{"id":2733,"date":"2023-05-19T17:12:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T17:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/?p=2733"},"modified":"2023-05-22T12:53:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T12:53:07","slug":"honoring-the-legacy-of-tim-keller-christian-author-and-famed-pastor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2023\/05\/honoring-the-legacy-of-tim-keller-christian-author-and-famed-pastor.html","title":{"rendered":"Honoring the Legacy of Tim Keller, Christian Author and Famed Pastor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TimKellerNYC \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Famed Christian author and former pastor Tim Keller passed away after battling pancreatic cancer, according to his church. On behalf of the Redeemer Network Leadership Team, Bruce Terell said, \u201cIt is with a heavy heart that I write today to inform you that Redeemer Presbyterian Church founder and long-time senior pastor, Tim Keller, passed away this morning at age 72, trusting in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. We are forever grateful for his leadership, heart, and dedication to sharing the love of Christ with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cWhile we will miss his presence here, we know he is rejoicing with his Savior in heaven.\u201d Before Dr. Keller\u2019s death, his son Michael shared that the famed pastor was being released to hospice care. In a statement, he wrote, \u201cDad waited until he was alone with Mom. She kissed him on the forehead, and he breathed his last breath. We take comfort in some of his last words. \u2018There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.\u2019”<\/p>\n

Dr. Keller was born in Pennsylvania and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminister Theological Seminary. He previously served as the West Hopewell Presbyterian Church pastor in Hopewell, Virginia. He was Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.<\/p>\n

In May 2020, Dr. Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, was initially\u00a0diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. After his diagnosis, he underwent two years of chemotherapy, participating in the immunotherapy drug trial at the National Institute for Health in Bethesda, Maryland.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, although the immunotherapy successfully killed 99 percent of the cancerous tumors, Keller announced in March that additional cancer tumors returned, requiring him to undergo a variation of the previous immunotherapy treatment. Keller founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in 1989 with his wife, Kelly, and their three sons. He led a diverse congregation of young professionals for 28 years, where weekly attendance topped 5,000 people.<\/p>\n

Dr. Keller also served as the co-founder and chairman of Redeemer City to City, which started churches in New York and other cities worldwide, publishing resources and books for ministry in urban environments. Dr. Keller transitioned to City to City full-time in 2017 to mentor and teach seminary students and church planters through a joint venture with Reformed Theological Seminary\u2019s City Ministry Program.<\/p>\n

He also worked with City to City\u2019s global partners to start church planting movements. Dr. Keller\u2019s books, including the New York Times <\/em>bestselling \u201cThe Prodigal Son\u201d and \u201cThe Reason for God,\u201d has sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 25 languages. Christianity Today called Dr. Keller \u201ca pioneer of the new urban Christians,\u201d<\/a> saying that he will be remembered for his commitment to mercy and justice, love of cities, and love for his neighbors.<\/p>\n

Dr. Keller was also a thyroid cancer survivor, and he was diagnosed in 2002. He leaves behind his wife, Kelly; three sons, Jonathan Keller, Michael Keller and David Keller, a sister; and seven grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Famed Christian author and former pastor Tim Keller passed away after battling pancreatic cancer, according to his church. On behalf of the Redeemer Network Leadership Team, Bruce Terell said, \u201cIt is with a heavy heart that I write today to inform you that Redeemer Presbyterian Church founder and long-time senior pastor, Tim Keller, passed away…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":2736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[146],"tags":[744,747],"class_list":["post-2733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religious-leader","tag-dr-timothy-keller","tag-former-pastor"],"yoast_head":"\nHonoring the Legacy of Tim Keller, Christian Author and Famed Pastor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tim Keller, the famed pastor and Christian author, died after battling pancreatic cancer. 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Keller will be remembered as a pioneer for urban Christians.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/foreverinourhearts\/2023\/05\/honoring-the-legacy-of-tim-keller-christian-author-and-famed-pastor.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Where Hope Lives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-19T17:12:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-22T12:53:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/399\/2023\/05\/timothy-keller_credit-TimKellerNYC-facebook-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lauren McKeithen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Honoring the Legacy of Tim Keller, Christian Author and Famed Pastor","description":"Tim Keller, the famed pastor and Christian author, died after battling pancreatic cancer. 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