My name is Joel Miller and I've been pastoring at Cincinnati Mennonite since the summer of 2006.   My wife, Abbie, and I live with our daughters Eve and Lily on the same block as the church building.  We are glad to call Oakley home.  You can’t beat being within walking distance of a library, park, bank, hardware store, grocery store, fair trade coffee shop/children’s bookstore, not to mention the one minute commute to work. Some life experiences that have impacted my formation include: growing up on a farm with three other sibs in Bellefontaine, Ohio; attending Hesston College in Kansas (where Abbie and I met); living for a year in experimental intentional community with four other friends in Atlanta, Georgia; studying sociology at Eastern University in Philly; studying Middle East culture and politics for a semester in Cairo, Egypt; doing a year and a half of Mennonite Voluntary Service in St. Louis, Missouri, living in community with other volunteers and working with Habitat for Humanity and the Institute for Peace and Justice; attending seminary at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, studying Bible, theology, and ministry and becoming better rooted in the Anabaptist tradition of peacemaking and service; and becoming a husband and father.

I keep a weekly blog and also post sermons online.
Blog: http://thewholepeace.wordpress.com
Sermons: http://joelssermons.wordpress.com

A couple passages from scripture that have impacted my approach to ministry:

Genesis 32 - Jacob wrestling with the angel at Penniel.  In my experience, the spiritual journey involves plenty of wrestling and grappling with difficult realities, both theological and mundane.  I value helping lead a faith community that invites this kind of ongoing creative engagement with the 'angel of God' as we encountered it throughout our lives.

Matthew 13:52 - A saying from Jesus after he had taught various parables: "Therefore every scribe who has been trained in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his (or her) treasure what is new and what is old."  I believe that for our spirituality to be vital, we must continually work at integrating the new and the old -- paying attention to the ancient wisdom of our scriptures as well as paying attention to the world around us, and finding the way that God is speaking in our time. 

On a lighter note, in my spare time I enjoy playing with our daughters, running, home improvement projects, and reading.