Phillip Keller: The Shepherd Who Looked at Psalm 23

5 min

Millions of Christians have profited from reading the classic book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Of these millions, very few know about the life and testimony of this beloved book’s author.

Similar to the sheep that he loved, Phillip Keller knew what it was to wander. He also knew the Good Shepherd Who turned him again into the path of righteousness, led him beside the still waters, made him to lie down in green pastures, anointed him with oil, led him through the valley of the shadow of death, and corrected him with the shepherd’s rod and staff.

Weldon Phillip Keller was born in Kisumu, Kenya, on November 28, 1920. His mother, Marian Weller, a brave, Godly young woman, had come with her husband to Africa as a missionary before the First World War (WWI). When her young husband died after drinking contaminated water, she courageously remained in Africa, living among the tribal people and immersing herself in their language. The outbreak of global war cut off any communication between her and her native Canada, and she continued her work in Africa.

After the war, Otto Keller, a friend of Marian’s deceased husband, made the journey to Africa for the cause to spread the Gospel. Otto and Marian soon married, and the Lord blessed them with a son, Weldon Phillip Keller, in the fall of 1920.

Otto Keller was a dedicated missionary of sturdy Swiss heritage. He saw his task as a missionary to be broader than meeting the purely spiritual needs of the African people that he loved. He understood that better land management, better farming practices, and faithful conservation of Africa’s tremendous natural resources would prove to be a lasting benefit to the people of Kenya.

His son, Phillip Keller, grew up among the Africans. The boy learned their language. He learned to stalk gazelles on the savanna. He knew the ways of the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the lion. He loved the sun-drenched plains of his native land. Young Keller was educated at a boarding school in the highlands of Kenya.

At the age of eleven, Keller accompanied his parents to the Western Hemisphere for furlough. During the furlough, his mother was stricken with acute arthritis in the cold, wet North American climate. Not only were those difficult days physically, but they were discouraging spiritually, as the Keller family found Western Christianity to be drifting into spiritual apathy, liberalism, and lukewarm indifference.

Keller’s high school days at a British boarding school were very grueling. His independent spirit rebelled against the strict discipline of the overseer, a former British sea captain. Keller resented the whippings, the rules, the favoritism, and the injustice he saw daily.

The outbreak of another global war and the rise of dictators Hitler and Mussolini engulfed his school as North Africa geared up for World War II. Disheartened by injustice and cruelty, Keller began to doubt and question the validity of Biblical Christianity and the ability of Christ to transform a world so dark and cruel.

By God’s grace, the young man saw the genuine, consistent testimony of his parents. Their faithful example drew him back to his roots, even in a world aflame with war. For university training, Keller went to Toronto to study agriculture and animal husbandry. His hope was to continue his father’s work in helping the people of Kenya manage their land wisely and productively.

In Toronto, he saw again the ravages of intellectualism and skeptical pride. But he reveled in his agricultural studies. During his university years, he also worked on a livestock farm and gained practical insights into cattle management.

However, Keller’s success became his failure. He ceased living for the pursuit of eternal gain and began focusing upon profit in the natural world alone. Keller became a brilliant young rancher. He soon headed west to the Canadian Rockies and became an expert in his chosen field.

This entire time, Keller continued living the Christian life, but he was not fully committed to the Good Shepherd. He married a Godly young Canadian lady named Phyllis Wood, and the young Keller was deeply influenced by her Godly father.

Phillip Keller was working at the time for a government program that developed seeds to rehabilitate the devastated farms of a war-torn Europe. His work took him across the vast mountainous regions of British Columbia. His new bride, Phyllis, traveled with him on these excursions, and they often camped beside lovely lakes and mountain streams, dreaming of the future day when they could own their own ranch.

This dream came true at a place they purchased and named “Fairwinds.” When the abandoned, overgrown farm at the southern tip of Vancouver Island had become available, Phillip and Phyllis had purchased the property. They slowly worked to restore Fairwinds by clearing brush, replanting native grasses, and cultivating the pastures.

The Lord blessed the Keller family with two children, Lynn and Rod. The family flourished at Fairwinds. The Kellers entered into the sheep business, and soon they had a fine herd of strong, healthy sheep. His boyhood in Africa and his education in animal husbandry gave Phillip Keller a head start in the endeavor, and he learned the work of being a sheepman very quickly. Soon, Keller was recognized as one of the experts in the field.

But over time, Phillip Keller’s heart had strayed from the calling of the Good Shepherd. Gradually he had abandoned his desire to serve God on the mission field. His focus had become to build the best sheep ranch on the Pacific Coast. He was constantly improving his stock through careful breeding. His fortune grew as he skillfully worked his land.

Then, one fateful day, God stripped Fairwinds away from the Kellers. The Canadian government demanded that all the farmers sell their land to the government so that an arsenal for the Pacific naval fleet could be built on the peninsula. There was no way out. Providentially, a letter arrived shortly afterward that described the need for a missionary couple to come fill an empty post among the Maasai people of Kenya. Keller perceived that the hand of the Good Shepherd was upon him.

He, his wife, and their two children traveled to Kenya as soon as they could arrange their affairs. They spent a decade serving the needy Maasai people. Keller’s skill and experience in land management helped to restore the African pasturelands that were eroded by overgrazing.

When poor health forced the family to return to Canada, Phillip Keller threw his energies into writing. He had become an expert in wildlife photography and had published his first book, which was about the need for land conservation in Africa. Soon, Keller began writing other books, especially books drawn from the practical lessons that God had taught him over the years.

When his wife died of cancer in 1968, Keller continued his writing, drawn from an ever deeper well of spiritual experience. He married again, this time to Ursula, another Godly lady. Ursula became a wonderful help meet for him. She helped to edit his writings, which the Lord expanded to include fifty books. Of these, the best known by far has been A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. In that book, Phillip Keller drew from his personal experience as a shepherd to describe how the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, cares for His sheep.

Phillip Keller went to be with his Good Shepherd on July 20, 1997, at the age of seventy-six. Keller’s books continue to be a blessing to millions of “God’s sheep” all around the world.

This article is from our Matters of Life & Death teaching series.

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