A Day With Author Paul Miller

This past week I, with some Pastor friends, was privileged to spend a day with Paul Miller. Paul Miller is the Author of “A Praying Life” (a great book) and a few other books. His father, a hero of mine, is Jack Miller, who wrote, “Outgrowing the Ingrown Church.”

Here a 5 highlights, lessons, quotes, and/or gleanings from our time with Paul Miller:

(1) Beware of the transactional relationship with God. Many Christians live in “transactional relationship” with God. For example: If I do X, then I will receive back Y. When life does not go as planned or expected (figure A) we panic instead of embracing it (figure B) as a real opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ (Phil. 3:7-11). When you think about it honestly, figure B (not A) is what the life of Jesus really looked like.

(2) Embrace the J-Curve. The Christian worldview and perspective on suffering is different from the Epicurean worldview (i.e. Your Best Life Now) and the Stoic worldview (i.e. No Pain No Gain). The Bible informed and Christian worldview is that of a “J-curve” (i.e. Life, suffering, death, resurrection… it looks like the Gospel). The entire Christian life is a “J-curve” and is made of many miniature “J-curves.” When we are expecting and ready to lean into the “J-curve” we will handle life better as disciples of Jesus. In regards to trying to make things right in our own strength and avoid the “J-curve,” Miller stated, “God’s resurrections are better than my resurrections.”

(3) Failure-Boasting Continuum. Many of the “sins of the flesh” can be understood in light of the failure-boasting continuum (see picture below). Within our insecure culture we often seek to locate ourselves on the continuum and then seek to detach from those below us and attach to those above us, whom we hope will lift us higher (i.e. in Corinth people boasted about who baptized them, etc…). Its this simple… when we think we are more successful than someone we ignore them, but when we think someone is more successful than us we want to be around them. Instead of this, the Gospel Christian takes the humble place (i.e. Paul the tent maker) and gets totally off and away from this failure-boasting continuum!

(4) Stay hopeful by only spying on Jericho. Fight hopelessness and cynicism in life and ministry by remembering that God only had Joshua and Caleb spy on one city in Canaan (not every city). We should stop trying to observe and evaluate the landscape of everything with a God-like perspective. There are always details that we are not aware of in every situation. We are not God.

(5) Why we do not pray/prayer advice. “We are prayer-less because we are far too confident we can do life on our own. Prayer is about desperation not discipline.” I was inspired to hear that Paul Miller’s ministry staff tithe their time to prayer (i.e. in a 40 hour work week they pray together 4 hours). In regards to the connection between prayer and leadership, Paul encouraged us with this statement, “The glowing center of leadership is prayer.”

Thankful for this time with Paul Miller. Thankful for Elliot Grudem and his ministry organizing this time for us.