Tim Keller: 'I always tell young pastors NOT to write books. Most of the time they don't listen to me'

Timothy J Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the author of award-winning title The Reason for God (Hodder & Stoughton). He talks to Sam Hailes about his latest book, Preaching.

Why did you decide to write Preaching?

The book is not a complete preaching manual. Instead it’s a manifesto of how to preach and communicate the gospel. It was my way of saying ‘here’s what I’ve learned in a place like New York City’ and ‘here’s how I think we can in a more sceptical age still preach the word’.

Are there common mistakes young preachers make?

There is no doubt that in theological schools and most preaching training, virtually all the emphasis is on…how do you outline a text, how do you understand these words and what are your reference tools? Almost all the training is there. Therefore the average younger preacher knows almost nothing about how to bring it home to people’s hearts. They don’t know how to connect. My book is to some degree trying to remedy that.