Through his books, Tim Keller has had a great impact on my life... starting with The Prodigal God. Interestingly, growing up in India, Lesslie Newbigin was Bishop of the Church in my hometown and home state. I have witnessed Lesslie deliver a sermon in my native tongue, ironically something I am unable to do anymore... lived too long in the West :). Ditto to what Tim says!!
Thank you for posting this! This is such a valuable lecture, and I really enjoy listening to (you/people near you) laughing and reacting! :) (It makes me feel like I'm at the lecture with friends.) More importantly, this is an excellent subject that I myself am very interested in learning well.
This is the power of Training at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Standing up for truth at a thoroughly post-modern institution like PTS that contributes to de-construtionism and has for over a century.
Good to see a program on the late Tim Keller. A great presentation. I still remember that review on Yelp about Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Nothing I've ever heard or read about Redeemer has ever been proven more accurate or cogent. Excerpts edited for brevity and clarity: COMMENT: I have been to Redeemer West side and East side services. I still go from time to time. I used to take part in several of the volunteer opportunities at Redeemer. So why only 3 stars? Because a church is more than just a pastor. Now there is no perfect church. But there are some serious things lacking here: First of all, there is no prayer meeting or focus on corporate prayer for the entire church. The very basic part of the Christian faith that Jesus himself said with his own lips was Matthew 21:13. "It is written," He said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers." Prayer is just talking to God, it doesn't require any special talent, skill or training. So the lack of prayer at this church is very alarming to me. And I haven't heard anyone speak of repentance at Redeemer --- ever. Again, I have listened to hundreds of sermons and been to at least a hundred services both on the West and East sides. The church ministries are called "ministries" but are run like any secular organization. Redeemer Presbyterian is run like a business, a well-oiled corporate machine, and not a church. The other 2 things which are cultural and not spiritual but are off-putting to me are: 1. Most of the members and regular visitors to Redeemer are transplants, not New Yorkers, so the church is a large city church but run like a small town church where there are very few native New Yorkers. It seems most of the members are not established in the city and are just passing through. 2. The other is that it seems the majority of the congregation is looking for a spouse, and very aggressively. When you walk in, the first thing people do is look at your hand for a ring, and then are bold enough to ask if it is a wedding ring. That experience is not unique to me, but to all of the guests I bring here. In addition, in any volunteer group I have been to, the small talk from both men and women centered around trying to find a spouse. Then the few married people were usually complaining about their marriages. The pastor knows about this, and does see it as a problem because he addresses it in his sermons. But people don't seem to listen. It is like they are all living in 1950's rural America. One other major problem I have with the church is that it is mostly white and Asian. I believe the reason is that the congregation ---- and this is not the pastoral team's fault --- seems to be focused on their careers and making money, and not on God at all. God is there to bless their agendas; this is how they seem to operate. I believe this is true for a few reasons. One, the culture of the church and focus of the congregation seems to be on Whites and Asians who make good money and have high-end careers, rather than on God. A huge basic tenet of the Christian faith is Death to Self. But at Redeemer, when you hear testimonies approved by the pastoral staff, they usually start with the person's professional credentials. I do not see any Death to Self there, but actually the opposite: It's "Look at what I can do for God because of my high income and education." It is not wrong to have a high income or education as a Christian. But the focus (at Redeemer) is wrong. So for these reasons, I think the church is best for those who are not Christians yet but are seekers of God, or those established in the faith already. It is not good in my opinion for the average believer looking for a home church. The church in my opinion is more intellectual than spiritual.
I don’t think so. He’s saying if you are being a faithful Christian seeking to have a missionary encounter with the culture then you should expect some persecution. Probably had some implications for comfortable western Christians!
