Reverend Bob Miller

Miller is new pastor at Sparta United Methodist Church

After 24 years in the ministry, the Rev. Bob Miller has found himself at home in the mountains of Alleghany County.

He recently became pastor of Sparta United Methodist Church and preached his first sermon July 6. He is the successor of the Rev. Beverly Gaska, who left the church June 24 after accepting a reappointment.

Speaking of his appointment to Sparta United Methodist Church, Miller stated, "I had served in Jefferson for five years and had a strong liking for this area and this range of mountains. When I was meeting with the district superintendent, I felt he had something in mind in this district and it turned out to be in Sparta. That just suited me perfect. I've spent most of my time in the mountains and have felt particularly called to lead mountain churches."

He continued, noting the last three churches he has worked in have been the size of Sparta UMC or larger.

Speaking of the mission work done through the church with nonprofit organizations such as Alleghany Christians Associated for Relief and Emergency Services (CARES), Miller said, "I think the church is doing God's work."

The Call

Miller commented he feels he was called by God to preach. He was initially called in his "younger years" while he was serving as an active lay person, youth leader, Sunday School teacher and serving on several committees. At that time, he opted not to go into the ministry. "Then, I started feeling the call again to ministry and I said, ‘No' to God again." While speaking to God he recalls stating, ‘I'm not going to do this, I'll teach youth, I'll teach Sunday School. I'm not a public speaker and I get nervous in front of people.' I immediately felt this withdrawal, that God was pulling back. Soon, I was starting to pray every day asking, ‘God, if this is what you want, then let me know.' I started getting a lot of affirmations. I started out being a lay speaker in some churches and it just grew. It felt very good and I felt more comfortable speaking."

After accepting God's call, Miller explained he began growing more as a Christian through prayer and during the steps from accepting the call through ordination; he was "affirmed" along the way.

In total, Miller spent eight years in school to educate himself toward his goal of being a minister, including four years at Mars Hill and four years in Divinity School at Duke.

Memories

Miller shared memories of his experience as a minister by sharing both the sad and exciting stating, "A whole lot of the Christian journey is a mixture of sorrow and joy." Miller said one of his hardest moments was the death of a 12-year-old boy he had been close to.

"It was very sad, very painful, but it was also very holy," recalled Miller. "It was very affirming in faith. That one's always stuck with me and it was one of my most difficult moments in ministry."

Through time in the ministry, Miller stated he has experienced many incredible moments as well. He said his most exciting moment came when he was given the opportunity to go to Brazil and do mission work.

"Our church sends out mission building teams every year where there is a Methodist influence or we try to establish one. The Methodist church is very strong in Brazil, a place where I felt led to go through prayer. There was a real big problem at the time, and still is, with homeless children. At that time, there was over one million children in Rio de Janeiro." While he was in Brazil, he resided in Consuelo, a location about an hour outside of Rio.

"It was a dynamic experience," recalled Miller. "The church there was just incredible. All of life centers around church for these people. They go to church about five times a week and are very serious about their faith.