Chaplain tells importance of presence

“I serve a convicted felon.” That simple statement, while he admits it may seem controversial to some, resulted in Henry Bernard Miller beginning his service at Georgia’s Jackson Diagnostic and Classification Prison almost ten years.

He continues to serve that convicted felon, Jesus Christ, as he ministers to the 17,000 men who pass through the prison every year.

Miller is the head chaplain at the prison that is home to Georgia’s death row.

He spoke at the weekly breakfast Friday, March 21, at Blue Jeans hosted by the Ridgemen of  The Ridge Community Church. Special guests included members of the church’s outreach groups that work with inmates in the Fannin County Jail, Breaking Chains and Better Man.

Miller told of how he became chaplain, how it was not his plan.

A friend had asked him  to help find a chaplain for the prison. He agreed, and called every preacher he knew, encouraging them to apply.

Then his friend called. She had wanted him to apply, which he had not done. So he did, anticipating nothing would happen.

He was called for an interview, during which his answer was “no” to one question after another about his education and experience.

Then came the final question, “What do you think about executions?”

To which he answered, “I serve a convicted felon.”

He reminded the interviewers of how Jesus, convicted and hanging on the Cross, heard the pleas of another, and put that man before Himself. “Although He had His own issue, He thought about somebody else’s issue first,” Miller said.

“Somebody needs to be there to say “This day you can be with Him”,” Jackson said. Someone needs to be with those men about to be executed. Just as the other man hanging on a cross, the men about to be put to death at Jackson need to know they can be the beneficiaries of God’s grace and mercy.

After the interview, Miller figured he would never hear from the prison again. But he did, for a second interview that went almost exactly the same as the first.

After he had gone home, 5 o’clock passed and the phone call came. The voice on the phone said, “Chaplain Miller.”

Miller could not understand why this had happened, then it was God who spoke to him, “You work for me. You work where I want you to go.”

That was August 2015. He still does the convicted felon’s work at  Jackson prison, even though he could retire.