Tim Keller (pastor)
Timothy James Keller (September 23, 1950 – May 19, 2023) was an American Calvinist pastor, preacher, theologian, and Christian apologist. He was the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for service around the world. He was also the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the author of 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). The prequel for the latter is Making Sense of GOD: An Invitation to the Skeptical (2016). Early life and education Timothy James Keller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1950, to Louise A. Keller (Clemente) and William B. Keller, a television advertising manager. Keller was 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. Although he attended the Lutheran Church in America during his upbringing, he became a Christian while at Bucknell University due to the ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Keller later served as a staff member with InterVarsity. Keller was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Keller served as a pastor at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, for nine years while also serving as director of church planting for the PCA. He also served on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where he and his wife Kathy Keller were involved in urban ministry. Career Despite a lack of previous experience, Keller was recruited by his denomination to start Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989 after two others had turned down the position. In 2008, Keller published his first book since his 1989 report to his denomination on diaconal ministries, Ministries of Mercy. The book, The Reason for God, was based on common objections to the Christian faith heard during his ministry in New York City. The book reached seventh on the New York Times Nonfiction bestseller list. 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 Keller "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 believed 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 critiqued both political parties and avoided taking public stances on political issues, resulting in