 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
James Russell Miller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1840-03-20)20 March 1840 |
| Died | 2 July 1912(1912-07-02) (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Louise E. King |
| Children | 3 |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Christian |
| Denomination | Presbyterian |
| Church | Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) |
| Profession | Author, editor |
| Senior posting | |
| Post | Pastor |
James Russell Miller (20 March 1840 – 2 July 1912) was a popular Christian author, Editorial Superintendent of thePresbyterian Board of Publication, andpastor of several churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
James Russell Miller was born nearFrankfort Springs, Pennsylvania, on the banks of theBig Traverse, which according to his biographer,John T. Faris, is a merry little mill stream which drains one of the most beautiful valleys in the southern part ofBeaver County. His parents were James Alexander Miller and Eleanor Creswell who were ofIrish andScottish origin.
Miller was the second child of ten, but his older sister died before he was born. James and his sisters attended the district school inHanover Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania until, when James was about fourteen, his father moved to a farm nearCalcutta, Ohio. The children then went to the district school during the short winters and worked on the farm during summer.
In 1857, James enteredParsonsfield Seminary and in 1862 he progressed toWestminster College, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in June 1862. Then in the autumn of that year he entered thetheological seminary of theUnited Presbyterian Church atAllegheny, Pennsylvania.
The Christian Commission was created in response to the disastrousFirst Battle of Bull Run. On 14 November 1861, the National Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) called a convention which met inNew York City. The work of the United States Christian Commission was outlined and the organization completed the next day.
In March 1863, Miller promised to serve for six weeks as a delegate of theUnited States Christian Commission, but at the end of this time he was persuaded to become an Assistant Field Agent and later he was promoted to General Field Agent. He left the Commission on 15 July 1865.
Miller resumed his interrupted studies at theAllegheny Theological Seminary in the fall of 1865 and completed them in the spring of 1867. That summer he accepted a call from theFirst United Presbyterian Church ofNew Wilmington, Pennsylvania. He was ordained and installed on 11 September 1867.
Miller held firmly to the great body of truth professed by theUnited Presbyterian Church, in which he had been reared, but he did not like the rule requiring the exclusive singing of thePsalms, and he felt that it was not honest for him to profess this as one of the articles of his Christian belief. He therefore resigned from his pastorate to seek membership in thePresbyterian Church (USA). In his two years as pastor, nearly two hundred names were added to the church roll.
The Old and New School Presbyterian Churches were reunited as the Presbyterian Church (USA) on 12 November 1869, and Miller became pastor of theBethany Presbyterian Church ofPhiladelphia just nine days later. When he became pastor at Bethany the membership was seventy five and when he resigned in 1878 Bethany was the largest Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, having about twelve hundred members.
Miller then accepted the pastorate of the New Broadway Presbyterian Church ofRock Island, Illinois.
In 1880, Westminster College, hisAlma mater conferred on him the degree ofDoctor of Divinity and later in the same year came the invitation to undertake editorial work for thePresbyterian Board of Publication in Philadelphia. Hence, Miller had to resign the Rock Island, Illinois pastorate.
In Philadelphia, Miller became interested in theHollond Mission and eventually became its pastor. During the sixteen months of the pastorate the church membership grew from 259 to 1,164 and Sunday School membership climbed from 1,024 to 1,475.[citation needed]
On 29 October 1899,St. Paul Church in West Philadelphia was organized with sixty-six members. Miller was chosen temporary supply and became pastor in 1906. Miller remained pastor until the year of his death, 1912. The church at that time had 1,397 members.
On 22 June 1870, Miller married Miss Louise E. King ofArgyle, New York, whom he had met two years earlier. They had three children,
Miller began contributing articles to religious papers while at Allegheny Seminary. This continued while he was at the First United, Bethany, and New Broadway churches. In 1875, Miller took over fromHenry C. McCook, D.D. when the latter discontinued his weekly articles inThe Presbyterian, which was published in Philadelphia.
Five years later, in 1880, Miller became assistant to the Editorial Secretary at the Presbyterian Board of Publication, also in Philadelphia.
When Dr. Miller joined the Board its only periodicals were
During his tenure at the board the following periodicals were added:
The Sabbath School Visitor — the Board's oldest periodical — becameThe Comrade in 1909.
From 1880, when Miller first joined the Board to 1911, when he effectively retired because of ill health, the total annual circulation grew from 9,256,386 copies to 66,248,215 copies.
Miller's first book,Week Day Religion, was published by the board in 1880, the year he joined the Board.
Miller's lasting fame is through his books. Many are still in publication.
John T. Faris provides the following Bibliography.
This list is incomplete; it captures only a few of Miller pamphlets, of which there are several dozen. Some publications have alternative titles (e.g. one of Miller's best selling works,Bits of Pasture was renamedIn Green Pastures).
Other books known to exist are:
According to biographerJohn Thomson Faris, Miller sold over two million copies of his books during his lifetime.[1]
ThePresbyterian Historical Society inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, has J.R. Miller's papers including materials from the United States Christian Commission, sermons, and a scrapbook of his articles.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
