Please Pray for Tim Keller, Founder of NYC's Redeemer Presbyterian Church: Cancer Diagnosis Announced

Church Leaders ^ | 06/07/2020 | By Megan Briggs

[SeekAndFind]

Tim Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, made a sobering announcement on his Facebook page this morning. Keller, age 69, recently found out that he has pancreatic cancer.

“I feel great and have no symptoms,” Keller wrote. “It was what doctors call an ‘incidental pickup,’ otherwise known as providential intervention.”

Tim Keller: Cancer Diagnosis Came Unexpectedly

Keller told followers he is headed to the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, for additional testing today. He will begin chemotherapy next week in New York City, where he currently resides with his wife, Kathy.

The author and retired pastor, who has been speaking frequently in the last couple years about the problems of nationalism, prejudice, and partisanship in the church, asked those so inclined to pray for him and his family.

You can read the entire update, which Keller posted to his Facebook account this morning, below:

Less than 3 weeks ago I didn’t know I had cancer. Today I’m headed to the National Cancer Institute at the NIH for additional testing before beginning chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer next week back in New York City.

I feel great and have no symptoms. It was what doctors call an “incidental pickup,” otherwise known as providential intervention. I have terrific human doctors, but most importantly I have the Great Physician himself caring for me. Though we have had times of shock and fear, God has been remarkably present with me through all the many tests, biopsies, and surgery of the past few weeks.

If you are willing to pray for me, here are things to pray for:

For God to use medical means or his direct intervention to make the cancer regress to the point of vanishing.

For Kathy and me, that we use this opportunity to be weaned from the joys of this world and to desire God’s presence above all.

For my family to be comforted and encouraged.

For the side effects of treatment to allow me to continue writing and speaking.

Running the race set before me with joy, because Jesus ran an infinitely harder race, with joy, for me. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

-Tim

Please join us in praying for Tim Keller as he and his family navigate this next season of cancer treatment.

[SeekAndFind]

Rev. Tim Keller stepped down as senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 2017 after 28 years of ministry there. He has continued to write, preach, and work with Redeemer’s City To City church planting initiative. Keller requested prayers that he could continue his work despite the side effects of the treatment.

In recent weeks, Keller has shared his Gospel in Life series on the gospel and race and promoted the book on Christian witness amid divides he co-edited with John Inazu, Uncommon Ground.

Keller has a familiar face at the NIH: director Francis Collins. Keller spoke with Collins, a fellow Christian and an award-winning geneticist, last month during an online conversation about faith amid the coronavirus pandemic. Collins has led the NIH amid a historic research push around cancer immunotherapy, including developments for the treatment of pancreatic, prostate, and breast cancer.

Pancreatic cancer can be a particularly hard-to-diagnose and aggressive form of cancer, accounting for about 3 percent of cancer diagnosis in the US and 7 percent of all cancer deaths.

In the past decade, fellow evangelical leaders including theologian Dallas Willard and former InterVarsity Christian Fellowship president Steve Hayner have died after battling pancreatic cancer.

Keller concluded his announcement with a reference to Hebrews 12:1–2: “Running the race set before me with joy, because Jesus ran an infinitely harder race, with joy, for me.”

[luv2ski]

I am really sorry to hear this. My husband and I went to Redeemer Presbyterian when visiting 2 of our children who lived in NYC at the time. I also have read a couple of his books and did a Bible study of his last fall (Romans). He did much to reach the unchurched in NYC. People came from everywhere to attend his services and he had satellite churches all over the city with many times to attend at each.

[CondorFlight]

Pancreatic is a bad form of cancer because usually it is too late to do much about it by the time it is discovered.

Some people have had success taking invermectin (a dog and horse wormer medicine), on the assumption that cancer is a kind of fungus. (You can check the details on the NET.)
It is available on Amazon, and at least it does no harm.
And if you have nothing to lose, it’s worth a try, imho.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Prayers for his health and healing.

[luv2ski]

It does way it was caught incidentally so maybe it’s early enough that he can survive it. RBG has had it for about 11 years!

[Salvation]

Prayers for his recovery from cancer.