Probably not many qualify. But, as I read the comments on Columbia International University’s Facebook page in tribute upon their fourth president’s passing, I saw it written time and again.

“A great and godly man, a champion of the Word. One of the finest men I have ever known.”

“One of the greatest men I have ever known.”

“A great man of God! His teaching, passion, and example marked and motivated me.”

I didn’t know Dr. Johnny Miller when he was president of CIU. But in the epilogue of his ministry, long after that presidency, I was blessed to know him as both a great man and a great friend.

Johnny began his ministry planting a church in the Houston area, then on to the mission field, in Sweden, the most agnostic country in the world. His teaching and leadership at Columbia International University was bookended by ministering as lead pastor at two large churches, Cypress Bible Church in Houston, where I knew him by reputation, and Calvary Church in Lancaster, PA.

“Johnny was brilliant!”

In comment after comment on CIU’s Facebook page, Johnny’s former students celebrated his talent as a professor–a teacher who could move hearts as well as minds for Christ.

“Brilliant teacher! He kept me riveted in my afternoon Hermeneutics class. Nothing short of miraculous!”

Even at Johnny’s dinner table, he loved asking challenging questions that would prompt us to think. Usually, he had prepared a question or two in advance. The last time we ate with Johnny and Jeanne, he invited us to join him in thinking about something that had become more and more of a focus for him: “What makes for a good funeral?’

But in 2011 Johnny was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. For the next 14 years he battled the disease to keep teaching, writing, and even thinking.

When his symptoms made it difficult to sustain pastoring a large church, the leadership at CIU prevailed on him to return to Columbia, South, Carolina, where he taught classes at the CIU Seminary.

When he could no longer sustain teaching at the Seminary level, he mentored the mostly minority students enrolled in the Associate of Arts in Bible degree offered by CIU at Kirkland Prison, one of his all-time favorite ministries. Passionate about mentoring, one of his CIU students commented on Facebook, “He asked me once about my passion for mentoring and when I gave him a book on the subject, he asked me to find the author, Dr. Bobby Clinton, to help arrange for a faculty retreat. He told the faculty, “If you don’t mentor, you don’t work here.” Johnny mentored students until the prison program was suspended because of Covid. The inmates loved him and missed him deeply.

When Johnny could no longer sustain teaching at the college level or mentor in the prison program, he led a small group Bible Study at our church, Fellowship Bible Church in Columbia. When that became too much for his Parkinson’s, he co-led the group. And occasionally preached or shared his wisdom in a panel at our church.

When that became too much, he still studied and corresponded with many. Still prayed from our pulpit occasionally. With the relentless advance of tremors and brain fog, Johnny kept fighting back with new medical therapies, exercise, and personal coaching. During that season, I will never forget the times when he began to look fragile as he walked to the pulpit or bowed his head to lead us in prayer.

But as he opened his mouth, his voice resumed its power and his frailty was eclipsed by the inner persona of the mighty spiritual warrior he still was. The remarkable transformation always made me smile.

To be great in God’s Kingdom

In Matthew 23:11, Jesus told his disciples, “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” Many who are brilliant scholars and great leaders do not love to humble themselves and serve sacrificially like Johnny did. Another CIU parent wrote on Facebook, “My daughter had no idea the college president was carrying her bags up the steps and into her room! That was who Dr. Miller was…hands and feet of Jesus, who led by example.”

A few years ago, as Johnny and Jeanne approached their anniversary, my husband Jack and I received an invitation to join them in their home where they wished to celebrate that milestone by serving us and a few other couples a four-course dinner. While we remained seated, we experienced firsthand Johnny’s delight in grabbing a towel, draping it over his arm and bringing out our soup, salad, entrée and dessert. I can’t recall what was on the menu, but I will never forget how they served us on their special day, rarely sitting down themselves.

From a former student: “His teaching, and even more his humbleness, impressed me for life.”

Johnny’s farewell

Back in February Johnny had asked my husband, Jack, who was his pastor, to preach at his funeral. In April, when Johnny went into hospice, Jeanne sent Jack two pages of funeral planning notes Johnny had prepared in August 2013.  It was a very helpful document and perhaps something we should all think about putting together for our family members.  He wrote his own obituary.  Listed the funeral arrangements he had made.  Gave the songs he favored.  And, most helpful for Jack, gave several biblical passages that could be used.

One of the passages was Isaiah 49:1-7. It speaks of Israel, the Servant restoring Israel, the nation. That Servant is Messiah Jesus, “the light of the world,” through whom God’s “salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” That’s the person to whom Johnny gave his life.  To know and trust the person of Jesus Christ is also to embrace his God-appointed mission of bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.  That’s what Johnny lived for.  It was his all-consuming purpose in life.

What follows is an excerpt of Jack’s funeral sermon and Johhny’s farewell:

“God’s purpose for His Servant Jesus was not easy to fulfill.  Verse 4, The Servant said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity….”  In verse 7 the Lord calls His Servant the despised One, the One abhorred by the nation.  Jesus, the Suffering Servant, was rejected, mocked, beaten, tortured and crucified. 

“Johnny made a direct application of Isaiah 49 to himself and to all who serve the purpose of bringing God’s salvation to the nations.  To Johnny this passage was not just describing the struggle and suffering of the Lord’s Servant, Jesus.  It foreshadowed what every servant of the Lord might experience.  Bringing God’s salvation to the ends of the earth is not an easy task.  It can shred our emotions.  It can lead to physical suffering, torture and death.

“How do I know this is the way Johnny took Isaiah 49?  I know because of a name he wrote in these verses—twice in one Bible and once in another.  That name was Helen Roseveare.  Do you know that name?  I didn’t.  I had to look it up.  She spoke at CIU when Joanie was a student.  Finding out about that woman opened up my understanding as to why those verses in Isaiah 49 were so significant to Johnny.

Dr. Helen Roseveare was an English missionary doctor who served in the Congo from 1953 to 1973.  She built hospitals and trained local medical staff.  During the Congolese civil war armed rebels broke in and forced her down the hall of her home toward a room where she would be abused and violated multiple times.  She cried out, “Why God? Why?”

Then unmistakeably, not audibly, but in her spirit she heard God’s response: “Can you thank me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why?”  When she said “Yes” she was immediately flooded with peace.  It didn’t stop the pain, the humiliation, the cruelty, but suddenly [everything she was experiencing] was with her Lord and for him.

Imagine Helen Roseveare being brutalized.  Imagine the ugliness of Parkinsons relentlessly taking away Johnny’s ability to control his mind and body.  Imagine Helen and Johnny saying, “Thank you Lord. Thank you for trusting me with this experience even if you never tell me why.”  Now think of your own darkest time.  Can you say, “Thank you Lord. Thank you for trusting me with this experience even if you never tell me why”?

I don’t know if Johnny ever thought about that question during his decline with Parkinsons.  But he wrote Helen Roseveare’s name in his Bibles.  And from Jeanne I know his life was consistent with Dr. Roseveare’s attitude.  Johnny didn’t fight with God about his Parkinsons but accepted it as being allowed by Him.  As you remember Johnny, remember a man who so loved the person and purpose of his Savior that he could thank his Lord for trusting him with awful circumstances.  Let Johnny continue to be your inspiration for a life lived to the glory of God.”

In closing, from CIU’s Facebook page:

“Next to my Dad, Johnny was the godliest man I have ever known.”

“He was an incredible man who loved and served Jesus well. He will be missed.”

“Thankful that God used this man to make an impact for Christ and a love for the Word in my life! He is one of the most influential people in many lives, including my own.”

I’ve been blessed to count Johnny as a friend. His iron sharpened mine. His delight in grabbing that towel inspires me to think low and small. His greatness leaves a large hole in many lives. The man loves Jesus with a contagious desire. “I can’t wait to touch him,” he said, weeks before he passed. I think of you now, my friend, “feasting on the abundance of Jesus’s house,” “drinking from his river of delights,” and “touching him” in deep love and wonder. You make me want to touch him too…

What do you think makes for living a great life?

If you knew Johnny, please add your comments about his life below.