Dr. Matthew Bingham’s “A Heart Aflame for God” Receives Award of Distinction
November 24, 2025; WHEATON, Ill.— Crossway is pleased to announce that Matt Smethurst’s Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel (April 2025) has won The Gospel Coalition’s 2025 Book Award in the History and Biography category. Announcing the award, TGC commends, “At the heart of Tim Keller on the Christian Life lies a simple but profound conviction: The gospel changes everything. Matt Smethurst captures the essence of Keller’s ministry by tracing the key themes that shaped his preaching and writing.”
Matthew Bingham’s A Heart Aflame: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation (April 2025) also received an Award of Distinction in the Popular Theology category. “Matthew Bingham enters the [spiritual formation] conversation, urging us to remember and draw from our Reformation heritage, which brims with resources for growth,” writes TGC.
“We are very grateful to see these two books recognized in this way. Both books exemplify why Crossway exists: to help Christians live the Christian life to the glory of God,” says Justin Taylor, Crossway’s executive vice president of book publishing and book publisher. “Matt Smethurst does it through the lens of the teaching of one extraordinary pastor-theologian, Tim Keller, mining all of his writings, and even transcribing all of the sermons from his first pastorate, to provide in one volume what Tim never did on his own: a synthesis of all of his teaching on the Christian life into one volume. Matthew Bingham does it primarily through the lens of the Puritans, helping to recover their biblical approach to spiritual formation. May the Lord continue to use these books to help us walk coram Deo, before the face of God.”
This exceptional biography—Tim Keller on the Christian Life by Matt Smethurst—honors Timothy Keller (1950–2023), an influential pastor, author, and cofounder of The Gospel Coalition, by tracing nearly 50 years of sermons, conference messages, and books. Synthesizing Keller’s work, Smethurst delves into each core component of the Christian life while covering Keller’s views on prayer, suffering, friendship, vocation, and intimacy with God. With theological insight, Smethurst encourages Christians and leaders to pursue a life pleasing to God.
In A Heart Aflame for God, Matthew Bingham analyzes God-ordained spiritual practices modeled by the 16th- and 17th-century Reformers. Drawing from Puritan tradition, Bingham encourages readers to find a balance between having confidence in their salvation through faith with a responsibility for one’s personal spiritual growth. Throughout A Heart Aflame for God, Bingham dives into biblical practices including meditation, prayer, and self-examination from a Protestant perspective.
The Gospel Coalition Book Awards are presented to books in eleven different categories. They are judged on how they offer gospel-centered argument and application, include faithful and foundational use of Scripture (both Old Testament and New Testament), foster spiritual discernment of contemporary trials and trends, and encourage efforts to unite and renew the church.
Founded in 1938, Crossway is a not-for-profit global Christian publishing ministry that publishes gospel-centered, Bible-based content to honor our Savior and serve his church. Crossway seeks to help people understand the all-encompassing implications of the gospel and the truth of God’s word—for all of life, for all eternity, and for the glory of God alone. Crossway is the global publisher of the ESV® (English Standard Version®) Bible, more than 1,000 Christian books, and an extensive list of gospel literature. For additional information, visit crossway.org.
Contact: Sarah DeRosa, sderosa@crossway.org, 1 (630) 682-4300, ext. 6012
