn to Tim Keller, TGC vice president and senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

* * * * * * * * * *


Yes, it does appear to be a problem. For these reasons. Preachers today feel under much more pressure to be spectacular than they used to feel. Christians are much less likely to be loyal to a church of a particular place or a particular theological tradition. What they want is to have a great experience on Sunday, and...

 
 
 
 

Dec

03

2010

Tim Keller|8:01 AM CT

Politics and Culture
Politics and Culture avatar

We recently had an election season in the U.S. Every year, it seems, the amount of attention paid to the mechanics and outcomes of partisan politics grows. Thirty years ago there was nothing like this amount of attention given to politics. Many point out rightly that the 24-hour news cycle and the internet creates an appetite for political analysis. But I think there is more going on. It's not just that the political is given more air time, but that it's now seen as far more important to human life. The politically fragmented media, with outlets ranging from very liberal to very conservative, only seem to agree on one thing, namely, that nothing matters more than which American political party wins the most seats.

R.R. Reno recently wrote a blog post at the First...

 
 
 
 

Oct

06

2010

Tim Keller|7:30 AM CT

Late Modern or Post-modern?
Late Modern or Post-modern? avatar

In the past, many of our neighbors could understand traditional Christian preaching even when they responded with disagreement or indifference. During the last 15 years, however, our message is increasingly met with dumbfounded incomprehension or outrage. Until a generation ago in the United States, most adults had similar moral intuitions whether they were born-again believers, churchgoers, nominal Christians, or nonbelievers. That has changed.

Many have characterized the change over the last generation as "the postmodern turn." The "modern" era, we are often told, was characterized by confidence in rationality and science and the pursuit of a grand social order that would be mediated by institutions such as the academy and the nation-state. The postmodern era is marked by pluralism, a loss of confidence in the rational, a desire for...

 
 
 
 

Jul

27

2010

Tim Keller|1:42 PM CT

Ministry Movements
Ministry Movements avatar

The word "movement" is often used to describe a kind of vital, dynamic human organization, in order to distinguish it from what are called "institutions." Both of these words can have broader meanings, but for the sake of this discussion let us define them in the following ways.

A movement is marked by an attractive, clear, unifying vision for the future together with a strong set of values or beliefs. The content of the vision must be compelling and clear so that others can grasp it readily. It must not be so esoteric or difficult that only a handful of people can articulate it. Instead, it must be something that all members of the movement can understand and pass along to others. By contrast, "institutionalized" organizations are held together by rules, regulations, and procedures, not by a shared vision.

This unifying vision is so...

 
 
 
 

Jul

13

2010

Tim Keller|12:41 PM CT

Scraps of Thoughts on Daily Prayer
Scraps of Thoughts on Daily Prayer avatar

There are three kinds of prayer I try to find time for every day -- meditation (or contemplation), petition, and repentance. I concentrate on the first two every morning and do the last one in the evening.

Meditation is actually a middle ground or blend of Bible reading and prayer. I like to use Luther's contemplative method that he outlines in his famous letter on prayer that he wrote to his barber. The basic method is this - to take a Scriptural truth and ask three questions of it. How does this show me something about God to praise? How does this show me something about myself to confess? How does this show me something I need to ask God for? Adoration, confession, and supplication. Luther proposes that we keep meditating like this until our hearts begin to warm and melt under a...

 
 
 
 
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