The family has lost a true brother.
Today I learned of the passing, Sunday, of Keith Miller, author of the 1965 classic, The Taste of New Wine. He was 84, and a young 84 at that. He was in the midst of creating another project – a rather ambitious one – when he contracted pancreatic cancer. He was, of all things, a truth-teller.
He was one of the first to represent a frankness and honesty about struggling to find a meaningful faith in the face of the more prolific spiritual piety that characterized most Christian leaders in the ’50s and ’60s. Keith didn’t hold back. He wasn’t very careful either and was criticized for what some judged as sacrilege.
Keith was one of the honest ones. He didn’t fake anything, so what you saw of the Lord through him was truly the Lord. We will miss him dearly, for though we know he is happy, we are not. There is a great shortage of Christians like him in this world. His passing will leave a hole.
I know all the clichés… he’s with the Lord; he’s happier now; he’s having a great time up there… Well, fine for him, but I’m not. I’m missing his humanity. I’m missing his human perspective. I’m missing the fact that I can call him up and talk to him. Even though I didn’t do that much, I could, and that’s a long ways from knowing that I can’t. He was a fighter, a struggler, and a happy man in the midst of it.
There are so few leaders like him – so few who are willing to tell the whole truth about themselves. Here’s the point for all of us: that’s when you catch the fragrance of Christ on a person – when they are being honest before others and before God. You can’t get it any other way. If someone is hiding, you get the spray-on Christian fragrance, not Christ.
Find out more about the fragrance of Christ at our teleconference Bible study, Catch On, tomorrow night at 7 pm PST, 10 pm EST. Don’t forget to email Marti <[email protected]> to get on our list for your free latest version of our study guide. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to join Marti and me and others from all over the country and Canada.
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John Fischer The Catch 
This reminds me of one of your earlier books with the old man having a dialogue with the young man. The old man walked alongside of the young one and modeled real faith to him. The best piece was the young man assuming the old man didn’t see the pretty girl walked by or that the old man still did’nt struggle with youthful lusts.
Yep. That’s a good one and though it wasn’t about Keith, it could have been. I can imagine him doing the exact same things.
That book was used by God to show me just how legalistic I was. It shook me out of that tree, and I have avoided it ever since.
I also am sorry to hear of Mr. Miller’s passing. I’m acquainted with him through reading “Daily Guideposts” devotional for a number of years, and I liked what he had to say.
This may spur me to find a copy of his book!
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Books plural; not book singular, by the way. He wrote many excellent ones!
John and Marti – I am so sorry – from what you have said about him, I would have liked to have met him.
Wish you enough.
I was fortunate enough to spend several weeks with Keith Miller summer of ’85. He impacted my life. I agree, he will be missed. I’m going to go out of my to call people before it is too late… Thanks for yesterday’s and today’s catches about / connected to Keith.