Gospelbound

“For as much as I'll miss, [Tim Keller] gave so much more—by God's grace—that no one or nothing can ever take away from us.” – Collin Hansen

Melissa Kruger hosts a special edition of Gospelbound where Collin Hansen reflects on the life and ministry of Tim Keller. Hansen talks about the first time he met Keller, his experience writing a book on Keller's spiritual formation, discovering how important prayer was in the latter part of Keller's spiritual journey, and more. Through Hansen's reflections, we gain insight into the profound impact Tim Keller has left behind.

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For 20 years, I’ve felt like Molly Worthen and I have lived parallel lives. We graduated college the same year. We wrote for some of the same publications, on some of the same subjects. But I chose to head into church ministry, while she settled into the academy and earned her PhD from Yale.

Molly is associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You may have read her work in The New York Times, Slate, or Christianity Today.

She is perhaps best known for her award-winning book, Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism (Oxford University Press, 2014.) In that book, Molly wrote that evangelicals “craved an intellectual authority that would quiet disagreement and dictate and plan for fixing everything that seemed broken with the world. They did not find it, and are still looking.”

In his critical review for The Gospel Coalition, Al Mohler wrote, “This is a book to be reckoned with. In terms of its comprehensive grasp of the evangelical movement, its detailed research, and its serious approach to understanding the evangelical mind, Apostles of Reason stands nearly alone in the larger world of academic publishing. Any serious-minded evangelical should read it.” He also described the book as infuriating and described Molly’s work as sometimes snarky toward evangelicals.

Well, much has changed in a decade. Molly joined me on Gospelbound to discuss her scholarship, as well as her experience in the church and academy. 

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The Gospel Coalition’s Foundation Documents include a “theological vision for ministry,” originally drafted by Tim Keller. I had never heard of theological vision before I read this statement in 2007. Soon I learned that the concept originated by Richard Lints in his book The Fabric of Theology. Theological vision is the space between your doctrinal beliefs and your ministry programs. Theological vision helps you adapt your ministry to changing conditions while keeping centered on the unchanging gospel.

Richard Lints has published a new book, Uncommon Unity: Wisdom for the Church in an Age of Division, which includes a foreword from Keller. In this book Lints exposes problems with the inclusion narrative of democracy and offers a better way forward to find unity amid unprecedented cultural diversity in our day.

He writes, “The main thing I want to do in this book is to view the gospel story as the interpretive lens through which we best understand the telos of creation as a rich, deep, and complex unity-in-difference.”

In this special season of Gospelbound, we’re exploring in depth several key influences that appear in my book Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation. Lints is himself one of those influences. He is senior consulting theologian at Redeemer City to City in New York City. Previously, he served as Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, alma mater of Tim and Kathy Keller. I was grateful for this chance on Gospelbound to talk with him about unity, diversity, theological vision, and much more.

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Bill Edgar began his career as professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1989 and retired last year in 2022. But his Westminster roots run even deeper than his 33-year tenure. Edgar’s great-great-grandfather, an elder at First Presbyterian Church in New York City, helped endow Princeton Seminary in 1811. In 1929, Westminster was founded in response to Princeton’s liberal drift. By 2017, Princeton Seminary had drifted so far that the school revoked Tim Keller’s Kuyper Prize over his views on women’s ordination and homosexuality. For more than two centuries, the Edgar family has been wrapped up in the drama of doctrine in Presbyterian seminary education.

In this special season of Gospelbound, we’re exploring several key influences that appear in my book Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation. Tim Keller taught at Westminster from 1984 to 1989 and earlier earned his doctor of ministry through the school. Edgar’s career has intersected with Keller’s at numerous points, from Francis Schaeffer to Ed Clowney to Cornelius Van Til and the work of cultural apologetics. We discussed these topics and more in this episode of Gospelbound. 

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“When it comes to theologians that contemporary church leaders should be reading, I don’t know of a more important one than Herman Bavinck.” 

So says Timothy Keller in his endorsement of James Eglinton’s 2020 book Bavinck: A Critical Biography. Keller first read Bavinck some 50 years ago in class with Roger Nicole at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. But not much of Bavinck’s voluminous work has been translated until recent years. So, we live in a renaissance of appreciation for this Dutch theologian who died in 1921.

Probably no one is more responsible for this renaissance than Eglinton, the Meldrum senior lecturer in Reformed theology at the University of Edinburgh. He also serves as a fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. In this special season of Gospelbound, we’re exploring in depth several key influences that appear in my book Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation. James Eglinton and I discussed neo-Calvinism, whether he disagrees with Bavinck about anything, a beginner’s reading list, and Eglinton's upcoming projects. You'll find few high-level academics who can match Eglinton's gift for clear thinking and teaching, as you'll hear in this interview.

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In their booklet “Gospel-Centered Ministry,” TGC cofounders Don Carson and Tim Keller describe how the redemptive story of Scripture, or biblical theology, culminates in Jesus Christ and his gospel. And from Christ, that gospel then guides us in how we live every aspect of our lives.

I’ve never seen a book do this work more effectively than Christopher Watkin’s Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life. It’s simply one of the best books I’ve ever read. Not that the book is simple, at nearly 700 pages. It’s profound in its depth of insight drawn from observation of culture as well as close reading of Scripture. Watkin does not try to explain and defend the Bible to the culture. Instead, he seeks to analyze and critique the culture through the Bible. He writes, “There is nothing quite so radically subversive today as sound doctrine and godly living.”

Tim Keller wrote the foreword for Biblical Critical Theory. And in this special season of Gospelbound, we’re exploring, in depth, several key influences that appear in my book Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation (Zondervan Reflective). Watkin teaches at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and Hansen asks him about the philosopher Charles Taylor and social criticism, which have played such a key role in Keller’s intellectual formation especially since the mid-2000s. Watkin is an inaugural Fellow for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, and he'll be leading an interactive, 8-session online cohort on Biblical Critical Theory that starts on May 10.

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In his forthcoming book, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation,  Collin Hansen aims to add to our understanding of evangelical history in the second half of the 20th century into the early 21st century. Keller’s life spans and intersects with many of the most significant people, events, and trends within Christianity during the last 75 years.

The same can be said of John Piper, who along with Keller is a founding Council member of The Gospel Coalition. Piper is nearly five years older than Keller. Between them, they’ve studied in many of the most influential institutions of the post-war “new evangelicalism,” such as Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. They themselves have built several of the most influential institutions of the “new Calvinism,” such as Bethlehem College and Seminary, Desiring God, and The Gospel Coalition.

They share something else significant in common: both list Jonathan Edwards and C. S. Lewis among their top influences. In this special season of Gospelbound, we’re exploring, in depth, several key influences that appear in Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation. 

John Piper joins Collin Hansen on this episode of Gospelbound to discuss Edwards, Lewis, evangelical feminism, and the reception to his own expansive writing and teaching.

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In this unique episode of Gospelbound, pastor Jim Davis from Orlando Grace Church invites Collin Hansen into the interview spotlight to go behind the scenes of writing Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation.

Jim Davis says, "Five hundred years from now, maybe two pastors or theologians will be remembered. I believe that Tim Keller will be one of them."

Keller's influence comes from his sermons, books, and teaching as well as founding Redeemer Presbyterian Church, The Gospel Coalition, and Redeemer City to City. The book traces this influence back to the people and ideas that have shaped Keller. 

Jim Davis asked Collin Hansen how Tim Keller has influenced his life and ministry, the most surprising things Hansen discovered as he researched and wrote the book, Keller's legacy 100 years from now, and more.

When you pre-order Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation, you'll receive:

• Exclusive video (more than 120 minutes) with accompanying 65-page ebook reflecting on key themes in Tim Keller’s Center Church. Contributors include Michael Horton, Alan Hirsch, and Gabriel Salguero, all in conversation with Tim Keller.
• The 10 Most Important Christian Books Written within My Lifetime, a list by Tim Keller
• The Essential Tim Keller: Recommended Reading, a list by Collin Hansen
• The first three chapters of Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation (book and audiobook)
• An invitation to a virtual book discussion and Q&A with Collin Hansen (February 2023)

Learn more and submit your pre-order to download this bonus content at TimothyKellerBook.com.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email [email protected] for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

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In this special edition episode of Gospelbound, Collin Hansen is joined by Melissa Kruger as they look back on the big stories and trends of 2022, discuss how God has moved in and through their ministries, and share books that have stuck with them. They also take some time to thank you, their listeners, for encouraging them in the work of Gospelbound and Let's Talk.

We discuss:

• Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen, and the idea of self-forgetfulness (5:36)
• His Grace Is Enough by Melissa Kruger, written for kids and young adults alike (10:05)
• The internet revolution and exposing abuse in the church (15:40)
• How we can love the church unabashedly and with awareness (19:02)
• Gospel advancement in the midst of world conflict (20:11)
• 2022, the year that history began again (21:55)
• The state of the church in Russia and Ukraine (23:26)
• The state of the church in China (24:20)
• How culture tries to answer the reason for hopelessness and lostness (31:27)
• How the church can positively affect kids and teens (36:33)
• How do parents discuss biblical sexual ethics with their teens? (40:00)
• The overturning of Roe v. Wade (48:19)
• The most memorable Gospelbound interviews of 2022 (54:52)
• Upcoming Gospelbound interviews for 2023 (1:01:00)
• Why this episode of Let's Talk was the most downloaded (1:02:36)
• Books that have stuck with us (1:06:49)
• How the internet can help you grow your ministry (1:23:40)
• Favorite things (1:28:55)

Mentioned in this episode:

• "My Top 10 Theology Stories of 2022" by Collin Hansen (article)
• Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen
• His Grace Is Enough by Melissa Kruger
• Social Sanity in an Insta World by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
• Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael J. Kruger
• "Transformation of a Transgender Teen" by Sarah Zylstra (article)
• "Defiant Faith in the Face of Suffering" with Bill and Will Kynes (podcast)
• "Does My Son Know You?" with Jonathan Tjarks (podcast)
• "Everything Sad Is Untrue" with Daniel Nayeri (podcast)
• "Let's Talk: When Others Fall Away" (podcast episode)

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email [email protected] for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

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Jen Pollock Michel offers eight habits for reimagining productivity, resisting hurry, and practicing peace in her latest book, In Good Time. She invites us to seek wisdom that is more concerned with ethical practice than Type-A respectability. She helps us recognize that we detest waiting because we have to believe that God is acting when we are not.

On this 100th episode of the Gospelbound podcast, Collin Hansen and Jen Pollock Michel discuss why we should redefine busyness and how to say yes to the right things.

Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition.

Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email [email protected] for group pricing and discounts.

Check out The Pour Over Podcast — politically neutral news for people who want the facts without the spin, and with a brief biblical perspective

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