By Bob Holmes
Columbia International University’s fourth president, Dr. Johnny Miller was remembered for his steady leadership of CIU through most of the 1990s, his pastoral heart, and his love for family during a celebration of life in CIU’s Shortess Chapel. Over 200 people attended including family, colleagues and CIU alumni.
Miller passed away on Sunday April 20 at age 81. But April 20 was not just any Sunday.
CIU President Dr. Bill Jones opened the celebration by noting Miller wrote the day’s order of the service 12 years ago.
“Of interest … he asked that the hymn ‘Up From the Grave He Arose’ be sung at his funeral,” Jones began. “Some of you may not know, he passed Easter morning.”
“Remember Your Leaders Who Taught You”
Among those offering tributes was CIU alumnus Jeremy Kingsley (‘94/’96) of OneLife Ministries and OneLife Leadership. Kingsley considered Miller a lifelong mentor with whom he met with regularly for 30 years, beginning during Kingsley’s years as a CIU graduate student.
Fighting back tears, Kingsley talked about the last time he met with Miller, who was then “older and weaker, but his heart and insight were as strong and steady as ever.
“So I brought my notebook like I always did, ready to write as fast as I could to try to capture every drop of wisdom that he would share,” Kingsley continued. “His fingerprints are on every sermon I preach, every team I lead and every believer I disciple. His voice will always echo with love, truth and encouragement in our hearts and ministries. Hebrews 13:7 says ‘remember your leaders who taught you the Word of God, think of all the good that has come from their lives and imitate their faith.’”
From Miller’s Student to Fellow Pastor
Another CIU alumnus, Dr. Brad Mullen (’82) noted how his relationship with Miller changed over years. First, as a CIU student, Miller was his professor. When Mullen became a faculty member, he was Miller’s colleague. When Miller became CIU president, he was Mullen’s boss.
But Mullen mostly recalled when he and Miller later served together in the pastorate at Calvary Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“He never put the spotlight on himself,” Mullen said. “He always redirected it to someone else, and then to the Lord. So, then what I say is ‘thank you, Lord, bless you Lord, for the godly life, and the wonderful ministry legacy led by Johnny Miller, and that that would continue on until Jesus comes.’”
Paw Paw’s Love for Maw Maw
Miller’s five grandchildren also offered their memories, including Christina Haselden (’22). She recalled how her classmates used to ask her what it was like to be the granddaughter of a former president whose picture hung on the wall of the Administration Building and whose name was on the CIU baseball field wall. She would respond that the grandchildren only knew him as “Paw Paw.”
Haselden also recalled her grandfather’s love for her grandmother Jeanne. They were married for 61 years. Through tears she recalled how last Christmas, even though “Paw Paw” was in advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease, he insisted on getting Jeanne a personally purchased gift.
“When we opened presents, I noticed that Paw Paw’s gift to Maw Maw was wrapped in a Wal-Mart bag,” Haselden explained. “He said he didn’t have the fine motor skills to wrap it, but he insisted on getting her something without any help, even if that means it was still in a Wal-Mart bag … His love for Maw Maw has been an example to me of how to treat those you love, and that love for Maw Maw was definitely passed on to me.”
“Johnny Would Want You To Know”
Giving the eulogy was Miller’s pastor, Jack Arrington of Fellowship Bible Church in Columbia. When Miller wrote out his funeral plans in 2013 he listed among the potential Bible passages to be preached, Isaiah 49:1-7.
He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
“Jesus Himself said, ‘I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ That’s the person to Whom Johnny gave his life,” Arrington said.
“When you understand Who that Person is, when you see what that Person has done, when you trust in Him, when you believe that He is God’s salvation to the nations, like Johnny you’ll say, ‘His purpose has got to be my purpose. I’ve got to live so that the nations hear the gospel. So the nations are brought to the light of Christ,’” Arrington continued.
“That is what Johnny lived for. It was his all-consuming purpose in life. He would want to be sure … that you knew Jesus Christ was your Savior. That you had been rescued from the dominion of darkness …
“So, let me ask you a question for Johnny … Do you know Jesus Christ as the Light of the world? … Trusting Him to bring you forgiveness and eternal life through His death, His burial and resurrection? Johnny would want to know that you are absolutely trusting Him and that you know Him as your Savior.”
View the entire memorial service on Vimeo. Learn more about Dr. Johnny Miller, hear his past chapel messages and read his guide “As We Age,” on preparing for your later years of life, at the CIU Alumni Classics page.
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