A Great Scholar With A Pastoral Heart

Pastor Kenneth K. Miller 1934-2011
A GREAT SCHOLAR WITH A PASTORAL HEART
Christian News, Vol. 49, No. 13, March 28, 2011

Pastor Kenneth Miller, one of Christendom’s greatest Old Testament scholars, was called to his eternal home on March 21. His obituary is on page 4.

Dr. Robert Preus, President of Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, wrote in the foreword to Pastor Miller’s Gospel According to Isaiah: “It is a great pleasure to write this foreword. Rev. Kenneth Miller has been my dear friend for more than 30 years. He has been a pastor and preacher for more than thirty years. But he is no ordinary preacher. He is a preacher who has combined a knowledge of the biblical languages with a profound understanding of Old as well as New Testament theology and of the relationship between the two Testaments.

Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne Professor Waldemar Degner wrote that Pastor Miller’s The Prayer for All Seasons, the Lord’s Prayer, amplified and applied for various sorts and conditions of men was “a classic.”

Dr. John Drickamer, who worked on the Fourth Edition of An American Translation of the Bible, wrote in a review of Pastor Miller’s History Explained and Applied: “This book is magnificent. Everyone should study it. The seminarian can learn from it to develop a truly evangelical sermon from the Bible’s historical books. The pastor can use it as a rich resource for ideas and material in preaching on any text that deals with Biblical events - or for making Law-and-Gospel applications in Bible class. The parochial school teacher or Sunday school teacher can use it to pack the greatest possible value and meaning into the precious time devoted to Bible study.”

The Christian News editor, who has known Pastor Miller since seminary days in the 1950s, said in a notice in the May 25, 1992 Christian News promoting Pastor Miller’s books, that he was “A scholar who writes with a pastoral heart.” The editor wrote in 1992:

“K. Miller has been a Lutheran pastor for 33 years. He graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis with an S.T.M. degree and shortly thereafter was about to receive a Th.D. degree in the Old Testament until some thought he found too much evidence for the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament. Pastor Miller is a real Hebrew scholar, and yet writes with a pastoral heart and years of experience in the pastoral ministry. CN highly recommends his books.”

This issue of Christian News has a list and brief summary of some of Pastor Miller’s writings which appeared in Christian News, A Christian Handbook on Vital Issues and the Christian News Encyclopedia.