I just finished reading 鈥檚 book, . Keller went to be with the Lord on May 19, as many of you know. Hansen鈥檚 book about Keller was released only a couple months prior to Keller鈥檚 passing.

I appreciated this book and received extra benefit from it because it wasn鈥檛 organized like a normal biography. Typically, when I read a biography, I try to discern what factors God used to shape the profiled person into what he or she became 鈥 with hopes that I might somehow grow by observing the subject鈥檚 example. What made this book different from other biographies I鈥檝e read is that Hansen organized his book according to primary influences on Tim Keller. If you are interested in reading a general biography of Keller, this is probably not the book for you. But if you want to delve into the means and personal agents God used to shape Keller鈥檚 spiritual and intellectual life, then this book may be exactly what you need, as it was for me.

Here are some of the influences (personal, situational, geographical) that Hansen highlights:

  • Keller鈥檚 mother, Louise, whose exacting external standards precipitated Keller鈥檚 move away from religious legalism and eventually toward emphasizing grace,

  • Keller鈥檚 diverse academic reading (, , , ) as a religion major at before he was born again,

  • Keller鈥檚 friend, Bruce Henderson, who helped lead Keller to faith,

  • at Bucknell, through which Keller was introduced to the writings of British evangelical intellectuals (, , , , , , ),

  • A core of Christian friends at Bucknell who together experienced small-scale revival, functioned as a close-knit Christian community, and shared Christ to other students on campus,

  • , pastor of the church Keller attended after coming to faith at Bucknell,

  • , who taught Keller how to read the Bible,

  • , his wife 鈥 certainly the most important of all influences on Tim 鈥 in uncountable ways,

  • and the , which seeded Keller鈥檚 growth toward , and modeled Christian community,

  • , especially , , , and , who helped solidify his move into Reformed theology,

  • , especially regarding women in ministry,

  • The 鈥淩obins,鈥 a group of life-long friends of Tim and Kathy,

  • , who taught Keller to long for revival, and commended to him the writings of ,

  • The community of Hopewell, Virginia, and the congregation of , where Keller pastored for nine years,

  • , who was Keller鈥檚 only long-term personal mentor,

  • in Philadelphia, where Keller was a faculty member for five years, and in particular, Keller鈥檚 doctoral advisor and senior colleague, , who helped Keller think through contextualization and urban ministry,

  • , pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Glenside, Pennsylvania, where Keller鈥檚 family worshiped during their years in Philadelphia,

  • The city of New York, and in particular, the way the culture and pressures of the city helped Keller develop apologetics appropriate to secular and sometimes hostile contexts,

  • , consisting of more individuals than can be named,

  • The attack of September 11, 2001, and the effected in New York City and Redeemer Church via that tragedy,

  • Cultural analyses of the post-Christian West by thinkers like , , , and .

After reading about Keller鈥檚 influences (personal, circumstantial, intellectual, geographical), I started thinking about how particular people, books, locations, and decisions have influenced my life. Last night before going to bed, Trudi and I took turns talking through factors that have molded us into what we have become today. That conversation with Trudi reminded me of how the hand of a sovereign God has shaped and guided our lives. I found myself thankful and encouraged as I drifted off to sleep.

That bit of self-reflection was triggered by reading Hansen鈥檚 book about Timothy Keller.

If you have been touched by Keller鈥檚 ministry and want to learn more about the means God used to shape his life, I am glad to recommend Collin Hansen鈥檚 recent book,

and other resources are available at .