Pastor, Author, and Evangelist Timothy Keller Dies at 72 After Battle with Cancer
By Movieguide® Staff
Timothy J. Keller, best-selling author and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, died on May 19, at the age of 72.
Keller previously announced on Twitter in December 2021 that doctors diagnosed him with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“Timothy J. Keller, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, friend, pastor, and scholar died this morning at home. Dad 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… ‘There is no downside for me leaving, not in the slightest.’ See you soon Dad,” Michael Keller wrote of his father on Twitter.
Timothy J. Keller, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, friend, pastor, and scholar died this morning at home. Dad 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…
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) May 19, 2023
Keller is the author of countless books, articles, and sermons, including his best-selling book, THE REASON FOR GOD: BELIEF IN AN AGE OF SKEPTICISM. Today, Keller has sold over 25 million copies of his books.
Movieguide® founder and publisher Dr. Ted Baehr writes of Keller: “I love listening to Tim Keller’s sermons and talks. He said he was a fan of MOVIEGUIDE® when we visited. Some of my children made a point of visiting his church when they were in New York City. He was a brilliant cultural apologist.”
In 2006, Christianity Today wrote: “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Former U.S. President George W. Bush reflected: “I’m fortunate to have gotten to know him. And I’m one of many who is blessed to have learned from Mr. Keller’s teachings and benefited from his compassion.”
The New York Times reported:
Timothy James Keller was born on Sept. 23, 1950, in Allentown, Pa. His father, William was a television advertising manager. His mother, Louise (Clemente) Keller, was a nurse. They met during World War II, when William Keller was a conscientious objector assigned to care for patients in a mental ward.
Tim was raised Lutheran and embraced the church through the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a ministry active on college campuses, while he was attending Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, where he majored in religion.
He defined a fully formed Christian as “somebody who finds Christianity both rationally and intellectually credible, but also emotionally and existentially true and satisfying.”
After he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1972, he received a master’s of divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts in 1975 and a doctor of ministry degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1981. It was at Westminster that he met Kathy Louise Kristy, who decided against becoming a pastor because female ministers were not biblical. They married in 1975.
She survives him, along with three sons, David, Michael and Jonathan; a sister, Sharon Johnson; and seven grandchildren. Michael Keller is a pastor at Redeemer Lincoln Square.
Despite his cancer diagnosis, Keller remained firm in his faith.
“It is endlessly comforting to have a God who is both infinitely more wise and more loving than I am. He has plenty of good reasons for everything he does and allows that I cannot know, and therein is my hope and strength,” he wrote on Twitter at the time.
Timothy J. Keller, who was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, co-founder of Redeemer City to City, and the author of several books, died at the age of 72 on May 19, trusting in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. pic.twitter.com/Yoc1LpwZzf
— City to City (@RedeemerCTC) May 19, 2023
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