5 things Pastor Tim Keller taught me before he passed

How would you feel if someone spent two years talking with your closest friends and family members? What might they say about your childhood, your awkward teenage years, or your parenting choices?

When I began my interviews in January 2021, I wasn’t sure what I’d learn about Tim Keller, the world-renowned preacher who died Friday at age 72. I’ve known him since 2007 and worked with him since 2010 through The Gospel Coalition. 

But if I was going to trace the influences on his intellectual and spiritual formation, I needed to dig deeper. I needed to know the books, the people and events that helped him become one of the most influential Christian leaders of the 21st century. I was grateful that he wanted me to speak with his longtime friends and encouraged them to speak freely.

Especially these days, it’s easy to be cynical about religious leaders. They don’t always finish well, as Keller did. We’ve seen too many examples of pastors who said one thing from behind the pulpit and another thing away from the cameras. It’s safer to keep them at a distance, as a podcast voice or book author. Be careful when opening a closet door. After all, a skeleton might fall out. 

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From my earliest interview with his sister, I found that Tim Keller wasn’t perfect. But I knew that already. He admitted to fear of man and aversion to conflict. I also found that the colleagues closest to him didn’t idolize him. They knew too much of his strengths and weaknesses as a manager, as a father, as a friend. Yet somehow that knowledge increased their affections. They didn’t venerate an image on a screen. They knew the real person, his family, and ultimately the God whose gift of grace precludes boasting (Eph. 2:9). 

I learned that the best leaders don’t aim for perfection. They lead the way in repentance, in turning away from the darkness of sin so they can walk in the light of freedom, thanks to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I learned several other lessons from writing about Tim Keller in his only official biography, "Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation."

Don’t judge potential in young leaders too quickly

You wouldn’t have identified Tim Keller as most likely to succeed in his seminary class. He wasn’t the most outspoken student. Professors didn’t recognize him with awards. He got a C in his preaching class. Mentors didn’t line up to take him under their wing. After seminary, he and his wife, Kathy, didn’t know if they’d find a ministry post, so they took the civil service exam to join the U.S. Postal Service.

For the first half of his life, Tim Keller showed almost no familiarity with global, multicultural or urban ministry. And yet that’s exactly what he became known for advancing in New York City through Redeemer Presbyterian Church and its extensive church-planting network around the world. He didn’t publish his first New York Times bestselling book until he was 57 years old. But in less than a decade he published a small library of classic works on everything from prayer to suffering to marriage to evangelism. 

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Ministry is a long game, at least until Jesus returns. Don’t give up on young leaders if they don’t make the best first impression.

You can borrow from sources without buying everything they sell

Tim Keller was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), one of the most conservative, stalwart denominations in the United States. He was a conventional Reformed evangelical who teaches the inerrancy of Scripture, the penal substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, and justification by faith alone.

He might have disagreed with New Testament scholar N. T. Wright about the Reformation. But he recommended Wright’s landmark book on the resurrection of Jesus. He didn’t reach all the same conclusions as the missiologist Lesslie Newbigin. But he still built on this work from a previous generation to set an agenda for Western Christians in the 21st century.

You don’t have to agree with everything to learn something from anyone. 

Admit your weaknesses and ask for help

Twice in his leadership at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Tim Keller needed to admit he had a problem. The church’s growth and complexity outgrew his managerial skill. Not even his prodigious work ethic could save him. Twice he called on friends to serve as his executive pastor and lead the restless staff. 

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Just because you’re gifted in preaching doesn’t mean you’ve gifted in administration. In the body of Christ, every part has its role (1 Cor. 12:12). The mouth isn’t more important than the hands. The best leaders know when to let go and empower others to play their God-given roles.

Never stop learning

I’m not sure anyone ever extracted more from seminary than Tim Keller did. The books he read and lectures he heard set the trajectory of his entire life.

Many leaders would be content with that foundation of learning. Not Keller. Even when he was publishing a bestselling apologetics book in 2008, he was rethinking his entire apologetic method in light of new reading. Even in his final days, he was sending his friends and colleagues new book recommendations.

Keller’s lifelong learning developed like rings on a tree. The core never changed. He just kept growing, kept adding layers. 

The best teachers never stop learning.

Keep pressing for a deeper experience of God

When I worked on the book, Tim Keller didn’t know if he had one more day to live, or 10 more years to write books and mentor the rising generation of Christian leaders. That’s life with pancreatic cancer. But then, none of us knows what tomorrow will bring, either (James 4:13-15).

In the months after his diagnosis in spring 2020, I noticed a change in Keller. He sounded lighter, like a burden had been lifted. And it had. Freed to focus on each day, and not look ahead to tomorrow’s troubles, he enjoyed the company of his beloved wife, Kathy. He redoubled his efforts in prayer in search of deeper communion with God. While quarantined in his Roosevelt Island apartment, he caught up with far-flung friends.

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This life is the dress rehearsal for eternity, when we’ll see God face to face. The day before he died, Tim Keller told his family, "I’m thankful for the time God has given me, but I’m ready to see Jesus. Send me home." 

That day will come for each of us, too, sooner or later, whether or not we’re prepared. Keller taught me to shed the burdens of tomorrow and live today in light of eternity. 

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