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

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.

This great book captivated my mind for one whole year teaching me to better center my whole life around the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a world where it is easy to get caught in ruts of thinking, and selfish resistance to loving my neighbors, Pastor Keller's meticulous attention to detail is evidence of his teacher's heart as he implores ministry minded people to be aware of the people around them to better point those people to Jesus, the only way to eternal life with the Father. This book is not light reading, but it is a deep meditation on how to think about loving God and loving neighbor: the deep love Pastor Keller has is very compelling. As a layperson, I cannot recommend this book enough if you are okay with being seriously challenged to grow your heart, soul, and mind--especially your mind. 'Center Church' is deep and thick with real, substantive love.

This book is an artful exploration of the form and function of the church. That sounds dry. And it looks like a textbook. But it is one of the best books I've read. Tim Keller is the kind of guy who reads 10,000 other books and condenses them along with his lifetime of ministry experience into a thoughtful presentation. It's about balancing all the extremes that people swing towards, and about actively changing cities from the inside.

I'd recommend reading it slowly, discussing it with your fam over several months. It's not a page turner, but I feel like I now have more boxes to organize what I see in the world and in churches around the city.

Normally, when I read something I get really excited about what I'm learning and love to yap about it. With this book, I was awed into silence. God has given His church a genuine gift with this book.

I recently asked someone who taught Theology of Ministry for 13 years if he had read it. His eyes lit up. He said, "As soon as I finished that book [Center Church], I threw away 13 years worth of notes and handouts. This is the way we will do ministry in the 21st century. I just give my students this book." High praise indeed!

There's nothing in this book that is cookie-cutter. Keller provides part of the analysis, but you have to do your own analysis of your own region where you minister. But his analysis of the current culture in which we live and the way we need to reach it is second to none. His scholarship is really impressive. He doesn't crawl into the Ivory Tower, but keeps things focused on the local church.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Through the ministry of 'Redeemer City To City' Pastor Timothy Keller has mentored young urban Church planters and pastors and has helped launch over 200 Churches in many global cities.He brings many important principles on how the gospel of Christ can be effectively brought to the unchurched city(for the most part)cultures.Much of the wisdom and valuable observations have been hammered out in the context of urban metropolitan New York City.The impact of Redeemer Presbyterian Church can be seen throughout the four corners of the earth.

In seeking to answer the question 'How will we make our case to the culture about the truth of Christianity?' he identifies part of the problem that he needed to work through p.19"our doctrinal statements of faith and confessions do not tell us what in our culture can be affirmed and what can be challenged,nor do they speak directly to our relationship to tradition and the Christian past or reflect much on how human reason operates." To say this book is pregnant with valuable insights on how we can impact our culture for King Jesus is a huge understatement.

The author gives a crystal clear presentation of the gospel and that it must be the foundation from which all of our ministry flows.The truth sets people free.The gospel is liberating.Timothy Keller writes p.43"Loving God supremely is the only way to truly love anything else and become your true self,to become truly free." One of the ways the gospel liberates an individual is that it breaks the hold that false gods(the idols of our hearts)have over us and thus the image of the one true living God is being refashioned in us.That image is perfectly seen in Jesus Christ our Lord and as the idols are shattered and cast off in His people,the image of Christ is more clearly reflected in them(they are becoming more like their Savior and less like 'the gods of this age').

The maturity and wisdom that Pastor Keller clearly has in abundance can be seen in so many ways.For example in the chapter 'Intentional Contextualization' he expresses his disappointment at congregations that have just mimicked what Redeemer has done and have not grasped the underlying theological principles and carefully thought though how they can better communicate the gospel in their cultural context.Those who are willing to do that very thing will benefit most from a careful prayerful study of this book.

I want to give an example of one of the ways in which this book has been influencing my life.I live in Orange,New Jersey.In parts of the city there are those who are obviously poor and needy who are begging on the streets.I have given some money often to help a number of them.I have also given some of them evangelistic tracts to read.I have engaged in conversation with some of them from time to time.I am now prayerfully considering how I can do more to help them both spiritually,physically,emotionally... . I will be speaking to the Pastor and elders of the Church where I am a member to see how our Church can have an increasing impact for the Kingdom of God in this needy city.
Center Church(under God's blessing)can not only help transform individual lives but also the corporate life and ministry of Churches and the impact they have on 'Their Jerusalem', could help to usher in a revival that would re-shape the world in which we live.

A good layout of a book not read yet but will soon

Will make you rethink the way you've been doing ministry.

Earlier than I expect

This book was in great condition when I received it.

Clear, complete, correct (in my opinion), and very well written. Good news!