Calvin Miller, author, speaker, pastor and seminary professor, died Sunday, Aug. 19, in Birmingham, Ala., after complications from heart surgery he had less than two weeks ago. He was one week shy of his 76th birthday.

Miller was the author of more than 100 titles, including The Singer Trilogy (InterVarsity Press), which sold 1 million copies in the late 1970s, The Book of Jesus (Touchstone Faith), Into the Depths of God (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group), The Empowered Leader (B&H Academic/B&H Publishing Group) and the recently released Letters to Heaven (Worthy Publishing). Thomas Nelson published his memoirs, Life is Mostly Edges, in 2008.

"As a writer, Calvin Miller offered that rare combination of preacher and artist," said author Philip Yancey. "He looked with the eyes of an artist, sensitive to story, beauty, and human empathy; then he wove it all together in a message of deep Christian hope."

Matt Baugher, vice president and publisher at Thomas Nelson, said Miller's "legacy and the God he served so well are an ongoing inspiration to me and untold thousands of others. Several members of the Nelson team admitted that 'Calvin truly made some dynamic contributions to the development of my heart.' "

In total, Miller's books sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. His final book, tentatively titled The Vanishing Evangelical, is set to release next March by Baker Books/Baker Publishing Group. At the time of his death, he was working on a book about the kingdom. The books he wrote included fiction, nonfiction, devotional, leadership, children's picture books, poetry, specialty Bibles, Bible study guides and many books on the deeper life.

"We are all shocked and heartsick by his sudden passing," said his longtime literary agent and friend, Greg Johnson of WordServe Literary. "He was a true renaissance man if there ever was one. Few knew that he was also a fabulous painter, a wonderful piano player ... he lived to create.

"He was also an insightful and entertaining speaker with a great sense of humor," Johnson added. "He continued to travel more than 30 weekends a year to speak at churches and seminaries. He will be greatly missed by the kingdom and all of us who had the privilege of knowing him well."

Starting in January 1966, Miller pastored Westside Church in Omaha, Neb., where he served as senior pastor for 25 years. During his pastorate, the congregation grew from 10 to more than 2,500 members.

From 1991 to 1998, Miller served as professor of communication and ministry studies and writer-in-residence at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. In January 1999, he joined the faculty of Samford University, Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, where he retired just a few years ago.

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