Tim Keller ist ein brillanter Denker und kluger Kommunikator. Carey Nieuwhof hat ihn in seinem Leiterpodcast eine Stunde zum Gespräch getroffen. Was hat sich in der Kirche in der westlichen Welt in den letzten Jahrzehnten verändert? Die Kirche erreicht die postmoderne Welt kaum noch! Warum ist das so? Was hat sich geändert zur Situation vor 30, 40, 50 Jahren?

Wie findet die Kirche die Anknüpfungspunkte, um wieder verstanden zu werden. Um die gute Nachricht gut vermitteln zu können? Tim Keller gibt so starke Einsichten. Mein Tipp: „Pflichtlektüre“ für Leiter in der Kirche! Nachtrag: Diese Woche gab Tim Keller (69) bekannt, dass bei ihm Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs diagnostiziert wurde und bat um Gebet!

Tim Keller an Krebs erkrankt!

Tim Keller hat Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs. In aller Welt wird für ihn und seine Frau Kathy gebetet. Tim hat ein paar Zeilen dazu geschrieben:

Dear friend,
As many of you know from my announcement earlier this week, I’m currently undergoing cancer treatment.

I am so grateful for all of the expressions of concern and promises of prayer since my diagnosis of cancer has become public. As I begin chemotherapy treatment my prayer is that the treatment be effective and the side effects be such that I can still read and write and work.

Kathy and I are praying along with these words from John Newton:

„[May we] be ambitious to experience what the glorious Gospel is capable of effecting, both as to sanctification and consolation in this state of infirmity; that we may have our loins girded up, our lamps burning, and by our simplicity and spirituality constrain those who know us to acknowledge that we have been with Jesus, have sat at his feet, and drunk His Spirit.“

In Him,
Tim & Kathy

Das alte Gebet von John Newton (1725 – 1807) könnte man in etwa so übersetzen:

„[Mögen wir] bestrebt sein, um zu erfahren, was das herrliche Evangelium zu bewirken vermag, sowohl was die Heiligung als auch was den Trost in diesem Zustand der Gebrechlichkeit betrifft; dass wir unsere Lenden gegürtet haben, unsere Lampen brennen lassen und durch unsere Einfachheit und Spiritualität diejenigen, die uns kennen, dazu bewegen anzuerkennen, dass wir bei Jesus gewesen sind, zu seinen Füßen gesessen und seinen Geist getrunken haben.“

Auf diesem Auge blind?

Bußbekenntnis von City to City

City to City ist der Arm der Redeemer Church, die Tim Keller gegründet hat, um weltweit in den Großstädten Initiativen und Leiter zu unterstützen, damit relevante und dynamische Kirchen in den Städten der Welt gegründet und gestärkt werden.

Steve Shackelford, der CEO der non-profit Organisation, hat nun ein umfassenderes Bußbekenntnis im Namen CTC veröffentlicht. Das haben bislang nicht zu viele bekannte Organisationen getan. Hier ist es im O-Ton:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice,
Let your ears be attentive
To my cry for mercy.
Psalm 30:1

In the 1951 work, „Montage of a Dream Deferred,“ American poet Langston Hughes published 91 poems about Harlem and its mostly Black residents. On May 30, 2020, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in Atlanta read one:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
and then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Redeemer City to City (CTC) grieves the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. We lament and recognize they are part of the long-stained garment of American history where thousands upon thousands of names could be added. We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ tears down barriers. We cling to the hope that through his life, death and resurrection, the hostility and division that exist between peoples are reconciled. We repent, as those who hold to Christ’s truths, that we have often lived as if Black lives did not matter and allowed our agendas, indifference or politics to divide us. Forgive us in any way we have not walked in step with the gospel concerning these issues.

As an organization, we need to more deeply self-examine and change. While there have been some strides over the last eighteen months, we haven’t been sufficiently aggressive in pursuing, supporting and developing Black and Latino leadership in the US. We repent. Though we have aspired to be a trans-denominational ministry, our training materials and events in the US have lacked the rich presence and leadership of Black and Latino theologians and are still largely distilled through a majority culture theological lens and ministry practices. We repent. A significant portion of our time, expertise and resources in the ministry have been focused on educated white leaders in center cities, and we could have done more as it relates to the historic and systemic segregation in the American church. We repent.

We repent and are actively listening to make decisions that will transform our systems and structures. We have a long road ahead of us, but we are committed to do the work.

• We commit to adopt a posture of humility and equitable leadership, working with our affiliate leaders of color, who have the experience and wisdom to lead our pace for change going forward.
• We commit to work inside CTC with our Black leaders and our other leaders of color and enlist outside experts to help us develop more sustainable and inclusive strategies for ministry to support our continued education.
• We commit to identify policies and practices that require revision and hold ourselves accountable to diversify our leadership to reflect the communities we serve.
• We commit to implement practices that deepen our understanding of discrimination, segregation and oppression as well as how the gospel confronts, dismantles and heals racial division.
• We commit to audit our training so it integrates and honors the rich theological traditions and ministerial practices of Black and Latino leaders.
• We commit to prioritize financial and training resources to support Black leaders and resource Black churches, particularly in underserved communities.

Our faith remains in the redemptive work of Christ Jesus, not in earthly power, economics or human ingenuity. May we be an organization that serves with humility, leads in confession and bears fruit in keeping with repentance.

Sincerely,

Steve Shackelford
CEO – Redeemer City to City