A Million Miles Tour: A Night with Donald Miller

by Chantell Smith

On November 19^th, 2009 I made the trek to what could be relatively described as one of the more metropolitan cities in Alabama, Birmingham, to finally see one of my favorite writers, Donald Miller, in person. 

To be honest, to say that Don is one of my favorite writers is an understatement.  To be frank, I must say that I am a fervent Don Miller fan, some might say to the point of obsession.  I wouldn’t go that far, but perhaps knowing that I custom ordered a t-shirt that said “I ♥ Don Miller” for the occasion would give you an idea. 

Armed with my camera, a notepad, a book to be signed and my t-shirt célèbre, I was ready for my first Don Miller experience at Trinity United Methodist Church.  Birmingham was one of the last stops on his multi-city tour to promote his newest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.   Not only did this stop have the largest attendance with over 1,000 present, it was completely sold out.

Susan Isaacs Warms Up

The night kicked off with a reading from well-known character actress Susan Isaacs, who joined Don on the tour to perform a reading from her book Angry Conversations with God.  Admittedly, my attitude as she mounted the platform was one of, “Hurry up so we can get to Don.”  But I had a change of heart.  Her performance was a heartfelt, humorous dialogue between herself at a point in which she was hurt by life and frustrated in her search for Him, and God, who, with a British accent, gently responded to her accusations. Her frustrations ranged from relationship disaster to career stagnation to being confused and turned off by the various flavors of churches she attended (she ranged from Lutheran to Charismatic), but in the end, it was a message of encouragement. 

Although I got antsy when she got to the Pentecostal leg of her journey (my heart would have fallen had she any harsh indictments), I was pleased to hear that she gained a lot and felt acceptance from the church.  However, I was surprised that one of the things she said she learned from being with Pentecostals that she appreciated and realized she needed in her life was rules.  Hmm.

And Then . . . Don

When he finally appeared, my heart swelled with the same recognition I feel when I read his writing.  He was as I thought he would be—unassuming, with jeans, loafers and a jacket over his un-tucked shirt, hands in his pockets, crossing and uncrossing his arms, never looking quite comfortable in front of the crowd, self-deprecatingly humorous.  He even tripped while giving a spiel on The Mentoring Project and WorldVision.  It was a really bad trip, too.  He went completely off the platform, but thankfully saved himself from taking a dive.  I was horrified, but he recovered nicely as the audience gave him sardonic applause, taking it in stride with the ability to laugh at himself.  It made him seem more human.

He talked to us about the main points and highlights of his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Here’s how the story goes: Don, after writing Blue Like Jazz (his New York Times Bestselling, breakthrough book) and making a killing, basically settled into a boring, loafing, TV-watching-filled life.  But after a couple of directors called him up with an offer to make a movie of Blue Like Jazz, he realized he had the chance to edit his life in order to adapt his memoir into a screenplay.  He also felt the weight of the uninterestingness of his present life.  After going to a seminar on screenwriting and grasping the elements of what makes a story, he realized that the same elements that go into crafting a meaningful story could be applied to living a meaningful life.

Story and Conflict

“Someone who overcomes obstacles to get what they want” is the basic definition of story according to Don.  Another definition of story, he said, was as a sense-making device—putting a series of events into a coherent whole.  The element of story that he spent the most time talking about is that of conflict.  Many times, Christians question the existence of conflict in their lives.  “Why, God?” becomes a constant refrain.  But through examining the elements of story, Don came to the realization that “conflict is the only way the character gets better.”  Think of any acclaimed film or favorite novel—it is the conflict which changes and develops and matures the protagonist.

Jesus Isn’t a Cure-all

The wrap-up to Don’s talk was probably the most controversial.  He critiqued the idea that there’s a hole in our hearts that Jesus is supposed to fill.  He doesn’t deny the longing, the constant human sense that there’s something not quite right that we’ve had since The Fall.  He doesn’t deny the redemption and power of Jesus’ sacrifice. 

Yet he does strike down the idea of Jesus as a religious cure-all.  He critiqued the way that the commercialization and consumerism of our American culture has pervaded Christianity and that we’ve come to see Jesus as a product to sell which is supposed to make everything better.  He cited examples of the apostles’ lives.  If anything, their lives became worse after coming into contact with Jesus—there was struggle and persecution.  But it wasn’t without contentment, and it wasn’t without blessing. 

Don critiqued the fact that in our Christian culture, we often equate blessing with comfort.  Yet according to Don, “Blessing isn’t comfort.  Being blessed is having something so meaningful that you were willing to suffer pain for it.”  That was a bit of a harder core Don than I expected.  But in the end, I agreed.  What makes us truly appreciate the wonderful is the pain we experience before attaining it. 

In the end, A Million Miles Tour was an entertaining, insightful, and encouraging experience.  And Don loved my shirt.  In fact, though he just promised to autograph books due to time constraints, he took the time to write “Chantell, I ♥ you, too” right above his signature—the perfect ending to my story!

ninetyandnine.com

© 2009, Chantell Smith

----------

Chantell Smith remains an avid Don Miller fan in Montgomery, AL.