Timothy Keller
His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
The untold story of the people, the books, the lectures, and ultimately the God who formed and shaped the life of the late Timothy Keller.
Millions have read books and listened to sermons by Timothy Keller. But who impacted his own thinking, and what shaped his spiritual growth and ministry priorities? With full access to Keller's personal notes and sermons—as well as exclusive interviews with family members and longtime friends—Collin Hansen takes readers behind the scenes of one of the 21st century's most influential church leaders.
For the first time, Hansen introduces readers to Keller's early years: the home where he learned to tell stories from the trees, the church where he learned to care for souls, and the city that lifted him to the international fame he never wanted.
This unique biography will allow you to:
Understand the principles and practices that allowed Keller to synthesize so many different influences in a coherent ministry.Take the best of Keller's preaching and teaching to meet emerging challenges in the 21st century.Develop your own historical, theological, and cultural perspectives to shape your leadership.
The story of Timothy Keller is the story of his spiritual and intellectual influences, from the woman who taught him how to read the Bible to the professor who taught him to preach Jesus from every text to the philosopher who taught him to see beneath society's surface.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This edifying intellectual biography by Hansen (The New City Catechism), editor-in-chief for the Gospel Coalition, explores the theology of the cofounder of the Coalition, Reformed pastor Timothy Keller. The author details the threads of piety and dogma that typify Keller's intellectual formation, including French theologian John Calvin's sermons on suffering, American revivalist Jonathan Edwards's "desire for mystical experiences of God," and C.S. Lewis's wide-ranging curiosity. Two institutions, Hansen posits, played a crucial role in shaping Keller's theology: the Reformed-leaning Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, which Keller graduated from in 1975, and the Westminster Theological Seminary, where he studied and taught in the early 1980s. The author's careful analysis of Keller's work unpacks the nuances and vicissitudes of larger debates within evangelicalism, as when Hansen dissects a polemical article Keller wrote in seminary rebuking the "ancient heresy" that contends Jesus was manifested in two persons, one human and one divine. Those looking for a traditional narrative account of Keller's life will want to look elsewhere, but readers hoping to find a deep dive into the ideas of this influential figure in recent Protestant history will be well rewarded. This meticulous account of Keller's ideas and faith enlightens.
