C. John Miller - The Heart of a Servant Leader: Letters from Jack Miller

The Heart of a

Servant

Leader

Letters from Jack Miller

C. John Miller

Edited by Barbara Miller Juliani

2004 by Rose Marie Miller

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwiseexcept for brief quotations for the purpose of review or comment, without the prior permission of the publisher, P&R Publishing Company, P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817.

Page design and typesetting by Lakeside Design Plus

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Miller, C. John

The heart of a servant leader : letters from Jack Miller / C. John Miller ; edited by Barbara Miller Juliani.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-10: 0-87552-715-9 (pbk.)

ISBN-13: 978-0-87552-715-4 (pbk.)

1. Christian leadership. 2. Miller, Jack, 19281996Correspondence. 3. Presbyterian ChurchUnited StatesClergyCorrespondence. I. Juliani, Barbara Miller. II. Title.

BV652.1.M537 2004

253dc22

04045677

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part 1: Motivation for Serving: The Glory of God

The Glory of Christ Is the Motive for Getting the Gospel Clear

The Power That Comes When Gods Glory Is Our
Vision

Discovering Our True Motivation: Gods Glory or Our Self-Interest?

Surrendering Our Will Reveals Gods Glory

Clearing the Vision

Part 2: The Basics of Serving: Faith, Humility,
and Prayer

Matters of the Heart

The Marks of True Spiritual Revival

The Only Real Leader You Have Is Jesus Christ

Christ Plants Churches through Prayer

Most Problems Are Faith Problems

Endurance Depends on a Life of Repentance
and Praise

An Emphasis on Grace Leads to Repentance

Those Who Believe Are Given More Grace

Repentance Is Just Humility

Personal Humility and the Obligations of Grace

Our Grace Obligation to Share the Gospel and to Love Others

The Mature Leader Is a Gentle, Kind Learner

The Work of the Holy Spirit and Why Hearts Resist

Practical Applications

Preaching with Power

Leading a Small Group

The Prerequisites for Mission Work

The Authority of Elders

Coping with Culture Shock

A Leader Raises Others Up

Learning to Be a Positive Person of Faith

A Leader Delegates

Planning for the Future

Church-Planting Basics

Learning to Listen

Trusting the Work to Others

Learning to Affirm Your Leader

Love Makes Others Successful

Part 3: Persevering in Serving

Persevering through Spiritual Warfare

Self-Reliance Reveals a Demonic Faith

Satan Is No Match for Jesus

The Weapons of Spiritual Warfare: Humility
and Prayer

Persevering through Conflict

The Gospel Is All about Reconciliation

Dealing with Others Sin Starts with Our
Repentance

Facing Unfair Criticism

The Big Issue: How We Deal with the Issues

Begin by Setting an Example of Faith

Jesus Methods: Gentleness and Humility

Learning to Restore Gently

Following Matthew 18

Christ Breaks Us Down Together

Self-Dependence Is Our Biggest Blind Spot

We All Have Blind Spots

Learning to Discern Who Will Cause Conflict

Knowing the Love of Christ Brings Perseverance

Jesus Is More Concerned with Our Followership Than Our Leadership

Soon We Shall All Meet the Lord

Avoiding Those with a History of Conflicts

Persevering through Change

Stay in One Place Until Youve Been Humbled

For Life to Go Anywhere It Must Have a Death in It

How Does a Knowledge of Gods Love Bring
Direction?

The Process of Reaching Our Goals Is as Important as the Goals

Criteria for Deciding Whether to Stay or Leave
a Church

Part 4: Encouragement

Encouragement for Sinners

Dont Seek Repentance or Faith as Such, Seek Christ

People Who Have Been Forgiven by Jesus Forgive
Others

We Are not Lemons, We Are Sinners

Loving the Unlovable

The Central Conflict: Belief or Unbelief

Fear and Egocentricity Go Together

Knowing the Gospel Means We Can Face Our Sins

Encouragement for Sufferers

Where Do We Seek Comfort?

Letting Go of the Earthly

Gods Appointments Sometimes Are Our
Disappointments

The Love of Jesus Is Unalterable

Shift Your Trust from Yourself to God

Trust Him All the Way

Do Not Take Your Identity from Your Suffering

This World Is Not Our Home

God Is My Home

Life for Others Comes out of Our Dying

Leaning on Jesus Is the Essence of Maturity

Appendix: Recovering the Grand Cause

Timeline of Jack Millers Life and Ministry

Foreword: My Most
Unforgettable Christian

As a boy I enjoyed reading the Readers Digests column, My Most Unforgettable Character. If I could write this column about a Christian, it would be about Jack Miller.

I first met Jack when I was a young seminary student. I came to seminary because I wanted more knowledge; I believed that I could help people change by skillfully reasoning with them. So I signed up for one of Jacks classes thinking that he would help me with that project. Instead he spoke on repentance and humility in the life of the believer, and I felt completely exposed in my pride and arrogance. But I knew that this was just what I needed to hear, and I went home and told my wife Valerie that I was going to get in this mans shadow and learn everything I could from him.

I did get in his shadow, and I found out that what Jack preached he also lived. He preached that the gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to change the hardest heart and then he took that gospel everywhereto counterculture young people, to the inner city, to street gangs, to drug addicts, to intellectuals, to artists, and even to some businessmenand I and other students went right along with him. He taught us to pray and repent as we took the gospel to the world, and then modeled that for us by stopping often to pray and repent himself.

I stayed in his shadow as he planted New Life Presbyterian Church, and I watched as he preached servant leadership and every-member ministry and then put feet on that by giving everyone a job to do; I started as the youth leader. Even when I left to plant a church in the South, I stayed in Jacks shadowoften calling him for advice and then going on mission trips with him as he worked to start World Harvest Mission.

Jacks unexpected death in 1996 left many of us without our spiritual father and mentor. There are many of my peers who would say that Jack Miller was the Christian who had the greatest influence on their lives. Although I dont know how Jack found the time, he mentored many men and women exactly as he mentored meby taking us along with him on his amazing faith journey. Jack taught us to believe the promises, trust the Spirits work, choose humility, and above all to want the glory of God in every way. One friend of mine says that he sees Jacks gospel fingerprints everywhere.

I am so thankful that Jacks daughter Barbara has given herself to this project of editing his letters. When I read through this book I was challenged, convicted, and comforted. As you read you will meet a humble, yet joyful servant of God whose heart reflected his heavenly Fathers heart for the church and the spread of the kingdom of God. These letters are heart to heart and life to life.

Jack was my most unforgettable Christian, but he wanted everything he did to point away from himself and toward the risen Christ whom he worshipped with all his heart. Jack would say that any shadow he cast came from being in the presence of the crucified, resurrected Savior. I know that he would want these letters to be used by the Spirit to point you to Jesus and the sufficiency of His gospel.