The Jack Miller Archive

“"I remember leaving the sanctuary after a worship service at New Life. Dr. Miller could see the teas of conviction wed to comfort, in my eyes after the service, and he stepped forward and put his hand on my shoulder and asked me, “Joe, when was the last time you did something just because you loved Jesus and were confident that He loved you?” He barely paused and then he asked, “Or perhaps I should say — when was the last time you restrained yourself from doing something just because you love Jesus and you knew that He loved you?” The tears in the corner of my eyes grew in size and number, and he, too, began to seep. He then said, “Your pause says more than you care to admit.”

The tenderness with which he asked the questions, and the tears in his own eyes, and yet the searing and deep cut of the questions, we all united in a mercifully and gently and lovingly and yet truthfully and boldly placed pastoring that I’ve never forgotten. He loved me deep and challenged me true . . .

I have to confess that there were times when I avoided the door of the church because I knew that he might challenge me again. Yet I never avoided him because I doubted his love. I have always been amazed and somewhat confused when people spoke of his gospel-centered preaching as being libertarian. I don’t know that any pastor ever pressed me to see my sin while simultaneously pressing me to see my Savior with greater wisdom and faithfulness in my life.”

Senior Pastor, Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, Lookout Mountain, TN. Graduated WTS in 1978—M.Div.

Compelled by the Gospel: A Tribute to the Life and Ministry of Jack Miller