Burying My Heroes
I am running low on living heroes.
Men need heroes. Of that I am convinced. And not just long-dead heroes, although we need those too. Men need living heroes. “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the Word of God to you . . . and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7).
I had four living heroes. Three were what I call my “Preaching Giants” and one is my Missionary Giant. The Missionary Giant is still living and would not want me to name him or say anything else about him at this point. So, I focus here on my Preaching Heroes. I had three. Dad. David Miller. Albert Mohler. I am now down to just one.
Again, this is not to say there are no other preachers or pastors or theologians that I look up to, respect, and enjoy listening to. There are many! But I am talking here about men who impacted me in person and in deeply personal ways. Dad was, and shall always be, Hero #1 for me. He flew away to Jesus 7 years ago. David Miller was Hero #2. He flew away to Jesus just last week, August 7, 2024. I attended his funeral / Memorial Service just two days ago in Heber Springs, Arkansas.
David Miller was the finest expository preacher I have ever heard or known, past, present or future.
I first heard him when he preached a revival for my home church at the time in Jacksonville, NC. I believe it was 1997ish. I had never heard preaching like that. My Dad was an amazing Bible preacher with an unmatched grasp of the entirety of Scripture, but he was not afforded the opportunity to be trained in the exegetical or expository method of preaching a text. To be sure, my Pastor in NC was himself a fine expositor, but he would join me here in saying David Miller had no equal. I sat spellbound. Hanging on every word. Always moved by the Holy Spirit. Stunned at the ability of Brother Miller to preach whole chapters of the Bible without a Bible or notes in front of him. Indeed, as a wheel-chair bound preacher who only had use of his left hand and head and neck, he had to memorize everything of necessity! He was always quick to correct those who spoke of his “gift” of Scripture memory. It was no gift, he quipped. It was hours and hours of work done for the glory of God in the Gospel of Christ. David Miller was determined to live out God’s call upon his life, whatever the personal cost.
David Miller’s preaching was powerful and poignant. Theological and personal. His precision of exposition was legendary. He could say more in thirty minutes than I can in an hour. His vocabulary was deep and wide. His illustrations superb. His facial gestures and vocal intonation far more engaging than any power point. He could teach a profound Doctrine with just a few clear, tightly-worded sentences. His outlines followed the text, line upon line, precept upon precept. Indeed, his evangelistic ministry was called “Line Upon Line Ministries.” I often say to young men aspiring to the office of elder, “You must listen to and learn from David Miller.”
I just want to say it again. I have never heard preaching like that of Brother David Miller, the self-titled “Country Preacher at-Large.” His preaching was doctrinally rich and accurate. His preaching was interesting and attention-grabbing. Although his preaching was serious, he knew how to use his wit and humor appropriately to draw listeners in and keep them engaged in his exposition. His preaching was scholarly and well-researched. Brother David was well-read on a myriad of subjects, but always tied himself inextricably to the absolute authority of God’s Holy Word. He was the first preacher I ever heard clearly expound the Doctrine of Election from the Scripture. And, he did so in typical Miller fashion – with precision and unmatched winsomeness. My Pastor in NC used to say, “David Miller is the only preacher I know who can preach predestination without making anyone mad!”
Brother Miller preached three revivals at our church in NC, and offered lunch sermons as well. I attended every single one. I had Brother David preach a joint revival with two other local churches here in Southeastern Indiana about 8-9 years ago. I deeply regret not having him back, although his schedule was often so booked up that you had to plan several years in advance to get him. Our church was privileged to help pay for his assistant, Brother Eric Smith, to attend T4G in Louisville about a year after they were with us for the revival. It was nice visiting with David in that throng of 10,000 believers. But honestly, I couldn’t help thinking that the organizers of that event should have asked Brother David to preach to that audience. Maybe they just didn’t know that the finest preacher in our generation was in the building?
Brother David was like that. I often tell people he’s the greatest, least known preacher of our day. To be sure, he preached on platforms with some of the well-knowns of evangelicalism. David often preached at the True Church Conference, G3, and was interviewed several times by Wretched Radio. He sat on Q&A panels with the likes of Steven Lawson, Voddie Baucham and Paul Washer. As Dr. Hershael York said at his Memorial Service, “No pulpit was too small or too big for David Miller.” So true. And no matter the size of the audience, you always got more than you bargained for or deserved from Brother Miller.
Brother Miller fought tirelessly in the 80s and 90s to see his beloved Southern Baptist Convention reclaimed by conservative believers who held to Biblical Inerrancy. He was pivotal as a member of the Board of Trustees at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to the hiring of one Dr. Albert Mohler as President of that institution. He introduced Hershael York to Mohler, and the two are still serving together as I write these words! It is difficult to over-estimate his influence and impact upon the SBC, as well as evangelicalism.
David Miler was a lion in the pulpit. His big heart for God and people always poured out as he plead with sinners to come to Christ. His love of Jesus and life in general was contagious. My wife and I, as previously mentioned, first met him in our church in NC about 1997. When he returned two years later to preach another revival for us, he remembered our names! And we grew closer over the years as I entered the pastorate and began texting and calling him from time to time.
David loved his wife, Glenda, and they were married for 55 years. She died a few years ago, and suffered with Alzheimer’s. Dr. York said at his funeral that in her final year of suffering, David would often sit with her and sing to her, “Pretty Woman” to make her smile and laugh. What a picture of Christ and His Church. We were dead in our sins and Jesus saved us and He makes us beautiful, promising to present us to Himself without spot or blemish (Eph 5:27).
While my attempt to eulogize him here has fallen woefully short, I simply want to say that the 30 or so sermons I personally heard him preach have left an indelible mark upon me. Since the very first sermon, I have not, and never shall be the same. I am forever grateful to God for bringing Brother David into my life. I miss him already and terribly.
A powerful preaching voice is gone. O sure, you can Google him and watch or listen to his sermons. And you definitely should (see below for some options). But let’s face it – watching a sermon on video is not the same as sitting under the man of God in person. I am sad for me and thousands more that we will never be able to sit under David Miller’s preaching again. But, I rejoice in Christ our Lord because the powerful preaching voice is now an eternal praising voice!
And by God’s grace in Christ, I shall join my voice with his in eternal praise one fine day.
I was honored to meet David’s son, Josh, and grandson, Malachi at the Memorial Service. David thought they both hung the moon. Josh said in his eulogy, “To most of you, he was a giant. But to me, he was Dad . . . I have lost my hero.”
Me too. It seems I am in a phase of life where I keep burying my heroes. I am thankful my Lord who died for my sin is not lying in a grave. Jesus rose, is alive, and reigns forevermore! And Brother David is one step closer to getting his glorified, resurrected body, free from all suffering or ailments. As David so often proclaimed, “Hallelujah! What a Savior!”
To close this much too lengthy blog post, let me share one of my favorite personal memories of David. When he came to preach for us at Corydon Baptist Church, his RV pulled up behind our building and his assistant began plugging in to our electrical receptacle we had installed just for this occasion. A few yards away was the white pipe, commonly called the Septic Clean-Out. It’s where, I presumed, the RV could connect into our septic system. But admittedly, I was pretty ignorant of that whole process. So, David, perched at the front of his RV in his wheelchair, nodded his head and darted his eyes over towards the white pipe protruding from the ground, and asked me, “Is that the septic hook-up?” To which I replied, “I think so.” His answer and wry smile will forever make me smile . . .
“Son, these are the sorts of things about which a man wants to be certain.”
Amen.
Watch / Listen to Brother David Miller here:
https://youtu.be/yK-iyIIUhig?si=h6Rgp8njvIp-vKNZ
https://youtu.be/C0oy0GzLUpQ?si=ndXiKziRPnIF9Shb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQq0-4hWI8w
by Keith McWhorter