Dr. Michael A. Milton is the founder and President of Faith for Living, Inc., an outreach ministry advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people possible through every means available so that there will be a multitude of souls safe in the arms of Jesus when He comes again. Faith for Living, as a faith-based 501(c)(3) North Carolina nonprofit corporation, seeks to serve the Church and others through communication, discipleship, and education.
Milton has demonstrated his personal commitment to the Faith for Living mission through his career in ministry, education and public service. A long-time pastor and educator he is presently the James Ragsdale Chair of Missions and Evangelism at Erskine Theological Seminary where he also serves as President and Senior Fellow of the D. James Kennedy Institute. Dr. Milton is, also, the founding Director and Senior Teaching Fellow of the C.S. Lewis Institute of Charlotte and the Carolinas.
Milton is a Board Certified Pastoral Counselor and a Board Certified Chaplain. He is endorsed by the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains.
Dr. Milton served as the fourth Chancellor-President and Chief Executive Officer of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS System), the third president of the RTS Charlotte campus, interim president of RTS Orlando, and held the James M. Baird Jr. Chair of Pastoral Theology at RTS. He was forced to step aside for a sabbatical of healing due to a virus he contracted while on a mission to Africa. His medical condition is improved and stable. A singer-songwriter and recording artist, Milton released a single called “How the Wounded Bird Flies” in November 2013 to reflect on the believer’s journey of affliction that can lead to strength in weakness.
Milton also served as the interim president of Knox Theological Seminary. As an evangelist, he has preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ in numerous points around the globe — from atop the ruins of a dictator’s fallen statue in Albania—when the “iron curtain” fell—to Hindu villages in the north of India and to village chapels in Wales.
Milton was the 12th Senior Pastor since 1840 of the historic First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Under the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America’s Mission to North America and with a faithful core gathered, Milton founded Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, Kansas and founded a Christian academy there as well. He founded a second congregation, Kirk O’ the Isles (PCA), near Savannah GA. Milton has served as a top secret Navy linguist, a manager for two Fortune 50 companies, and was commissioned a U.S. Army Reserve Chaplain. In 2017 Milton founded Trinity Chapel Charlotte (ARPC), a parish Presbyterian model church in South Charlotte.
Michael A. Milton is a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve (retirement date of 28 February 2018). He has served for over three decades in the Armed Forces, a top secret Navy linguist in the Cold War and over twenty-five years as an Army Chaplain. Chaplain (Colonel) Milton presently serves as the Command Chaplain of U.S. Military Intelligence Readiness Command, responsible for Chaplain teams serving the military intelligence community around the nation and the world. A long-time faculty member at the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School, Chaplain Milton was inducted into the inaugural class of the Military College of Preachers by the Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Army in 2008 and was twice awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, among other decorations.
An alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Master of Public Administration, School of Government), Milton has earned other degrees from MidAmerica Nazarene University (BA) and Knox Theological Seminary (MDiv). Milton was awarded the Ph.D. from the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David College. He is also a graduate of prestigious national defense institutions, including the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA and the Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Michael A. Milton was awarded several prizes for his academic work, including the annual Knox Prize in Preaching, the Knox Prize in Systematic Theology, and MidAmerica Nazarene University’s annual Leadership Award. He serves with the rank of full professor, teaching courses in both master and doctoral level programs at several institutions, including Belhaven University, Erskine Seminary, Reformed Seminary, and Lancaster Bible College and Capital Bible Seminary. He has lectured from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, to Monterrey, Mexico and Madras, India, and served on doctoral examination committees at numerous institutions around the world.
As an author, Milton has penned twenty-six books, including Silent No More: Why the Church Must Speak Biblically to State and Culture. The book has been endorsed by Michael Reagan, David Limbaugh, Paul Kengor, and other cultural heavyweights, and has been featured on numerous national radio, television, print and online media outlets. Milton’s commentaries on faith and culture have been published nationally and internationally by numerous online and print publications. In addition to his popular writing, Milton has edited and published numerous peer-reviewed academic articles appearing in leading journals such as the Chaplain Corps Journal and the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. His MPA thesis at UNC Chapel Hill has been published as a textbook, Vocation and Reform: An Analysis of Five Key Areas of Public Administration. His peer-reviewed papers have been selected for presentation at the Evangelical Theological Society annual meetings and the American Association of Church Historians.
ChristianityToday.com has called his music “emotionally moving and musically opulent,” comparing his style and musicianship to Dan Fogelberg and Neil Young.” Michael Milton has recorded with Michael Card, as well as Buddy Greene and noted Nashville studio fiddler Tiger Bell. His music has been reviewed positively by professionals in education and medicine such as Dr. Matthew Alexander, Professor of Family Medicine at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. In 2013, Milton was Broadjam.com’s No. 1 artist in downloads in the Folk-Religious genre twice during the year. His music, through BMI, is included in publishing catalogs in both Los Angeles and Nashville and is available to churches through CCLI. He collaborated with noted pianist Gail Smith to compose a new hymn for congregational singing,”God is Calling.”
Milton lives in North Carolina with his wife, Mae, and their son, John Michael, the youngest of eight children. Their seven adult children are all married and settled throughout the East Coast and Deep South.
Milton’s life verse is from Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ.” Or, as Milton puts it in the title of his autobiography, “What God Starts, God Completes.”
Milton says of his life, “Mike Milton is simply a filthy sinner saved by grace and called to preach the Gospel he once blasphemed.”
—Compiled from McCain & Co. Public Relations, Nashville, TN
References
“Mike Milton thinks like a scholar, but writes like a pastor. He takes subtle issues and, without dumbing them down, explains them in easy-to-understand terms. That is a wonderful gift to the Church.”
Joel Belz, Publisher, World Magazine
“Milton’s deep faith is communicated in a way that is neither preachy nor clichéd. His religious imagery and lyrics touch one’s soul deeply…”
Dr. Matthew Alexander, Professor of Family Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
“Dr. Michael Milton is a pastor, theologian, Gospel singer song-writer and one of the most gifted preachers of the Gospel in our nation today.”
Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse
“Michael Milton is a shepherd who leads his flock by song.”
Michael Card, singer-songwriter
Dr. Michael Milton is one of the church’s most outstanding and committed Christian leaders. He is a man of scholarship, intellect, and insight deeply devoted to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful for his contributions to evangelical thought and the life of our churches. We should all be thankful that his writings are available to evangelical Christians today.”
Dr. Albert Mohler, President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“Thank God for Dr. Michael Milton…”
David Limbaugh, NY Times best selling author, constitutional attorney
“…one of the outstanding Presbyterian ministers in the English speaking world…”
Dr. Terry Johnson, Senior Minister, Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia
“It is only when Christian leaders courageously speak to the vital issues of the day that the distinctive fruits of Christian civilization can begin to flower in a culture: justice, mercy, and humility; art, music, and ideas; freedom, opportunity, and progress; beauty, goodness, and truth. In this much-needed book, Dr. Milton brilliantly, powerfully, and prophetically sounds that Good News proclamation from the rooftops.”
George Grant, Pastor, Parish Presbyterian Church, Franklin, TN
“When Michael Milton speaks we do well to listen. He is articulate and passionate. His concern for the Christian voice to be heard in our country should be shared by all believers in this time of cultural warfare and the loss of conscience in our nation and world.”
Dr. Gordon Reed, Author, Professor of Bible, Pastor
“Mike Milton’s story of God’s amazing grace in his life is powerful.”
Dr. Frank M. Barker, Jr., Founding Pastor, Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL
“Michael A. Milton has written a book that might deal with the most important question of our time. Silent No More is a ‘must read’ if we are to save our nation.”
Michael Reagan, Son of President Ronald Reagan, Broadcaster, Columnist, Author
