Early in March, Princeton Theological Seminary announced the winner of their annual Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Teaching and Public Witness: Tim Keller, long-time pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York City. On March 22, Princeton President Craig Barnes announced that the prize would be revoked, due to a rising tide of objections regarding his denomination’s stance on ordaining women and professing LGBT Christians, as well as a “complementarian” view of husband-and-wife relationships. Though he will not receive the prize, Rev. Keller has agreed to give the annual Kuyper lecture on April 6. The pros and cons of Princeton’s decision have been hashed out elsewhere; I’m just thinking how I should respond if I were in his place. (Which, since I hold to a complementarian view, I never will be!)
If you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. I Peter 4:14.
Princeton Theological Seminary would vehemently deny that the insult is to Christ, who preached love and acceptance for all. Wouldn’t Christ be insulted in turn to see prominent pastors—in this day and age—holding to outmoded doctrines that encourage the subjugation of women and the inclusion of fellow believers?
Let’s assume for the sake of argument that the insult is not to Christ. But is it not an insult to the word to God that Christ came not to abolish but to fulfill? Is it an insult to Christ’s servants Peter and Paul, who taught (we believe) under the inspiration of God, at the cost of their lives? And whose teaching the church is built on? The insult is also to generations of witnesses, martyrs, scholars, pastors, translators, evangelists, and other unknown, unsung heroes who now surround us in a cloud.
So, going back to Peter: If Christ identifies with his church, and the witness of the church is insulted, you are blessed.
I believe you’ve been right, all these years, to preach Christ and him crucified at Redeemer Church, in the heart of the secular city. You were right to welcome seekers, sinners, strenuous opponents; right to keep the focus on Jesus through it all, wherever your listeners ended up on secondary and social issues. And you’re right to stand firm on traditional (we might even say, plain-as-day understanding) of those secondary and social issues.
The prize would be nice: another plaque to hang on the wall and a few thousand bucks to bank or give away. I’ll bet you know some people who could the money. But there is an unfading crown of glory waiting its proper time. I hope you give the talk, and I hope it’s gracious and glowing and Christ-honoring—because, remember, you are blessed.