Cheer Up!: The Life and Ministry of Jack Miller

“We are all indebted to Michael Graham for this labor of love, and for the enormous amount of research he put into this study of Jack, which will bless the church for years to come.”

“My small part in this project was a labor of love. I am so delighted to see its publication. God will be honored. Jesus will be pleased. And, if he is aware of all this, I suspect a humble smile will probably crease the face of Jack Miller, a twentieth-century pioneer of grace.”

“My first encounter with Jack Miller was terrifying. I discovered him with my best friend, Tremper Longman III, after convocation as first-year seminary students. He was surrounded by a gaggle of enraptured students. I grabbed Tremper and told him we had to flee because I knew Jack was dangerous and crazy. After four decades, Jack still troubles and terrifies me as he invites me to live with the wild, bold love of Jesus. Michael Graham brilliantly unfolds the beauty and brokenness of Jack’s life with tenderness and scholarly care. I know Jack far better now, but far more importantly, I know the Jesus whom Jack followed with even greater joy. If you didn’t know Jack Miller, you are about to meet one of the most amazing people of the twentieth century.”

“Cheer Up! is honest, comprehensive, and wonderful! Jack Miller was my friend, and I loved him. My life was changed by knowing Jack— not because of Jack but because he understood the essence of the Christian faith and always pointed me to Jesus. I rise up and call Michael Graham blessed for writing this book, as I do Jack Miller about whom Michael writes. But I mostly rise up and am overwhelmed by the great Savior whom both of them love. And you will rise up and call me blessed for having commended this book to you. Read it, be “cheered up,” and give it to everyone you know!”

“Michael Graham has engaged in an epic journey of research into the historical events and personal experiences of Jack Miller to capture an era of the church, the spirit of the man himself, and the grace of God that made this jar of clay such a vessel of influence for the advancement of the glories of the gospel.”

“My wife and I were deeply impacted in a life-changing way by Jack Miller during a Sonship week in 1995. Our strong commitment to the doctrines of grace became a deep experience of the gospel of grace that transformed our marriage and ministry. I personally experienced that transforming grace again in a fresh way as I read Cheer Up! Michael Graham has written a profound biography that brings to life the power of the Spirit in the life of a sinner saved by grace who never stopped preaching the gospel to himself. Graham weaves the tapestry of Jack’s life together in a way that illuminates the Reformed theological landscape over forty-five years while also showing Miller’s significant impact on many leaders and institutions, including the seminary where I have served in various positions for over twenty years. I highly recommend Cheer Up! It elaborates Jack’s commitment to the inseparable connection of renewal and discipleship with missions and evangelism in a way that makes Cheer Up! a valuable resource for personal growth and ministry renewal.”

“Jack’s godly personal love will never be forgotten, but he is also important historically. John Calvin taught us to know God and ourselves, with each knowledge complementing the other. What good is truth without personal application—and the other way around, too? When in the Lutheran world preaching became abstract and impersonal, the Pietists came along. They told us that preachers should spend more time in preparing their sermon applications and that prayer and counsel in small groups were just as important as going to church. Pietism could become “radical,” though, and minimize the Word. Regrettably, that’s all that many history books remember about it. Westminster Theological Seminary was founded in a reaction against liberalism in the Presbyterian Church, at a time when religious social interests were crowding out careful attention to the Word. So maintaining God’s truth was highest on the seminary’s agenda. Its practical theology professor was inaugurated by being told, “Be sure to remember that practical theology is practical theology.” Understandably, personal application had become suspect. But Jack had learned the hard way the necessity of grasping the personal love of Jesus—otherwise, how could vital ministry ever be done? He learned that in Europe and in harder places for the gospel than at home. With Jack at our side, we’re blessed by being back with Calvin, knowing ourselves and how much we need our Jesus. Westminster’s focus on truth will always be foundational, but we grew and grew personally in our faith as Jack helped us to see Jesus in our hearts. Praise the Lord!”

“Jack Miller was one of the most unusual personalities I have ever met. He took me into his church as an intern, he and Rose Marie brought me into their living room to discuss life-changing ideas with fellow students, he performed our wedding—in short, he was a tremendous mentor. This biography tells his story, “warts and all,” and it is my hope that it will remind God’s people of the leaders he has provided for us and our need to emulate them, without either lionizing them or belittling their contributions.”

“The writings of Jack Miller have had a profound impact on both my personal spiritual walk and my ministry as a pastor. He’s shaped me as a father. Going far beyond strategies for church growth and effective preaching, Jack Miller got at the heart of our calling as believers—to walk as beloved sons and daughters of the King. This book tells the story of Jack’s life and ministry, and it’s a wonderful read for anyone desiring to dwell in the secret place of the Most High.”

“Michael Graham’s Cheer Up! The Life and Ministry of Jack Miller is a vivid and accurate portrait of a professor / pastor / evangelist / repentant sinner whose heart was captivated by God’s grace in Christ and by the powerful presence of his Spirit. I think of Jack as the humblest, boldest follower of Jesus whom I have ever met. His transparency about himself, and his utter confidence in Jesus, challenged cautious, self-protective Christians (including seminary students like me) to risk admitting (instead of hiding) our weaknesses and to actually “live by faith” in God. I’m glad that, through Pastor Graham’s research—especially his interviews with those close to Jack—many others can now meet this extraordinary, controversial trophy and ambassador of divine grace.”

“Jack Miller . . . taught me how to preach grace. Whatever the subject and whatever the text, people were being changed by being brought into connection with the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf. He taught me to preach grace no matter what the text. . . . There would never have been a Redeemer Church in New York City without the impact of Jack and Rose Marie Miller on our lives and hearts.”

“From fellow missionaries, whom he deeply influenced, I came to appreciate and admire Jack Miller. Hurray—thanks to Michael Graham’s book Cheer Up! those of us who didn’t know him personally can now get to know him and how God used him. Thank God for enabling Michael Graham to enable us to more deeply know, appreciate, and be strengthened by the Millers and the lives of the Lord’s servants whom Jack discipled. Finally we get to know more of the depth of this man I haven’t yet met but am looking forward to meeting in our Father’s house—and even more so, after taking in Jack’s story!”

“Spurgeon called tears wept in intercession “liquid prayers.” As I read Cheer Up! I believe I prayed quite a few “liquid prayers.” Michael, with compelling literary force you have portrayed the incisive mind, the expansive insight, the ferocious faith, the relentless repentance, the adoring delight in Jesus, the consuming love for Scripture, and the tireless gospel proclamation that marked Jack Miller. I wept in repentance as I watched over Jack’s shoulder once again. You helped me to follow his ministry of dependence on the Holy Spirit for grace, and the holy fear I felt when I was his student came rushing back. His winsome life of love and service, when I sat under his preaching and teaching, unmasked my spiritual mediocrity. Your account of his life unmasked me once again. Servants of Jesus who welcome truly being made like their Master tend to fascinate the less faithful follower of Jesus with their words and their way—a compelling fascination that is fused to a piercing and convicting godly fear. For both the Savior and one’s own sin simply must be faced in the presence of one like Dr. Miller. Such was the case when I was attending New Life Church, and such was the case as I began and finished this book. I am so thankful to have read this book. Reading it hurt like heaven! Which, to my foolish perception, could seem worse than hell—because heaven wants me to change and hell hopes I never do. The earnest, Christ-centered mirth of the new heaven and the new earth marked the man C. John Miller. It marks this book as well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”

“God used Jack Miller to change so many people’s lives, including mine. Michael Graham has done an excellent job of capturing what made Jack so special to so many people: Jack believed himself to be someone who was in desperate need of the good news of the gospel and also believed that God was delighted to shower grace on desperate sinners. This emphasis on God’s love for broken people spilled over into the way Jack loved others, including those who were still far from knowing Christ. Ultimately, it became the driving force for founding Serge—knowing Christ in order to make Christ known. More than anything else, this dynamic of God’s grace renewing our hearts and sending us out to live missionally in a broken world has been Jack’s legacy at Serge. It is still the heartbeat of our organization to this day. I’m thankful that Michael has made this story available to a wider audience.”

“When people see my wheelchair and ask about my smile, or when they wonder how I’m able to couple a strict orthodoxy with an infectious joy in Jesus, I often parrot a principle I learned years ago from Jack Miller, who said, “Cheer up! The spirit of Jesus is at work in your weakness.” Jack helped me to see that you could be a stalwart Calvinist and, at the same time, praise the Lord like a happy Pentecostal . . . even in the middle of pain and quadriplegia. Sound like a strange mix? In this remarkable book by Michael Graham, you’ll see how joyful zeal and sturdy doctrine should always reside together. I give this wonderful work on the life and teachings of Jack Miller a double thumbs-up!”

“An important chronicle of a twentieth-century Christian leader whose spiritual influence far exceeds his name recognition. Michael Graham has given us a solid overview of Jack Miller’s personal story and institutional impact.”