Author's Preface (excerpts)

For his colleagues and protégés, Orie is unforgettable. Many describe
him in superlative terms as “the greatest man I ever knew” (Edgar Stoesz)
and as “the most remarkable Mennonite of his generation, perhaps of our
century” (Robert Kreider). But Orie Miller is relatively unknown to those
under sixty. I have come to think of this group—those in leadership roles
as well as those in the pew, those within the Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ household of faith and those beyond—as my primary audience.

The title of this book, My Calling to Fulfill, captures Orie’s lifelong
passion. He responded eagerly, obediently, and repeatedly to the call of
the church to help fulfill its mission to serve humanity. He found honor in
the church’s call, which he believed to be God’s primary means of calling
disciples and healing the nations. Orie was a servant, ready and willing to
go where called. He became a leader, persistent and tireless in calling others
to service.

Miller’s gift was administration—seeing a need, designing a solution,
clarifying its purposes, rallying the church’s support, and calling hundreds
to fulfill the mission. Multiple times he circled the globe, seeing a world
often troubled—broken by war, poverty, and disease. He recognized it as a
world that God loved, and for whom Jesus lived, taught, healed, and died.