Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City

by Timothy J. Keller

Many pastors struggle to translate their theological beliefs into fruitful ministry in the places they are called to reach. It's not enough to simply know what to believe (theology) or, on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology)---they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ. Center Church, a collection of twelve essays by Timothy Keller, outlines a theological vision for ministry that is organized around three core commitments:
* Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.
* City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.
* Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Genres: Church, Theology, Christian, Christianity, Ecclesiology, Leadership, Nonfiction

607 pages, ebook

First published August 7, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.

He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.

Christianity Today has said, “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.”

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

Reviews

[Eric Chappell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on pastoral ministry. One of Keller's best. Okay, I know what you're saying: "So you too have drunk the Keller Kool-aid?" Yes. Yes, I have. And quite frankly, haters are going to hate. Keller's been in ministry 30+ years, has a relentless understanding and passion for Jesus and the gospel, and is incredibly insightful in connecting the culture's plotlines with the ultimate Story of Jesus in showing how He ultimately fulfills what our hearts and communities long for. If you dislike that, then shoot me a message and I will pray for you.

It's impossible to summarize all the wisdom offered in Center Church. It consists of basically three parts. In Part 1, Keller unpacks the gospel as neither religion, nor irreligion, but an entirely third way of relating to God through grace. In this section, Keller basically unpacks the bottomless riches of Christ's person and work with direct application to individual and corporate living. If the gospel is preached truthfully, winsomely, lovingly, and contextually, then we should be looking for gospel renewal in our churches and communities, precisely because the Spirit has promised to bless gospel preaching. Part 2 is Keller's argument for contextualization. The city is a mixed bag, with the potential for human flourishing and idolatry. As gospel ministers we must appreciate the truth we find in culture, but also challenge our culture with God's Word. Here is where Keller does his mini-biblical theology on the city, and demonstrates wisely the importance of cities in spreading the gospel. Part 3 gets into more ecclesiology proper. The church is both an institution and movement, an organization and organism. Keller unpacks what he sees as five ministry fronts (connecting people to God, to one another, to the city, to the culture, and church planting) which all coalesce in his final chapter on the city and the gospel ecosystem (it will blow your mind).

This book is a Must for pastors, church officers, seminary students, and interested lay people. There's no question that Keller is a leading voice in gospel-centered, means of grace, contextualized urban ministry, but this book shouldn't be limited to only those involved in that discussion. It's a work that would be profoundly helpful to those in mission fields everywhere, whether urban, suburban (in my opinion the new urban), and rural. I will keep this book close at hand and be returning to it over and over. An amazing resource.

[Jacqueline Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slay Tim. Miss you

[Riley Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Keller provides a convincing vision for how effective ministry can be done. Part of Keller’s genius is his ability to synthesize many competing visions for how ministry ought to be done on a variety of different ministry fronts. Balance is his favorite word throughout the book and balance is the key to doing ministry well.

Particularly helpful for me was the section on contextualization. I’ve known how to define that word for some time, but now that I’m training for ministry I see the need for a robust use of the concept of contextualization. Keller is particularly helpful in this area.

Finally, I was admittedly annoyed at times when Keller would do his “balance” thing. In the name of being balanced, it seemed that he took the easy way out of some difficult debates by taking the middle road. At times it seemed that he was trying to bring together two sides of what was obviously not the same coin. The book is still very good and I hope to reread after some time. Highly recommend.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally finished this behemoth of a book! :).

It really was a good read and I recommend it to church leaders.

In fact, I bought 8 copies and plan on walking chapter by chapter through the book with my 4 staff guys and 3 interns starting this April. It'll take us the rest of the year to complete.

I'm not doing this because I agree with every concept in the book but because the concepts in the book are worth discussing and comparing to scripture. So many things Keller said were amazingly thoughtful and challenging while several things he said puzzled me. I'm excited about going through this book a second time, only this time I won't be alone on the journey.

[Caleb Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Bradley Somers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time in a few years in reading through Keller’s book. The foundational thinking regarding the church on mission is must read material for any pastor. Definitely a must read for those who are in an urban or suburban context. It does read like a text book for an elective you would take in fourth year Bible College. I recommend working through the questions at the end of the chapters in a separate note book. It will prove helpful and give you a collected number of insights for leading the church God has placed you in.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even when I disagree with some of Keller’s emphases, I’m always struck by how thoughtful he is as he seeks to synthesize various viewpoints that you don’t usually find combined among most pastors. Keller’s discussions on Christianity and culture (e.g., two kingdoms, transformationst, etc.) and on movement dynamics (the church as organism and as institution) I found especially insightful, even nearly a decade after the book’s publication.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the best.

[Jeremy]

Introduction (read on Aug. 21, 2016)
13: success vs. faithfulness < fruitfulness
17: middle space between doctrine and practice = theological vision (see 18–19)
20: overcontextualizing vs. undercontextualizing; graph of theological vision
21: name for theological vision is "Center Church"
21–25: Center Church commitments: Gospel, City, Movement

Section 1: Gospel
Part 1: Gospel Theology
Ch. 1: The Gospel Is Not Everything (read in Nov. 2016)
29: the gospel must be proclaimed; we have been psychologically, socially, physically alienated; horizontal relational problems are symptomatic of our vertical relational problems
30: gospel = "God saves sinners" (Packer's intro to Owen's Death of Death); Luther: true faith leads to good works, but good works ≠ gospel
31: Tertullian and two errors (legalism and antinomianism)
32: "Preach the gospel; use words if necessary" is misleading; gospel outline: creation, fall, redemption, restoration
33–36: gospel chapters: Where did we come from? (God) Why did things go so wrong? (sin) What will put things right? (Christ) How can I be put right? (faith)
34: David Foster Wallace: "Everybody worships"; it is impossible to live a "good life" and ignore the One Who made us
34–35: we relate to God the way Hamlet relates to Shakespeare (Lewis); in the incarnation, God wrote Himself into the story (Sayers)

Ch. 2: The Gospel Is Not a Simple Thing (read in Nov. 2016)
39: regarding the kingdom, synoptic gospels (communal) and John (individual) are complementary, not contradictory
40: synchronic approach (systematic-theological method; beauty of truth) and diachronic approach (redemptive-historical method; beauty of narrative)
40–43: read the Bible through intercanonical themes: home/exile, Yahweh/covenant, kingdom
42: restoration, garden-city, homesickness
44: contextualizing the gospel as Paul does (Jews and Gentile God-fearers in Acts 13, noneducated pagans in Acts 14, and philosophers and educated pagans in Acts 17)

Ch. 3: The Gospel Affects Everything (read in Nov. 2016)
46: Newbigin: "The Christian story provides us with...a set of lenses, not something for us to look at, but for us to look through" [sounds like Lewis's "Meditation in a Toolshed"]
47: covenant boundary markers (Sabbath observance, circumcision, Torah, etc.); "already but not yet" avoids pessimism and triumphalism
47–48: embrace hybrid church forms (different emphases will make a church look charismatic, Anabaptist, and Reformed/Kuyperian, in a good way)
48–51: the gospel changes our views on discouragement/depression, love/relationships, sexuality, family, self-control, race/culture, witness, human authority, guilt and self-image, joy/humor, class attitudes (e.g., seeing the poor as only lazy, or only victims)

Part 2: Gospel Renewal
Ch. 4: The Need for Gospel Renewal (read on Sept. 14, 2016)
54–55: personal gospel renewal vs. corporate gospel renewal; gospel renewal/revival is the ordinary work of the Holy Spirit through the means of grace
55–56: Great Awakening and revival; Industrial Revolution—people displaced to cities and the undermining of church authority; capitalism and personal freedom/choice; Wesleys and Whitefield responded by emphasizing the need for personal renewal; sometimes individual experience was emphasized to the exclusion of spiritual formation through liturgy and catechesis; excess of Finney's revivalism; we can critique revival without dismissing it; sidebar on the importance of catechesis
57–60: revival assesses our times and centers on the heart; secular, pluralistic institutions no longer support the church; salvation is a matter of the heart; circumcision and baptism as signs of belonging to the covenant community; revival must be balanced (personal and corporate)
62: Kidd and Noll; list in n9 of diverse leaders (Hauerwas, Yoder, Claiborne, Horton/Hart, Wilson, Newbigin/Wright) who still agree on the importance of liturgy, catechesis, community, and weekly communion; Peter Berger; Martin Luther

Ch. 5: The Essence of Gospel Renewal (read on Sept. 25, 2016)
Basically a summary of The Prodigal God (three ways to respond to God: religion/moralism, irreligion/relativism, and the gospel)
63: law obedience is the result (not the cause) of deliverance (Israelites from Egypt); n1 (p. 72) mentions Bonhoeffer and cheap grace
64: even unbelievers worship (see n2 on David Foster Wallace; cf. n13 on idolatry)
66: pride and fear of punishment are both self-centered
68: Edwards on "common morality" vs. "true virtue"
69: Keller's take on the grace/sanctification debate: obedience is not the same thing as change, but we should still obey, even if our motives aren't always pure

Ch. 6: The Work of Gospel Renewal (read on Sept. 25, 2016)
74–76 (gospel application): bring the gospel home through preaching [see n5: Keller now has a book on preaching], training lay leaders, experimental elements (e.g., Whitefield's and Wesley's small groups), conversation, and pastoral counseling
76–77 (gospel innovation): outdoor preaching, small group "society" meetings, and the printing press are all examples of using new methods
77: need to capture people's imaginations and show them the beauty of Christ; preach Jesus in every text
78–79: Keller's famous talk about the Bible's being basically about what Jesus has done, not what I must do (cf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNa6...)
79: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on preaching
80: different denominations tend to be stronger at different things
81–82: external transformation starts with internal transformation

Section 2: City
Part 3: Gospel Contextualization
Ch. 7: Intentional Contextualization
89: churches in cities often have difficulty thriving; contextualization "is giving people the Bible's answers, which they may not at all want to hear to questions about life that people in their particular time and place are asking, in language and forms they can comprehend, and through appeals and arguments with force they can feel, even if they reject them"; be as attractive as possible, not unnecessarily alien; don't make the truth boring
90: cultural narratives "are stories that a people tell about themselves to make sense out of their shared existence" (see n5 and n6 for Delbanco); Keller defines culture broadly (the environment that we create out of nature), and he uses worldview positively; worldview —> values —> institutions —> culture
91: the "indigenous church movement" was a good first step to adjust missions, but it still used Western forms; it's a mistake to jettison the Bible's truth in an attempt to contextualize (Bultmann)—the irony is that liberal theology, while trying to avoid cultural imperialism, imposed its Western view of higher criticism (and "the European Enlightenment's skepticism about the miraculous and supernatural") on other cultures
92: Machen on liberalism (liberalism tries to leave particulars behind while keeping generalities, but it's really a different gospel)
93: "contextualization involves keeping the essentials while flexing on the nonessentials"; all gospel presentations are culturally bound, but the gospel remains the same; "Liberal Christianity wedded itself to what is now seen as a fading, obsolete cultural view" (science will save us; the individual is king)
95: Luke uses different words than Matthew or Mark, indicating Luke's contextualization
96: refusing to contextualize is dangerous
100n23: Van Til critiqued the Machen/Warfield reliance on reason

Ch. 8: Balanced Contextualization
101–3: we need two-way traffic across a bridge (Stott's image) that connects biblical truth and particular cultures (speaking and listening); we must realize how powerfully our culture shapes our assumptions [cf. Smith], and let the Bible correct and expand our views
104–5: the bridge is a good analogy, although we must remember that the Bible has ultimate authority; a spiral might be a better image; we must avoid both cultural fundamentalism and cultural relativism

Ch. 9: Biblical Contextualization
108–10: the Bible (see Rom. 1–2), which has a mixed view of culture, gives us a basis for contextualization; "The doctrine of sin means that as believers we are never as good as our right worldview should make us. At the same time, the doctrine of our creation in the image of God, and an understanding of common grace, remind us that nonbelievers are never as flawed as their false worldview should make them."; re: culture, we balance between "critical enjoyment" and "appropriate wariness"
110–11: 1 Cor. 9 provides us with motivation for contextualization; cultural adaption is an act of love—we remove stumbling blocks; while the gospel itself is a scandal, we need to provide only the right kind of scandal, and remove all others; Hudson Taylor wore his hair long and in a braid (like Chinese men in his day)
111–12: 1 Cor. 1 provides us with a basic formula for contextualization; Paul confronts the culture, but affirms as much as possible
112–13: Paul adapts to various audiences in Acts: Bible believers, peasant polytheists, sophisticated pagans, Christian elders, a hostile Jewish mob, and governing elites; he cites various authorities based on the audience (e.g., OT, general revelation, etc.)
113–14: Paul's speeches all share similarities: they provide an epistemological challenge, a personal challenge, and a proclamation of Christ; "Paul does not feel an obligation to give the whole gospel picture to his audience in one sitting"
114–15: the Bible itself appeals to different motivations for believing the gospel: fear of God's judgment, desire to relieve burdens, appreciate the beauty of truth, fulfill existential longings, get help with a problem, fulfill desire to be loved
116: "we tend to turn neutral cultural traits into moral virtues" (e.g., punctuality); "To deny that much of our Christianity is culturally relative is to elevate human culture and tradition to a divine level and to dishonor Scripture"
118n13: modesty and respect will look different in different cultures

Ch. 10: Active Contextualization
119: we need to both enter the culture (enabling us to present the gospel compellingly) and confront the culture (letting the gospel speak prophetically); avoid both cultural captivity (gospel becomes incomprehensible and irrelevant) and syncretism (gospel loses substance and distinctiveness)
120: three steps to active contextualization: enter the culture, challenge the culture, and appeal to the listeners
120–24 (entering and adapting to the culture): fluency leads to trust; confessions and catechisms answer only the questions asked, so sometimes one culture might ask different questions than another culture (not to get contradictory answers, but the emphasis may be different); get POVs from cultural experts, and read novels that give snapshots of a particular culture (e.g., Bonfire of the Vanities for Manhattan; we often make assumptions about groups of people and attribute incorrect motives to them—esp. if we haven't entered their culture well; biblical authors use all kinds of appeals: logical (Western), relational (Chinese), and intuitional (Indian); use "A" beliefs (that the culture already accepts) to challenge them on "B" beliefs (that they don't accept yet)—for example, show how concern for human rights can be rooted only in the doctrine of the image of God
124–29 (challenging/confronting the culture): entering a culture allows you to expose inconsistencies better; show how "B" doctrines are based on "A" doctrines; example of Lewis on wrath: someone who is loving cares what happens, and when sin wrecks the situation, then wrath is the only appropriate response; Keller spoke of sin as disordered loves, which rang true for many people who knew that their idols/addictions were crushing them; some current pressure points are the commodification of sex (people know this doesn't lead to happiness), human rights (no basis in an atheistic worldview), and cultural hope (a self-fulfillment or self-definition narrative doesn't lead to flourishing)
130–32 (appealing to and consoling the listeners): Pascal: show that religion is reasonable, respectable, and lovable; "The Bible has enough diversity to enable us to connect its message to any baseline cultural narrative on the face of the earth"; atonement grammars/theories all share in the concept of substitution; pus = white blood cells that died for you; great section on fairy tales and happy endings

Part 4: City Vision
Ch. 11: The Tension of the City

Ch. 12: Redemption and the City

Ch. 13: The Call to the City

Ch. 14: The Gospel for the City

Part 5: Cultural Engagement
Ch. 15: The Cultural Crisis of the Church

Ch. 16: The Cultural Responses of the Church

Ch. 17: Why All the Models Are Right . . . and Wrong

Ch. 18: Cultural Engagement through Blended Insights

Section 3: Movement
Part 6: Missional Community
Ch. 19: The Search for the Missional Church

Ch. 20: Centering the Missional Church

Ch. 21: Equipping People for Missional Living

Part 7: Integrative Ministry
Ch. 22: The Balance of Ministry Fronts

Ch. 23: Connecting People to God

Ch. 24: Connecting People to God

Ch. 25: Connecting People to the City

Ch. 26: Connecting People to the Culture

Part 8: Movement Dynamics
Ch. 27: Movements and Institutions

Ch. 28: The Church as an Organized Organism

Ch. 29: Church Planting as a Movement Dynamic

Ch. 30: The City and the Gospel Ecosystem

Epilogue: Late Modernity and the Center Church

[Glory Okoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll probably be skimming this book for the next 30 years. Keller has such a gift for extracting the numerous implications of the gospel and applying them to literally everything. This book distills all of Keller’s ministry brilliance into a readable, action-oriented volume. I had to read it slowly and take detailed notes because there are so many applicable ideas in here I either need to try now, or I’ll need to come back to. Keller’s thesis is that the church needs to “seek the center” of 3 core elements of Christian ministry:

Gospel — the gospel is neither religion nor irreligion. We’re not saved by what we do, but by what Christ has done for us. This leads to gratitude and good works as we try to please Him. We will be both humble and confident because we recognize that we are so bad that we need to be saved, but we are so loved that He delighted in saving us. The problem is that over time, churches tend to fall on either one side (religion) or the other (irreligion). We may affirm the gospel of grace in our heads, but we don’t believe it in our hearts, which is why you see churches that are either haughty and judgmental, or lax without moral standards. Churches need to hedge against this human impulse through continual gospel renewal, or revival. Revival helps make the gospel fresh and present in the church.

City — every culture accepts some aspect of the gospel, while rejecting other aspects. Every culture has common grace, but needs special revelation. The job of the church is to affirm the truth of the culture, while rejecting the lie. We must do both. We have to meet people where they are by supporting the elements of their worldview that align with God’s principles. But every culture has some idol that prevents them from fully accepting the gospel. So we must dismantle the claim of the idol, and prove that human needs can only be fulfilled in Christ. We do this by immersing ourselves in the city’s culture and history, so that we can appreciate the good, and challenge the bad.

Movement — gospel-centered churches are both a structured organization, and a fluid organism. We need the standards, habits, and unity of an organization, while also having the energy, spontaneity, and flexibility of a movement. This allows us to both edify and expand the body of Christ. Keller mentions many ways to do this, but the 3 that stuck out to me are:
1) the church needs lay leaders that are involved in evangelism and discipleship
2) one church cannot sustain a movement, so churches need to be invested in continual church planting
3) churches must operate as if unbelievers are always present in services, so that people feel more comfortable inviting unbelievers to the services

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the time for any Christian who wants to mature in evangelism, engaging with culture, or church life. Some tidbits that hooked me:

- Most helpful and balanced discussion of healthy gospel contextualization I’ve yet read (aka, how do I share the gospel with someone who doesn’t even think like me [a ten-year-old, an octogenarian, a migrant worker, a single mom]?)
- A considerate yet challenging response to Wendell Berry’s call to return to tight-knit agricultural society (spoiler: Keller affirms the motive [building deep community] while rejecting the means [leaving the city])
- An insightful call for quality art as a means of evangelism (paraphrased: Mediocre art is inherently exclusive, because the audience needs to know and like the artist in order to enjoy his or her art. Excellent art is inherently inclusive, because the audience can enjoy it first and build relationship with the artist later. No one needs to know Rembrandt personally to like his paintings.)
- As usual with Keller, a valuable call to humility along with the great work he encourages

If nothing else, find a friend or a library that has this book and flip through it.

[Cole Kliewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a thoughtful and intense book on the reality and theology of church planting. Keller is an excellent, compelling writer with decades of experience to back it up. This book is not for the light of heart, this took me nearly 3 months to read and process. Nonetheless I’m thankful for this book and the insights it brings to church planting in the 21st century.

[Heather Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am tremendously thankful for this thoughtful and thorough look at urban church life and church planting. We spent the last 4 years discussing this book chapter by chapter with our church plant team. It has shaped our thinking and strategies as well as helped us talk through a whole range of crucial, but easily overlooked, topics.

[Zachary T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very helpful read. I love Keller's focus on Catholicity and reaching the city.

[Mitchell Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really lit a fire in my belly to reach the city. This is a fantastic book to read if you are in a church or campus ministry setting. I would highly recommend reading with others.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to say about this book? Keller is thoughtful and engaging. At the same time, I've rarely had the experience of thinking--that's a really helpful observation, but.... so many times in one book.

Keller shines in explaining how he engages with secular unbelievers in intellectual, edgy New York. His analyses of the different arms of the missional movement and Christian approaches to cultural engagement is excellent, and really useful.

I have two overall general critiques of the book. First, Keller seems to give just a little too much importance to understanding the culture in order to do faithful ministry. That is certainly important, and I appreciate what he is arguing against, but often in the book I was left with a sense that culture should determine the content of our message (i.e. Which scriptural truths should be emphasized overall) not just how we communicate it in a way that could easily allow churches to feel good about neglecting truths that Christ gave his church (or maybe emphasizing those most palatable rather than the ones the culture actually most needs to hear.

Second, Keller's discussion of movements, and the justification for church planting is troubling to me in a way that is difficult to put a finger on. Part of it is where his argument for the strategic nature of church planting over seeking to renew existing churches seems based on unproven assumptions and sloppy statistics. And part of it is simply the felt emphasis on the church is about outward work, with very little said about the church's duty to care for and nurture Christians. Even as I write that, though, I'm thinking of parts where Keller does address the need for equipping saints for ministry, so again, it's not a matter of what's said being wrong, but a matter of emphasis and maybe what's not said. I wonder if some of this is a consequence of this book being adapted from lectures.

There is a lot to learn from Keller, even where I fear that his emphases can unintentionally lead to pragmatic church ministries focused more on building platforms than shepherding the people God has given them. He is well worth the time. Even at points where I disagree, I learned from him. I am truly thankful for this man, his ministry, and his desire to plant many churches for the sake of the Lord's kingdom.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have aligned (and again) myself with the missional emphasis in reformed theology and I have also been critical elsewhere (and again). I also recommended highly Kevin DeYoung’s What is the Mission of the Church? (buy) for a balanced critique of the missional movement. While stressing the importance of good works as fruit of our faith, DeYoung is clearly outside of the missional camp. Now I will recommend Keller’s Center Church which also stresses the importance of good works as fruit of our faith, Keller though is clearly inside the missional camp. Many areas of concern in missional theology are balanced and corrected in Keller’s Center Church. Even those who are not missional-minded would be served well by Keller (even if you might find his discussion of the importance of city and other items disproportionate).

I usually don’t note formatting but the format for Center Church is different so worth noting. It’s a slightly larger page layout. This, I assume, is partly because it’s laid-out in double columns. Graphics, tables, and sidebars are frequent. It almost had a textbook-like quality (preview book’s format). And it’s a robust 400+ pages.

Illustration from p. 19
Section 1 discusses gospel theology and renewal. Section 2 argues for the importance of gospeling in cities/cultural centers. He aligns contextualization with the gospel and ends this section with a discussion of biblical cultural engagement. Section 3 moves into missional theology focusing on community, integrative ministries, & movement dynamics (cooperation with other gospel churches in our cities).

He begins with a lengthy discussion of the gospel and establishes the thematic and structure of Center Church early.

Therefore, if you think of your doctrinal foundation as “hardware” and of ministry programs as “software,” it is important to understand the existence of something called “middleware.” I am no computer expert (to say the least), but my computer-savvy friends tell me that middleware is a software layer that lies between the hardware and operating system itself and the various software applications being deployed by the computer’s user. In the same way, between one’s doctrinal beliefs and ministry practices should be a well-conceived vision for how to bring the gospel to bear on the particular cultural setting and historical moment. This is some- thing more practical than just doctrinal beliefs but much more theological than “how-to steps” for carrying out a particular ministry. Once this vision is in place, with its emphases and values, it leads church leaders to make good decisions on how to worship, disciple, evangelize, serve, and engage culture in their field of ministry — whether in a city, suburb, or small town. (p. 15)


So many topics could be discussed. I want to highlight a few strengths in Center Church. First, Keller’s expansion of D. A. Carson’s “The Biblical Gospel” (download the PDF) was enlightening (pp. 38-42). Keller discusses major themes of the Bible and their interconnectedness with gospeling. For example, he examines the themes of home/exile, YAHWEH/covenant, & kingdom relating each to the questions of creation, sin, Israel, Jesus, and restoration. Such balance was struck in this discussion. Everyone seeking to enter the fray in the current scuffle over what is the gospel should read the Carson article and then Keller’s section.

Second, those not entrenched in missional theology can often be suspicious of contextualization. Anyone with that mindset should read Keller’s section on contextualization. He strongly argues against compromising or changing the gospel when we contextualize (p. 89). Keller says we should place the gospel within the context of the cultural narrative we find ourselves,

When we contextualize faithfully and skillfully, we show people how the baseline “cultural narratives” of their society and the hopes of their hearts can only find resolution and fulfillment in Jesus (p. 90)

He also realizes the dangers in contextualization and fights against those abuses (pp. 92-93, 103-105, 119-120). For instance, he points out one mistake: some make the bible and culture equal authorities. This is especially pertinent in our current cultural climate.

Though we may say we make the Bible and culture equally authoritative, in the end we really are not doing so. If we state that what the Bible says here is true but what the Bible says over here is regressive and outdated, we have absolutized our culture and given it final authority over the Bible. Either the Bible has final authority and determines what in the culture is acceptable or unacceptable, or the culture has final authority over the Bible and determines what in the text is acceptable or unacceptable. (p. 104)

Also, his explanation of engaging unbeliever’s worldviews was instructive.

To enter a culture, another main task is to discern its dominant worldviews or belief systems, because contextualized gospel ministry should affirm the beliefs of the culture wherever it can be done with integrity. When we enter a culture, we should be looking for two kinds of beliefs. The first are what I call “A” beliefs, which are beliefs people already hold that, because of God’s common grace, roughly correspond to some parts of biblical teaching. Because of their “A” beliefs, people are predisposed to find plausible some of the Bible’s teaching (which we may call “A” doctrines). However, we will also find “B” beliefs — what may be called “defeater” beliefs — beliefs of the culture that lead listeners to find some Christian doctrines implausible or overtly of fensive. “B” beliefs contradict Christian truth directly at points we may call “B” doctrines. (p. 123; pp. 123-132).

I had never thought about engaging people’s worldview in this way but it made perfect sense. Putting this into practice would go along way in not over-contextualizing (see seeker sensitive) or under-contextualizing (see fundamentalism).

My only “major” criticism (if you can call it that) would be Keller seems to over emphasize the importance of cities in the spread of the gospel. His exegesis of cities in the Bible and cities in our sense seems conflated. I don’t know if our sense of cities, suburb, and country are found easily in the biblical text. There are other minor disagreements you might find like in any book you didn’t write but nothing worthy of mention.

Center Church will be helpful in establishing gospel churches which engage the culture for years to come. This book could easily become a standard work in its field. Anyone interested in missional theology, contextualization, or ecclesiology should check it out. Also, the layout and design lend itself to discussion within a small group. Each section is broken up into much smaller chapters and each chapter ends with questions. Pastors and small groups could easily use this book as a jumping point to refocus the church on the gospel and biblical engagement with the culture.

A free copy of this book was provided by Zondervan

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, thoroughly researched by someone who is also a practitioner.

Keller is in Manhattan, USA, I am in a village in the middle of England, but the principles he wants the reader to get to grips with are applicable anywhere really, and he himself understands that are encourages the reader to think through. It was beneficial for me to read it, and as a matter of fact we have read it together with other elders in our church.

There's plenty of reviews that tell you about what's in the book, I will just mention a few things we've noticed - be prepared for investing many hours in this book - it's 380 pages of double column text. And it's a bit repetitive.
The last section on 'The Movement' was the weakest (it's still 5 star book though!!!), and how he argued for worship to be evangelistic, well, that was way too simplistic and him being Presbyterian should know how his tradition has dealt with what he's saying there in that little chapter, and offers better understanding of it, without sacrificing the goal Keller has there.

But it was a joy to read it, and it's both helpful and stimulating, I have said to my wife upon reading it - I wish that every £15 that we have on our shelves would be equally well spent.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible work done by Keller here. The very brief summary is that this is not "Keller's keys to he created a megachurch in Manhattan". Rather, in typical fashion, he humbly walks through the many aspects to consider in ecclesiology. He's gracious and wise, pointing the various things that different theological traditions do well and how they contribute to the spread of the Gospel. It's a true tour de force, and anyone considering church planting should definitely read it.

[A.ᵕ̈ · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Vou começar a colocar os livros de teologia / religião que leio!)

Li este livro o ano passado. Sinceramente, foi um dos livros que mais gostei de ler! Inclusive, vou relendo partes de vez em quando. É muito bom! É um “abre-olhos” para a realidade eclesiástica atual e qual deveria ser o centro e propósito das igrejas. Recomendo!

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE manual to read and implement as you minister in the local church, especially in urban settings. The concept of theological vision is transferable to any context, however.

Read. Apply. Re-read. Apply.

[Kristopher Schaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, let me say that I really enjoyed this book! Keller is obviously brilliant, he has accomplished a ton for the Lord, and he is a very good author. His book forced me to think in a way that few others that I have read recently have. That was one of the best things about Center Church.

There were also MANY (hundreds?) of practical nuggets that I gleaned! My book has highlighting and notes all over it! Keller’s chapters on church planting and ministry in the city are very insightful! And his chapters on various approaches to the culture within Christianity are probably groundbreaking. They are very, very good.

There were many more positive aspects of the book that I don’t have time to rehash for this review; you will have to read for yourself to find out!

That said, I have concerns about the overall philosophy of ministry that Keller presents. For anyone reading the book, I would also encourage you to read two reviews of the book: the first by Jonathan Leeman (https://www.9marks.org/review/center-...) and the second by Jon Anderson (faculty at Expositor’s Seminary). The Anderson article comes in three parts. Here is part 1 (http://thecripplegate.com/center-chur...), here is part 2 (https://thecripplegate.com/center-chu...), and here is part 3 (https://thecripplegate.com/center-chu...). Anderson is definitely harder on Keller than Leeman is, but both of them notice some of the same problems.

Here were my primary issues with Center Church with quotations from the book behind each point (sorry I don’t have page references).

1. Overemphasizes the importance of contextualization (e.g. “Yet we could also argue that the greatest problem for the church today is our inability to connect with nonbelievers in a way that they understand.”)
* Doing so implicitly downplays the miraculous nature of regeneration/conversion and tempts people to take credit for God’s work.
* It also tempts Christians (and especially pastors) to focus on culture (i.e. relevance) rather than the Bible.
* Distracts from what unbelievers have in common in terms of the sin nature.

2. Comes dangerously close to setting up success as the means of evaluating one’s ministry (e.g. “fruitfulness” over against “faithfulness”)
* This implication can lead to the temptation to make undiscerning accommodations to the culture.
* It also has the potential to discourage faithful Christian ministers.

3. Disagrees that corporate worship is primarily for believers (e.g. “evangelistic worship”)
* This tends to result in watered-down teaching/preaching and can also lead to shallow disciple-making (though I don’t necessarily get the sense that that is the case at Redeemer).
* This philosophy can also lead to the temptation to make undiscerning accommodations to the culture in the areas of music, dress, etc.
* If you are not careful, you could end up affirming unbelievers in their sin.

4. Includes cultural transformation in the mission of the church (e.g. repeated references to “human flourishing,” “common good,” “good of humanity,” or “human thriving”)
* Does not clearly distinguish between the church organic and the church organized.
* Sets up the unbiblical expectation that the church will be loved and accepted by the culture at large (rather than hated and persecuted).
* Distracts from the REAL mission of the church–the Great Commission!

In summary, although I think Keller would want to distinguish himself from broader evangelicalism, I have the same basic disagreements with him as I have with it: too focused on numerical “success,” overly accommodated to culture, distracted with social causes, etc.

That said, I think that a discerning reader has a lot to learn from this book!

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book on the recommendation of a friend and colleague in the Holy Ministry. Although it is from outside of my own confession and communion (the author is a Presbyterian), I found the book to be thoughtful and thought-provoking, insightful and well-written. His treatment of the role of cities in the modern world, and his engagement of various theories of and approaches to ecclesiology and evangelism, were informative and helpful. I appreciated his balanced and even-handed discussion of divergent views, and his serious consideration of past and present positions. The tone or demeanor of his discussion resonated with me.

With all of that, I was struck by the absence of any sacramental sense of the Church's faith and life. The author certainly referenced the Sacraments, at times, almost always in passing and in the context of the typical "Word and Sacrament" cliche'. But what I mean to say, is that the Sacraments simply do not function for Keller as the decisive, definitive, and determinative heart and center of the Church on earth. This isn't terribly surprising, given his Calvinistic pedigree, which he clearly takes seriously. He emphasizes doctrine and teaching, as well as church discipline and governance. Within this perspective, the Sacraments are divine ordinances, which are to be done because of their divine warrant; but, to whatever extent Keller considers them to be "means of grace," he does not deal with them or treat them as such in any significant fashion. Baptism is not dealt with as foundational, and the Holy Communion is not dealt with as central. Neither of these Sacraments, nor confession and absolution, is allowed to function in a normative way for ecclesiology, evangelism, or missions; they are relegated to a peripheral and secondary place.

Similarly, the Liturgy is not dealt with as a divine work, service, and gift, but "worship styles" are treated as a transient matter, more as an aspect of cultural diversity and "contextualization" than of God's gracious dealings with His people through the Gospel. Surprisingly, given Keller's obvious acumen and scholarly approach in many other respects, he far too easily dismisses music to a category of neutral cultural phenomenon, without considering the objective character and quality of music as an aspect of creation. To suppose that all forms and styles and types of music are ultimately equal, and that differences among them are inconsequential, seems rather naive.

In view of this critique, it may seem odd that I would still give the book three stars. There is much about it that I don't agree with, and I can't embrace the author's overall vision because of his failure to allow the means of grace to be the "engine," heart and soul of the Church. His anthropological and sociological information and insights are beneficial and valuable, to an extent, but they finally miss the mark and fall short. Nevertheless, I believe that there is some benefit and value to reading Keller's work, and taking it seriously for what it's worth, especially because it provides a window on the way that many pastors and churches (also among Lutherans) are approaching these topics. A fair critique and constructive criticism, for the sake of the Church, will need to grapple with what authors like Keller are actually thinking and saying and doing.

[Demetrius Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be the best church ministry book I've ever read. It focuses on doing contextualized ministry in urban centers. It reads somewhat like a text book, however it doesn't bog down in tedium. It avoids rabbit trials (aside from perhaps the critique of the two-kingdoms model on pages 212-217). And it doesn't contain a hint of fluff. Chapters 14, 21, 27, and 29 are gold, and the rest of the book is silver refined by years of experience. So much girth, yet chock full of excellent ideas. My wife and I are in the throes of revitalization, so this book, I'm sure, will serve us for many years to come. Thankful to Tim Keller for this amazing resource.

[Cole Shiflet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible. This book was looooong and took me far too much time to finish it, but I am so glad that I read it. Collin Hansen gave me this book nearly a year ago and I read the first few chapters. Over the past month, I read the bulk of the book. I wouldn't want to enter into pastoral ministry without having read this book. Keller's insights are thought-provoking and challenging. Read this book.

[Scott Guillory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been chipping away at this one for a while now. Really great! I think every church planter, church leader/elder/pastor should read this one.

[George P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally appeared at InfluenceMagazine.com.

Timothy Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012). Hardcover | Kindle

Although the majority of Americans continues to self-identify as Christian, American culture is increasingly post-Christian. Evangelical Christians could once assume the broader culture agreed with them about the existence of God, the shape of moral living, and the usefulness of religious organizations. They can no longer do so. The urgent question evangelicals need to ask and answer is how to minister the gospel in this new cultural environment.

Timothy Keller outlines an answer to that question in Center Church. Keller is founder and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and a New York Times bestselling author. Through Redeemer City to City, he mentors young urban church planters and pastors. Keller is also cofounder of The Gospel Coalition, a movement associated with the New Calvinism and the resurgence of a complementarian understanding of gender roles. As a Pentecostal, I disagree with both his Calvinism and complementarianism, though I hasten to add he doesn’t make them points of contentions in his book. Regardless, I believe that Center Church offers a theological vision of gospel ministry that repays careful consideration by ministers across the evangelical spectrum.

Books about church tend to fall into two categories: what to believe (doctrine) and what to do (ministry). Center Church brings the two together in fruitful dialogue, resulting in “theological vision.” Keller writes: “a theological vision is a vision for what you are going to do with your doctrine in a particular time and place.” It develops “from deep reflection on the Bible itself, but it also depends a great deal on what you think of the culture around you.”

Keller organizes his theological vision for ministry around three commitments: gospel, city, and movement. “Both the Bible and church history show us that it is possible to hold all the correct individual biblical doctrines and yet functionally lose our grasp on the gospel,” he writes. “It is critical, therefore, in every new generation and setting to find ways to communicate the gospel clearly and strikingly, distinguishing it from its opposites and counterfeits” (emphasis in original). Keller takes up this task in Parts 1 and 2, which focus on “Gospel Theology” and “Gospel Renewal” (or “Revival”), respectively.

Parts 3, 4, and 5 focus on “Gospel Contextualization,” “City Vision,” and “Cultural Engagement,” respectively. Keller writes: “All churches must understand, love, and identify with their local community and social setting, and yet at the same time be able and willing to critique and challenge it.” These chapters are, in my opinion, the best in a very good book. We often think of missiology as the study of missions internationally—across national, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. What Keller demonstrates is that missiological thinking is relevant intranationally—within our own culture. Evangelicals should not assume, as we have done for so long, that America is a Christian nation. We should rather approach it as a mission field and think of ourselves as missionaries to it.

Finally, Parts 6, 7, and 8 focus on “Missional Community,” “Integrative Ministry,” and “Movement Dynamics,” respectively. This last topic “has to do with your church’s relationships” (emphasis in original). “Some churches are highly institutional,” Keller writes, “with a strong emphasis on their own past, while others are anti-institutional, fluid, and marked by constant innovation and change.” Keller advocates a balanced position between tradition and innovation, drawing on the best of both.

Indeed, balanced is a useful way to describe Keller’s theological vision throughout the book. Keller speaks of “the balance of three axes.” On the gospel axis, the Church must balance between legalism and antinomianism. “We are saved by faith and grace alone, but not by a faith that remains alone,” he writes. “True grace always results in changed lives of holiness and justice.” On the city axis, the Church must balance between only challenging the culture and only appreciating it. “This is based on the biblical teaching that all cultures have God’s grace and natural revelation in them, yet they are also in rebellious idolatry.” On the movement axis, the Church must balance between being an organization (focused on tradition and authority) and an organism (focused on cooperation and unity). “[A] church at either extreme will stifle the development of leadership and strangle the health of the church as a corporate body, as a community,” Keller writes. “The more that ministry comes ‘from the center’ of all the axes, the more dynamism and fruitfulness it will have.”

Center Church is not a quick read. It is a 400-page, two-columned textbook. If you’re looking for easy answers or quick fixes, this is not the book to read. On the other hand, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, reading this book will change the way you think about gospel ministry in a post-Christian era.

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P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book especially for those doing church in large cities. Make no mistake, this looks and reads like a textbook. In some places it was a bit of a slog, but there is a lot of meat on these bones.

If you aren’t already aware, Keller is firmly in the Reformed (PCA) camp - that means I have significant theological and ethical differences from him. I struggled a bit with the narrow range of theologians he quoted in the first section; DA Carson was in almost every chapter there.

But there is much wisdom here to gain from someone that has successfully planted a conservative (though sophisticated) church in Manhattan. His advice on contextualization is especially helpful, and he names the worst impulses of big box-McChurch culture while urging us not to overcorrect.

His emphasis on a balance of ministry is a helpful word at a time when few churches seem to take the whole gospel seriously.

[Clifford Luebben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, well-written, and practical. There’s a reason this is considered one the late Pastor Keller’s landmark works. We get his general ecclesiology. We get his insights in reach post Christian culture. We get his biblical theology of the city, his impassioned call to plant more churches in cities, and key principles on how to best carry this out. The stuff on the city was the most relevant to my current context as I am currently preparing to plant a church in an urban context (not post-Christian however). It was all very validating for my sense of calling and gave me practical insights to use going forward. I would particularly recommend this work to anyone serving or preparing to serve in ministry in a context that is post-Christian and/or urban context

[Joshua Reichard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book a 3 star merely because Timothy Keller whether he believes he is or not argues that the city is the best and pretty much the only place where churches have the best reach. I agree cities are key in the Bible for growth and cultural change, but it is also clear that today the city is a place that is slowly falling apart and people are fleeing it and seeking shelter in smaller towns. We need churches to not only be planted in major cities but we need churches to be plated in small communities and less known places.