The Keller Family discusses The Global Reach Project

[00:00:01] The Gospel is, you're more wicked than you ever dared believe, but you're more loved and accepted than you ever dared hope. It's when we understand the Gospel that it changes us. For all of us, God put someone in our lives to share the good news of Jesus' transforming love. For many, that person was Tim Keller. God gave Dr. Keller the unique ability to share the Gospel through his sermons

[00:00:30] in a way that connects with hearts and minds across both generations and cultures. And whether we were hearing him for the first time or the hundredth, at some point, the Gospel came to life. And we were forever changed. Now, what might God do through Tim Keller's teaching if it were made available in other languages?

[00:00:55] Today, only about 20% of the global population speaks English and can access Dr. Keller's teachings. What if millions of people who didn't speak English, our family, our friends, our neighbors, and people across the world? What if they could listen to his sermons in their native language? With God's help and your partnership, now they can. The Keller family is working closely with Gospel in Life to translate 500 sermons into 30 of the world's most spoken languages.

[00:01:23] These new translations will increase access to Tim Keller's Gospel-centered teaching to nearly 70% of the global population. To do this faithfully, Gospel in Life is forming global teams of expert translators, pastors, and theologians to translate each sermon with integrity and authenticity. We then use advanced audio technology to recreate Tim Keller's voice, preserving his uniquely engaging and welcoming tone.

[00:01:53] The Gospel is, You're more wicked than you're a pecador. You're more wicked than you're a pecador. You're more wicked than you're a pecador. But you're more humble and accepted than you ever dared hope. God has used Dr. Keller's sermons to transform countless lives. And now, with your help, these sermons have the potential to reach millions more. Will you partner with us today so that people across the world can hear Tim Keller's sermons in their native language,

[00:02:21] encounter the transformative power of the Gospel, and, as God works, be forever changed. You're listening to the Gospel in Life podcast. We're excited to bring you a special episode today, a conversation between Tim Keller's wife, Kathy, and their three sons about a new Gospel in Life initiative called the Global Reach Project.

[00:02:49] Thanks for listening, and stay tuned to hear more about how you can partner with us to sustain this vital project. Tim didn't really think of himself as an evangelist until he got here and started talking to New York skeptics, and the Gospel really did change people. When it hit and it sunk into their lives, it changed people. It wasn't like church as usual.

[00:03:16] Do any of you remember when we would check out at a grocery store? You would tell the checkout lady, our dad's planning a church here in New York. I never said that. You guys did. You said it to the checkout ladies because you were so proud. Because you knew. I don't remember that. I remember being excited for the cookies. Well, yeah, you were the hospitality guy. Yeah, you bought all the cookies for the... Are we allowed to say that after communion, we would go downstairs and any leftover grape juice and stuff, we would... That wasn't me.

[00:03:45] That was definitely me. Yeah, it might have been. I don't know if that's allowed or not. That's why we got the garlic matzai because we wanted it to be... Oh, that's a whole story in itself. Jonathan was the one who was buying the groceries for the hospitality, and I worked it out with the supermarket manager and gave him my credit card, and Jonathan just went and pulled all the cookies, and when we had communion, you got the grape juice and the matzai, but around Passover, there was no regular matzai left, and so he just pulled a couple boxes off.

[00:04:15] It was garlic and onion matzai, so when we had communion that week, it was like... But I think it's important to point out that this was very much a mom-and-pop startup. It was a family. The whole family did it. Dad would not ever want us to kind of point back to him and look at him, and he would really be uncomfortable with that, but I think what's exciting for us is we get to point forward to what he always pointed to, and he always pointed to two things. The gospel changes everything, and it changes you when you put in a way that you can understand it,

[00:04:45] and I think he was laser-focused on that, and I think because of that, there was all this talk of like, well, this is different. People are coming, and then those people are becoming Christians, and then they're bringing their non-Christian friends, and those people are becoming Christians, and so it just sort of overflowed, right? I mean, that seemed to be what we saw in the early years. In one sense, I think it would be fair to say that your father did the work of translation first

[00:05:11] before we have ever gotten to talking about translating it into other languages. He translated it from Christianese into normal speech, and that that was one of the things that made coming to Redeemer or bringing your non-Christian friend, your skeptical friend, to church attractive is because they weren't going to get an earful of Christianese.

[00:05:34] I remember over dinner, he would talk to me about words are either arrow words or boxcar words, and arrow words are you know exactly how it's going to land with the other person, and boxcar words are things that come with a lot of other things. It's like in a boxcar with packages and baggage, and I think that you know really was clear in his delivery and his sermons that he didn't want to do boxcar, you know, sermons of boxcar words,

[00:06:02] so he wanted to make sure that you know what the gospel is saying to you is really going to land. Part of Christianity is the incarnation. It's that Jesus actually comes down. He becomes, he becomes you know human. It's fully God, fully man, but he incarnates, and so there's already a concept of God actually trying to become like us, knows us, to minister to us. Become intelligible. Yeah, but really it's translated. It's God so that we can understand him and see him, and so there's, we get to be able to try, through these sermons,

[00:06:31] try a way to actually incarnate into different languages, into different spaces so that the gospel can go out, and I think in the best way that's actually something really beautiful that could be happening. Yeah, the Global Reach Project really is a can we get the gospel out as far and wide as we can project. That's what it comes down to. It's the gospel. Jesus came speaking Aramaic, and he learned Hebrew, and may have even gotten the smattering of Greek. I don't know, but he learned languages in order to communicate.

[00:07:00] He didn't come down speaking heavenly tongues or something like that, and for us to be translating his message that I've come to rescue you, that I'm, you don't have to work your way up to me. You'll never be able to do it. I've come to rescue you. To take that message and spread it out with other languages feels like a continuance of the incarnation.

[00:07:23] Well, that's one of the things that I think makes Tim's ministry still feel like it is proceeding with this translation project, is that he started the translation with, you know, from the Christian subculture into, you know, normal language. But now it's going into normal language of people all over the world.

[00:07:46] And that's to see the gifts that God gave Tim be spread out to more and more people so that they can hear the good news. Not so they can become the cult of Tim Keller, but so that they can hear the good news of God is just wonderful. But let's be honest. I mean, you guys started translating when you guys were speaking Elvish to each other because you didn't want us to actually understand what you were talking about whenever you wanted to have a conversation. You're just perpetuating a myth.

[00:08:15] We did not speak Elvish to each other. We did memorize a few of the poems and I could understand the poems, but we didn't speak Elvish. The Global Reach Project, you know, it's really interesting, but it is a big undertaking. And I think being able to translate 500 sermons in 30 different languages, that's 15,000 sermons. Each one of those languages has a team behind it.

[00:08:44] And so there's a large number of people that are working on each one of those translations. When you think about the rest of the world and its population, only about 20% of the population speaks English. I think with the Global Reach Project, we're able to hopefully try to get closer to 70%. And I think that's just really exciting. I find the numbers kind of hard to grasp tangibly. Because you're talking about hundreds of millions of people.

[00:09:14] Yeah, because 20%, if you're thinking about how the gospel movement in all the different forms that have sort of arisen since the 90s from the Redeemer Ministries have sort of touched millions of people. We're going from 20% to, you know, 70% and adding 50% of the world that can now access this. It's such a big possibility. It's such a big world. I would implore people to, like, imagine what are the possibilities?

[00:09:43] Because this is a baseline of resources that we're saying now we can deploy this to an even greater amount of people in the world. There's a lot of rogue translations out there already. Just because people are hungry, they take a sermon and they run it through an AI program or they just translate it on their own. But if you're not theologically trained, if you don't know that this word in English doesn't exactly pair up with that word in, say, Hindi.

[00:10:10] And, I mean, the process that Gospel and Life is going through to get these translations done is very rigorous. It has a lot of steps to it just to ensure that it's not just a word-for-word translation, which can be very misleading. But it's also, it's a concept for concept as well that the theology is translating as well as the words are translating. That's long, takes a long time.

[00:10:38] It's a five to ten year long process to get those 15,000 sermons done. And it's more expensive, but it's worth it. It's the platinum product. I don't know if I've ever told you guys this, but I remember I was living in London and somebody handed me a CD of Dad's sermons. And they actually came from part of Romania, I think it was Transylvania. And they were... Transylvania, really?

[00:11:04] Yeah, but what they were doing is they were playing these sermons over the radio and they were pausing the CD. And then somebody was just live translating and pausing. And I remember calling Dad up and saying, Dad, they're doing this. Like, are you okay with that? And he's like, well, yeah, because the Gospel's going out. But this is what we're getting to do now is actually, because of the rigorous process of the translations of the intonations and all that stuff, it's the 2.0 version of that.

[00:11:30] It's basically saying like, hey, we want to have the authentic gold standard that is true to the source and that is rigorous so that people know where to come for Tim Keller's translated sermons. And that there is actually a verifiable, trusted source that people can go to. And importantly in that is that the Gospel stays where it's supposed to be, right? Because it can get mistranslated.

[00:12:00] Right. And not maliciously, but just inaccurately. We want to make sure that we are actually saying the Gospel in the best that we can. And we're trying to therefore translate these sermons to the best of our ability. I know that was a big discussion point with the four of us when we were talking about this initially, that how can we be confident? How can we have assurance that this really is going to be, because, you know, we don't speak all these 30 languages.

[00:12:28] How do we know that these are going to be unadulterated, you know, with strict adherence to, you know, the principles and the Gospel centrality of the sermons. And I think, you know, our initial reaction, like a lot of people is like, oh, you're just feeding this to Claude or, you know, the latest AI agent. And I think, you know, the rigorous process that is outlined for each of these languages really gives us that confidence.

[00:12:56] It's also why it costs a lot of money. I think we're investing in stewardship. I think we're investing in access. I think we're investing in the ability to provide that all over the world. And this is a huge project. I mean, $15 million, it sounds really big.

[00:13:12] But when you realize it's 500 sermons into 30 languages, and I can do my math, that means 15,000 sermons, multiple teams of individuals that are looking over to the text, making sure it's actually saying what it's trying to say, making sure everything is synced up, everything is there. There's multiple processes. When you add it all together, we'll be able to really stand behind and say, this is actually great. This is what was done originally. Now it's been translated and put in. Because as you know, so much is lost in translation. That's the problem. That's why it's even a phrase.

[00:13:41] So we're trying the best that we can that things are not lost in translation. For me personally, really excited to see something so big and so bold, being able to spread across the world and change people. And I know from my experience with dad, these types of big, crazy, bold ideas just sort of excited him so much that we were able to do this.

[00:14:02] Pull people together, have the technology, have, you know, people with professional expertise to actually do this high level of work that would then eventually get to people in another country in their earbuds that would start to actually change their lives. I think he saw all those and he didn't take it for granted. And I'm excited about the beginning of this project.

[00:14:26] I like to think about what this could mean for pastors and churches to get these resources in their hands, particularly in places where it's hard to get gospel resources. You get this impression that on the Internet, there's lots of content and there's so much content out there. But when you get down to particular languages, there's not as much content and there's not as much gospel centered content. We've heard from pastors, we've heard from churches in a lot of these spaces and there's not a lot out there.

[00:14:53] And so it gets me excited to know that there's going to be this resource for them, that they can disciple people that are in their churches. They can give it to folks who are skeptical of the faith and they're not sure if they believe and then say, let's talk about this. And when it's in the language that they live in, that it incarnates into their situation, I think it's going to be very, very exciting to see how God uses this in their life.

[00:15:22] This translation project, the Gospel in Life sermons, are really kind of timeless because they're focused on the gospel and it's not necessarily rooted in any cultural moment that it can transcend cultures and it can be contextualized to those cultures. That's a really good point because I think every culture is always answering questions for its people. You know, what's important? What's wrong with the world? What will put things right?

[00:15:46] And what's beautiful about the gospel, it actually has an answer to each of those questions, but it answers the cultural question differently depending on the culture, right? The culture in the West, the culture in the Middle East. Those are very different cultures, but the same gospel. So we believe that actually if you're actually doing gospel centered sermons, I think dad did those. When you translate them, they can actually translate into other cultures for that very reason. It's so adaptable to time and context.

[00:16:14] The ability for those sermons to continue to be timeless, I think has to do with the gospel. And so even if you're in Kuala Lumpur or you're in London, you're still asking the questions of who am I? There might be different challenges all over the world. You might feel like the culture is different or you might be wrestling with some other issue that is cultural in your part of the world. But you're still asking those questions about how does the gospel help me with that?

[00:16:42] I think that is going to be useful and it's always going to be a need all over the world. Yeah. Yeah. Right now, personally, I continue to more than I ever did before, listen to dad sermons on the Gospel in Life podcast. And what really has been standing out to me now is actually that, you know, we talk a lot about how his sermons and his teachings were so sort of intellectual.

[00:17:06] But I've actually been hearing all the emotion in his voice and all of the all of his teachings and that it really the grace and the gospel were sort of pouring out of him from his own experience. That he did a great job with the intellectual part of it and the academic and, you know, for New Yorkers. But I think what's transferable and what will translate and come through to other cultures is also the emotional part about, hey, can't you see? I want you to see what I see.

[00:17:34] I'm happy that we can actually use the AI in order to replicate his voice in the other cultures because the emotion and the feeling and the stuff that was an inextricable part of communicating the gospel is thereby preserved rather than lost. But one of the things that excites me is that City to City has all these global partners all over the place.

[00:18:00] If we can get these translated sermons in their hands and they can be used in like the fledgling new churches there to like educate the people in their congregations. That's the new generation of church planters for, you know, years to come.

[00:18:18] Dad's sermons that were steeped in New York City are immensely transferable to a world that is now, you know, drastically more urban and increasingly will continue to be urban in ways that, you know, we couldn't have foreseen. You know, guys, as great as dad is, I think it's the gospel. He always was pointing towards the gospel. That's what really ultimately mattered. And he would want and we want people to get the gospel and people to be changed by that. So it's less about dad. It's less about who he is.

[00:18:48] It's more about who Jesus is and what he's done for us. And where does that meet us, where we're at? And I know where that's happened for my life. And I just I'm excited to see where it happens in other people's lives. The Global Reach Project is, you know, will be useful anywhere that these 30 languages will be spoken, including the Western countries.

[00:19:08] These are going to be absolutely able to be used by church planters, but also just regular inhabitants to listen to and for the Holy Spirit to do what it's supposed to do in those times. We don't know how exactly and when hearts and minds change, but we do know that you till the soil and allow things to grow. So this project will will help radically transform those people in those cities and those neighborhoods.

[00:19:39] He had that disposition where he never wanted it to be about him. I get an emotional thinking about it. But that's why I'm really excited about these sermons because they were never about him. It was always about the gospel that he was able to kind of articulate. And if we can get that out to other folks and it it's going to not going to be about my dad. It's going to be about who he pointed to. And it was always what Jesus is, what he does for us, how he meets us where we're at and then how our lives are changed through it.

[00:20:07] So I'm really, really, really excited about that. And if that happens, man, the world will change. You know, he's not in the pulpit, but this is a way to continue his ministry and keep the gospel front and center. We've already had a lot of interest from a lot of people. And I'm very happy and grateful for those of you who have been part of that already.

[00:20:35] But we also want to invite those of you who haven't to be part of the fundraising that we're going to need to bring this project to completion. I mean, it's an expensive project, as we've said, but it's worth it. It's really important. It's important to us as a family. It's important to people who don't even know it's important yet. We're looking for partners to do it with us and be with us for the journey because, I mean, donations are just our partnerships.

[00:21:03] I mean, what you're doing is saying, I want to join in this process, in this project, that it's meaningful to be able to get these sermons out. If you would pray about that, just don't forget that the people and the Word of God are the things that last forever. So you can't really invest in anything more durable than something that brings those two things together.

[00:21:29] I think we want to invite people to pray that the sermons are as effective as they were, translated as they are in English, that people will be able to share them widely with their communities, and that the gifts come in to support this, that we have the donations, but more important, we have the partnerships. And we do need people to pray. I mean, we can have all the best systems in the world, and if the Holy Spirit is not behind us,

[00:21:56] then it's going to be fairly empty. Yeah, we want to make sure that we're not building our own kingdom, that we're building His kingdom. So one of my prayers is that if this is what God wants, if this is actually how He wants to help spread His gospel, then to bless it and for it to work, and if it's not, then show a different way and build it in a different way. But this is how we feel like we can actually be part of this spread of the good news.

[00:22:24] That's always the ultimate goal at the end of the day, is that people hear who Jesus is in a way that they can understand it, and then it changes their lives because of how the gospel meets them. That's what I'm excited about. When I think about my dad, I think this would be what he was passionate about, was just getting an opportunity for everyone to hear the gospel. The translated sermons are the beginning, not the end. It's an opportunity to open a door.

[00:22:53] On behalf of the Global Reach Project, I just want to thank everybody involved. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen, to hear about this exciting project that we're doing together, and I just want to invite you. I want to invite you to please pray. Pray for the project. Pray for us. Pray for those who might be able to hear the gospel for the first time through this project. Please pray. Also, if you'd like, share. If this is something that's moved you, or you think there's others that you know that might be excited about this project as well, please share that in any way that you want.

[00:23:21] And then lastly, give. We need gifts. It's going to take a lot of people that actually partner with us, that do this together. No gift is too small. No gift is too big. And just thanks again. We really, really, really appreciate your time. Thanks for listening to this special episode. You can learn more about how you can support this effort to share Tim Keller's Gospel-Centered Teaching with more people in their native language, and how you can access some of the sermons we've already translated.

[00:23:51] Just visit theglobalreachproject.com. Again, that's theglobalreachproject.com. We hope you'll join us again tomorrow as we continue Dr. Keller's sermon series on what it looks like to have a heart that's been truly changed by the gospel, because the gospel changes everything, in every language.