David Miller is a Scottish minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

of the Free Church of Scotland in 2014.

Life

He was born in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

to Scottish parents and spent most of his youth in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, studying Economics at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, graduating in 1981. In 1982, he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

where he befriended his minister, Rev Donald Lamont of St Columba's Free Church, also working in the Church of Scotland bookshop on George Street. Re-inspired, he began studying Divinity in 1985 at the

Free Church College Edinburgh Theological Seminary, formerly known as the Free Church College, is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of ...

in Edinburgh, graduating in 1988. He was then dispatched by the Foreign Missions Board to work in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Here he served in various village schools in the southern

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River,

he river The He River is a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it ...

Kei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

before settling in Dumisani to run their Bible School. From this base he also lectured in various church subjects at

Potchefstroom University The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans language, Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with othe ...

. Here he also obtained a further degree in Theology. In 2002, he returned to Britain, taking up the first ever post as Free Church minister of Cobham near

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2003. In 2014, he succeeded Rev Angus Howat as Moderator of the General Assembly. In 2015, he moved to Duirinish Free Church on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

Family

He was married to Margaret (Meg) Campbell of

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

in 1989. They were married by her brother Rev

Iain D. Campbell Iain Donald Campbell (20 September 1963 – 28 January 2017) was a minister and former Moderator in the Free Church of Scotland. He was a prolific author on a range of Biblical topics and church history. Campbell died in January 2017, and it ...

. They had three sons (born in South Africa): Andrew, Ben, and John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, David 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 21st-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers University of Tasmania alumni