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Tim Keller Enters Hospice: 'I Can't Wait to See Jesus. Send Me Home'
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated May 19, 2023
Author and pastor Tim Keller entered hospice care at his home Thursday as family members said he is nearing death, nearly three years after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and a pioneer among evangelicals of urban ministry. His New York City Church – which stood on orthodoxy in a city known for liberalism – grew to 5,000 weekly members. He and his wife Kathy launched it in 1989. He stepped down in 2017 in order to lead another ministry, Redeemer City to City, which plants new churches. His sermons can be heard on the popular Gospel in Life podcast.
Keller's son, Michael, posted an update about his father on social media.
"Dad is being discharged from the hospital to receive hospice care at home," Michael Keller wrote.
Health Update: Today, Dad is being discharged from the hospital to receive hospice care at home. Over the past few days, he has asked us to pray with him often. He expressed many times through prayer his desire to go home to be with Jesus. His family is very sad because we... 1/3
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) May 18, 2023
"Over the past few days, he has asked us to pray with him often. He expressed many times through prayer his desire to go home to be with Jesus. His family is very sad because we all wanted more time, but we know he has very little at this point. In prayer, he said two nights ago, 'I'm thankful for all the people who've prayed for me over the years. I'm thankful for my family, that loves me. I'm thankful for the time God has given me, but I'm ready to see Jesus. I can't wait to see Jesus. Send me home.'"
...to see Jesus. I can’t wait to see Jesus. Send me home."
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) May 18, 2023
-Michael Keller
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Although no longer in the pulpit, Keller proclaimed the gospel on social media until the final weeks before he entered hospice.
"If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead," Keller tweeted in April.
If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) April 9, 2023
"It's no more narrow to claim that one religion is the right one than to claim that your one way to think about all religions is the right one," he tweeted in March.
It's no more narrow to claim that one religion is the right one than to claim that your one way to think about all religions is the right one.
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) March 8, 2023
In 2021, Keller said cancer had drawn him closer to God.
"It is endlessly comforting to have a God who is both infinitely more wise and more loving than I am. He has plenty of good reasons for everything he does and allows that I cannot know, and therein is my hope and strength," he tweeted.
I deeply appreciate prayer for my situation! But my main purpose in the last post was to show that having a God who in some ways is beyond our comprehension (esp regarding evil and suffering) is more of a spiritual strength than it is an intellectual problem.
— Timothy Keller (@timkellernyc) December 3, 2021
Related:
Tim Keller's Family Requests Prayer after He Returns to Hospital
'Please Continue to Pray': Tim Keller Faces 'Complications' from Cancer Treatment
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Chinnapong
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
