Today my cherished friend, teacher and comrade Chuck Miller went to his eternal home and has joined those who cheer us on in faith. He was such an incredible encourager. Right up to the end he was telling me of how grateful he was for God’s grace and mercy in his life. He was quick to let me know what a privilege it had been to know and serve Jesus, his king. He’d say, “I’m just a guy from a small town in Indiana…”. His humility, his kindness and his love were always generously offered in the name of Christ. I was fourteen when I met him and it seems that everyday since then he has somehow been a voice for the Lord in my life. He helped shape the foundations, along with my parents, of who I am and how I minister in Jesus name. Abiding, loving one another and bearing witness were the priorities he desired to live and share and I am grateful I was fortunate enough to hear them early in my Christian life from him. He understood ministry in ways that always challenged me to see more, and that people, not programs and organizations, were the most important thing to God. As I saw him hours before he passed I was amazed at how he was still seeking to encourage me and remind me that God was using me in his life. He always had greater confidence in me than I did in myself. He always seemed to see things in me that I couldn’t see, blind spots as well as gifts. He loved me when I wasn’t very lovable and in so doing incarnated Christ’s love for me. I am so glad to say he was my friend and that I had the privilege of standing with him and enjoying his insight and wisdom for the past almost fifty years. What is this world’s loss is the Kingdoms gain. Today I rejoice in God’s grace and the gift Chuck Miller has been to me!