“There’s nothing sexy here.”
"There’s nothing sexy here. There’s no rock band, no drop-down
theater-size video screen, no 100-member gospel choir—just a few
chamber musicians and a couple of prayer leaders to help the
congregation along in its hymns. The crowd at Redeemer Presbyterian is
overwhelmingly young, single, professional and—for lack of a better
word—sober."
Check out the rest of the Newsweek article featuring Redeemer Presbyterian and their pastor, Tim Keller. Redeemer was recently selected #20 on the list of America’s Most Innovative Churches of 2008.
My brother is part of a group of young professionals in NYC helping to start a church plant of Redeemer. Though I differ stylistically from Tim and Redeemer, I’m so grateful for his church that is giving my brother and his wife a place to love Jesus and others.
This article is interesting and I just listened to Dr. Keller. This makes me wonder about a couple church plants I am aware of in NYC who are struggling to grow at all. Is much of the growth of Redeemer due to his preaching? I find his preaching intriguing and thoughtful but not entertaining at all. As a lead pastor I sense often my people are seeking more entertainment from me as a communicator than preaching and often I feel I am obliged to accommodate. I just wonder if Tim has caught onto something more than style…
It’s interesting, I have a few friends who go to Redeemer. They’re all mid-20′s—mid-30′s young professionals and they all say the same thing: “we love the teaching, but we hate the music.”
That being said, I’ve benefitted from Keller’s teaching for years now.