Episode 751
Hosts Ed Stetzer and Trevin Wax sit down to discuss the life and impact of Dr. Tim Keller. Known for his many roles as an author, pastor, apologist, and evangelist, he was also an esteemed urban missionary to New York City and beyond. Listen to learn more about Dr. Keller’s legacy in transforming the world of church planting as we know it.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
- Dr. Keller’s influence on urban missions
- The significance of his missionary mindset in pastoral ministry
- How cultural engagement shifted his approach to church planting
- What grieved Dr. Keller about modern evangelism
- Why he didn’t recommend his early preaching style be replicated
Helpful Resources:
- Ed Stetzer Live episode about Tim Keller: The Legacy of Tim Keller
- Trevin Wax’s article on Tim Keller: Tim Keller into the Sunset (1950–2023)
- Trevin Wax’s article on contextualization: Let’s Contextualize Tim Keller
- Reconstructing Faith last episode: It’s Time to Rebuild
- Book by Tim Keller: Center Church
- Church Leaders article on Tim Keller: “Above All, He Loved Jesus”
- Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer.
- Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass?
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Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):
Tim loved church planting, and he loved church planters. — Ed Stetzer
Keller’s concern was that everybody had their own medicine they were in love with and that they were constantly belittling other people’s medicines for an ailing church and culture. — Trevin Wax
Tim was one of the first people to say that if you’re going to learn contextualization, you have to be an exegete of the culture and of the Scriptures so that you can bring the Scriptures into what you know. — Trevin Wax
What I love about Tim’s work is that he didn’t just tell you what to do; he taught you how to think like a missionary. — Trevin Wax
Tim would say that you want to present Christianity in such a way that people who aren’t believers want it to be true. That comes out in his preaching and theological vision for ministry as well. — Trevin Wax
Tim Keller’s church planting was driven by evangelizing secular people. That’s the future, and that’s where we’ve got to learn. — Ed Stetzer
Published June 29, 2023