Life Is Mostly Edges: A Memoir by Calvin Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this memoir by the great writer/poet Calvin Miller. Best known for his breakout 1975 book--The Singer (eventually part of a Trilogy--Singer, Song, & Finale)--much of Miller's life on the edges was spent as a pastor, at only 2 churches. He spent 25 years at a church in Omaha, Nebraska, from which he almost resigned, given the way his congregants had been treating him & his wife up till then. But on the advice of a friend, he bared his heart & emotions in his final/farewell sermon, and a revival practically broke out...and he ended up staying for 20+ more years and seeing that church grow from a couple hundred to over 2,000 members. Lots of that happened after his groundbreaking (for the Christian book market--thanks, IVP, for taking the chance on Miller!) book The Singer came out, which was a re-telling of the Gospels & Jesus' life in poetic form. Miller went on to publish some 40+ books over his lifetime and was a creative writer & thinker.

Loved the beginning of the book where Miller (who passed into Glory in 2012) described the idea behind the title of this memoir:
"Given the size of the universe, the world I have lived in is quite small, and I have lived it out mostly along its edges. This is not surprising, for life is mostly edges. It is small—like a postage stamp. So small that it all but disappears against the busy days it devours...I do remember enough to know I liked the middle of my stamp more than the edges. This is not unusual. We all like the middle. The middle is safe. You can’t fall off the middle. Only the edges are dangerous. The great lessons, the deep tragedies, the storms of unbearable heart-quakes always happen along the edges. We don’t cry much in the middle, but then we don’t laugh much there either—at least with any belly-deep laughter. Still, every day, nine to five, we suit up for the only contest that can be played along the unsafe edges of our years." Yes, life "on the edges" is risky, dangerous, but also very rewarding and fulfilling.

Miller also spent a number of years on the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theo Seminary, mostly during the rough & tumble 1990s when the battle against liberals & the conservative resurgence was on. I found this section very refreshing--and quite insightful, not to mention humorous--as Miller writes about his interactions with students, deep friendships that developed, and heartaches that occurred in some of the slash & burn going on among the faculty. Miller finally ended his teaching days at Beeson Theological Seminary in Alabama.

This memoir is very poignant, well-written, and full of wisdom grown & garnered through many years of ministry & teaching experience--and is full of Miller's subtle and inimitable humor. Well done, good & faithful servant. I borrowed this from the library; read it on the Kindle.


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