Warum Tim Keller in der Großstadt erfolgreich Gemeinde baut

Tim Stafford stellt für CT Pastor Tim Keller vor und erklärt uns, warum er gern und erfolgreich in Manhatten Gemeinde baut. Die Kellers haben eine geistliche Perspektive für Menschen in der Großstadt entdeckt und arbeiten beharrlich daran, dass die Menschen selbst eine neue Identität finden:

The Kellers became absolute enthusiasts for the city. Artist Makoto Fujimura had returned from years of study in Japan to join the New York art scene, but he lived with his wife and young children in a safe New Jersey suburb. »Tim was the first to say, ›Live in the city.‹ That was really compelling. I’d never heard that before. It was a crazy idea.«

Keller’s reading of Scripture fueled his enthusiasm. Conn had taught him a positive biblical view of cities. As he studied New York, he began to draw out that understanding. Surely God’s command to exiled Israelites applied to Christians in New York: »seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you« (Jer. 29:7). Long before that, God had designated cities as places of refuge when Israel entered the Promised Land. They remain so today, Keller noted—which explains why poor people, immigrants, and vulnerable minorities such as homosexuals cluster in cities. They attract people who are open to change. Paul did most of his missionary work in cities, and early Christianity flourished within them. Revelation portrays the final descent of the kingdom of God to earth as a city, although a garden city, with fruit trees and a life-giving river at its center. Keller suggests that, had Adam and Eve lived sinlessly and obeyed God’s directions, they would have made Eden into just such a city.

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