“Keller valued substance over style.”Īs several people pointed out after his death, Keller waited until he was in his late 50s to publish his first book. “Many features of his ministry made him the anti-celebrity pastor, even while he had significant influence and reach,” wrote Katelyn Beaty in the wake of his death. Keller had many famous friends but didn’t flaunt those relationships. He loved the intellectual side of the faith, acquiring multiple theological degrees, writing dozens of books, and even quitting his first pastorate to become a seminary professor.
He cut his teeth at a small, rural church in Virginia and initially resisted the call to New York.
Like their churches, the two pastors couldn’t have been more different. Hillsong successfully drew many people who might not step in the doors of a traditional church: they claimed tens of thousands of converts since its inception.Įven if I knew I wasn’t being theologically fed in the same way as Redeemer, I couldn’t stay away. During announcements or a meet-and-greet, ushers passed out cups of candy and water. Sometimes a small moshpit formed near the stage. Many described their visit as “an experience.” And it was-the dark room, neon stage lights, thumping worship music, and hyped-up message felt like a concert. Doors would open minutes before service, catching the attention of passers-by with lines around the block on a Sunday morning. I was drawn to the family-friendly environment and the feeling of being biblically and morally challenged each week.īut Hillsong’s vibe was exhilarating. One campus hosted a jazz-themed worship service on Sunday evenings. Redeemer Presbyterian’s services were marked by hymns, thoughtful and lengthy sermons often delivered by campus pastors rather than Keller (who rotated between campuses), and after-service coffee hour. I also didn’t get how leadership structures and accountability systems can make or break a church and its leader.ĭespite my naivete, it was hard to miss the stark differences between both churches and their leaders: One formed me. I hardly understood the theological distinctives between a strongly Presbyterian church and a loosely Pentecostal one. I didn’t understand that my unreflective consumerism and curiosity contributed in part to the creation of celebrity pastors. By contrast, “celebrity” pastors like Tim Keller, who finish their race faithfully if imperfectly, seem anomalous.īut a decade ago, many, like me, didn’t know better. We’ve watched many of them fall hard into sin after they were groomed for leadership at a young age and given too much power too fast. Since then, the evangelical church has been waking up to the pitfalls of platforming and creating celebrity pastors. But it wasn’t just the star-studded Manhattan sidewalks that grabbed my attention it was also the churches led by rapidly rising evangelical stars, including Keller and Lentz. After growing up as a homeschooled pastor’s kid in New England, I moved to New York City for undergrad. For two years during college, I attended both churches simultaneously. In the mid-2000s, both Redeemer and Hillsong drew flocks of spiritually curious New Yorkers, and both brought in around 5,000 attendees weekly across several services. The documentary dropped the same day that another New York City pastor made headlines: Redeemer Presbyterian Church’s founder, Tim Keller, died of cancer on May 19. The four-episode exposé features a solemn and emotional Lentz sharing that he was sexually abused as a child, admitting to moral failings (from sexual indiscretions to drug abuse), and describing the conflict among Hillsong leadership and staff. Lentz is now featured in an FX documentary, The Secrets of Hillsong, which examines his string of affairs and the embattled church he left behind. With its nightclub venues and award-winning worship music, his Hillsong church was attracting thousands of diverse young people from around New York City. A trendy evangelical magazine wanted me to profile him. On a sunny March afternoon in 2014, I found myself jumping on the L train from Manhattan to Williamsburg to interview a young, urban pastor named Carl Lentz in his luxury waterfront apartment.
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