This past week, a large group of Christian entrepreneurs gathered again to discuss what Gospel Entrepreneurship looks like.

The Entrepreneurship Initiative, a part of Redeemer’s Center for Faith and Work hosted the event up high above NYC at the new 7 World Trade Center.  It was the perfect site to engage in discussions about new creation, especially as we could see Ground Zero coming to life on one side of the building while the hustle and bustle of the city was alive and well on the other side.

The best part was hearing Tim Keller speak about “God’s Brand” .  . .

God’s brand is weakness and humility, and nothing can go up against it.

Dr. Keller has been a long time pillar for me in my own faith development and it is always good to be able to struggle with issues such as Gospel Entrepreneurship with Tim Keller in the same room.

I love the way in which Dr. Keller sees the identity of Redeemer must avoid the selfishness of secular culture but at the same time, the tribal nature of mainline denominational churches which can dominate any church’s DNA.

Check out this short video interview clip of Dr. Keller:

QUESTION: Are the stories and images your church projects trying to promote its own brand or God’s brand?

This week, my bible study group kicked off a new 8-week series.

Our group is sitting down with Tim Keller over the next two months to go through The Prodigal God DVD-based study curriculum.  I’m excited since going through the book in a group will most definitely be different than my first read of the book when it first came out.

Our first group discussion already brought out some tangible thoughts and questions to chew on:  Just how do you know if you are really relying upon God for all your needs?  Repentance is a concept easily associated with the younger son’s position, but how can I come to a place of repentance for righteous living?  Do we all need to be able to identify with both sons? . . . and many more.  A lot of the questions started to veer towards how can I ensure that the Gospel is reflected in my life — my daily living?  It’s going to be a great study series for all of us.

But today, I have something to get even more excited about.

I found that latest DVD Bible Study curriculum put out by Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church — and it’s called: GOSPEL IN LIFE!

The materials include the Gospel in Life book by Tim Keller as well as an 8-lesson group study guide curriculum to go along with the book.

This is an intensive 8-session course on the gospel. It will the group members explore and understand how it is lived out in all of life—1st in your heart, 2nd in community, and 3rd out into the world. In each session, Timothy Keller presents a 10 minute teaching segment on the gospel. Session 1 opens the course with the theme of the city: your home now, the world that is. Session 8 closes the course with the theme of the eternal city: your heavenly home, the world that is to come. In between, you will look at how the gospel changes your heart, changes your community, and changes how you live in the world.

Each lesson is broken down into a little over 1 hour each:

• 10 Minutes: A summary of the previous session
• 20 Minutes: the actual Bible study
• 10 Minutes: A teaching video by Timothy Keller
• 25 Minutes: Discussion questions about the message
• 5 Minutes: An introduction to next session’s homework

Session 1: City - The World That Is

Session 2: Heart - Three Ways To Live

Session 3: Idolatry - The Sin Beneath The Sin

Session 4: Community - The Context for Change

Session 5: Witness - An Alternate City

Session 6: Work - Cultivating The Garden

Session7: Justice - A People for Others

Session 8: Eternity - The World that is to Come

QUESTION:  WHAT BIBLE STUDY CURRICULUM ARE YOU CURRENTLY USING IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS? If you have a link to the publisher’s page for it too, please feel free to share it here too!

This Christmas break, I’m sitting down again with Tim Keller and his Counterfeit Gods. It is always refreshing to take in a story or message that’s well told. And that’s what Dr. Keller, lead pastor of Redeemer Pres in NYC does - tell great stories, share some great messages.

As Dr. Keller starts to put out a book a year (I’m eager to find out more about his next book which is apparently on suffering/evil), his unassuming style is being noticed by more and more people. You’ll notice that the buzz about #tk is constant in the Twitterverse. And yet some people can’t get enough of the messages he offers from the pulpit.

If you haven’t been tipped off yet, here’s some good news. Redeemer has released 150 doses of classic Tim Keller. You’ll notice that much of the content that Redeemer has chosen to give away completely free are great to share with friends — especially those that have questions about faith, the Church, and God.

The only issue anyone can have with this huge archive of free sermons from Dr. Tim Keller is that there’s no 1-click to download all 150 mp3 sermons at once.

But if you listen to just one sermon a day during your daily commute, workout, or daily devotion time, you’ll get to spend enough time with Dr. Keller over the next 5 months to the point where you will probably find yourself starting to tell some great stories…share some great messages. Doesn’t that sound like Good News to you?

Tim Keller was recently featured as one of the headliners at this year’s Leadership Summit put on by Willow Creek.

Some of the other speakers on the list are favorites of mine too including Jessica Jackley (the best $25 you’ll spend this year if you try out Kiva.org), Dave Gibbons (Monkey and the Fish and if you’re ever in southern CA, you must visit New Song Church) and Chip and Dan Heath (awesome book! Made to Stick from the moment you see the book cover jacket in person you’ll understand why).

But back to Dr. Keller. . . (more…)