I distinctly remember the first time I heard Tim Keller’s name. I was 23 years old and a first year M.Div. student at Covenant Seminary. I was standing on my fourth year neighbor’s porch at the Gulf Drive apartments when he referred to “Tim Keller.” I said, “Who is Tim Keller?” After he picked up his jaw from the floor he said, “You don’t know who Tim Keller is?” I said, “Never heard of him.” That is where my journey began with Tim Keller. I went online and heard one of his sermons. Though my initial impression in the first two minutes of that sermon was, “I don’t see what the big deal is; he sounds better equipped for NPR than the pulpit.” But by the end of that sermon, my life and faith would never be the same.
As I sat at the dinner table last night and told my family that Tim was likely not going to make it much longer, I cried. Mind you, I did not know Tim Keller. I never had a conversation with him in my life. (I’m pretty sure I remember shaking his hand at General Assembly once, but I may have just imagined doing it so many times that it is only a dream that feels like a memory). But I cried at the table, and still now at my desk, because no one has done more to shape my understanding of the good news of the gospel than Tim Keller. No one has helped me love Jesus more than Tim Keller. And no one has helped me believe that Jesus loves me more than Tim Keller.
And upon reflection, I realize that I am weeping for myself and for the Church because he is a leader we need: theologically grounded, evangelistically focused, and personally transformed. It is these qualities that make me want to know what Tim Keller thinks about everything. Even when I don’t fully agree with his view (which is rare), I always have a better understanding when I hear or read what he thinks.
For those of you unfamiliar with his work, I recommend you listen to any of his sermons on his website: gospelinlife.com. He and his wife Kathy recently made them all available for free, but they were well worth the $2.50 I used to pay to hear them. If you want to read some of his books, I recommend starting with Prodigal God or Counterfeit Gods. Both of these books have shaped me profoundly and I give them away regularly to others. If you want a very short book, you won’t regret reading The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. But honestly, I am confident anyone will be helped by picking up any thing he has preached, taught, or written.
What I also appreciate about Tim Keller is that he was personally transformed by the message he preached. Though I did not know him personally, I know many people who did. And while there are those that disagreed with his approach to cultural issues, and plenty of people who found him socially awkward, not a single person (that I am aware of) has ever questioned his character or integrity. This man had so much success in terms of worldly acclaim, book sales, and even entree into the ranks of the cultural elite that he could have become a dumpster fire of personal or theological issues. But he remained faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission. He remained faithful to his wife. Against all odds, he remained humble and gracious, even to his enemies…and how he handled the Princeton Seminary situation a few years ago was a masterclass in Christian class. He would not point to himself today and say “Look what I’ve done.” He would say, “Look what Jesus has done for me: I was more corrupt than I could have ever believed, and yet more loved than I ever dared to hope.” I miss him already, and I pray that God will raise up one-hundred more to take his place.
One of the times I heard him preach live was at The Gospel Coalition conference in the early 2010’s. He was preaching on the exodus. As he preached, I was tangibly moved by the Spirit in a way I have rarely felt. I stopped taking notes and just luxuriated in the gift God was giving me. As the sermon continued, it just kept getting better. When it ended, I got up, walked out, and shouted to no one in particular: “That was amazing!” and high-fived some random strangers who felt the same way. Now, as the sermon of his life comes to its end in this world, I say the same: That was amazing. Thank you brother for showing us Jesus.
For more, here’s a beautiful video tribute from The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/tim-keller-video-tribute/
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