ChurchTech Institute

12/02/2025

It is hard to explain how crucial Kherson is in the war effort. It is in a strategically vital location. It is also an enormous burr under Putin's saddle. He wanted it very badly. He got it in the early days of the current phase of the war. He lost it. He wants it back. The soldiers, sailors, and marines in Kherson (plus the civilians) know that they are holding some of the most strategically valuable territory in all of Ukraine. The fighting there is fierce: artillery, drones, snipers, and the constant risk of amhibious assault. It has been my privilege to serve alongside the military chaplains there on 5 previous trips. In 4 weeks, I head back. The trip is all paid for. But, if we can raise any extra funds, we would love to brighten the lives of battle-fatigued civilians with some staple foods and a few treats. Please pray that my trip will be safe and productive. So many people, in the midst of daily stress, are eager to hear the Good News. I covet your prayers. And, if you are so inclined, the link to donate is in the comments.

Ukrainian intelligence has obtained secret documents, indicating that Russia is preparing strikes on oil depots and chemical warehouses near the Dnipro delta.…

11/25/2025

The number of times that I have shared "The Hollywood Reporter" corresponds roughly to the number of things that Angelina Jolie and I have in common. But we share one critical common concern: the plight of the people in Ukraine, especially very near the front in Kherson. In 5 weeks I will be heading back there for my 6th trip. Per usual, I will divide my time between delivering aid to civilians and Gospel encouragement to the troops alongside military chaplains. Any extra funds that we raise now will go to purchasing extra food and hygeine items for civilians still living just a few miles from the Russian military. These folks are under contant threat of drone and artillery attacks - plus the nagging concern that one of these days the repeated Russian attemps to mount an amphibious assault across the Dnipro River will succeed. So, I covet your prayers for them and for me. And, as you contemplate your year end giving, ChurchTech Institute would be honored to wisely steward any supportive financial gift that you might make. Link to donate is in the first comment.

The Oscar-winning actress made a surprise visit to a city where even seasoned war correspondents fear to tread — the front-line Ukrainian combat zone of Kherson.

03/01/2025

https://www.zeffy.com/fundraising/donate-to-continue-churchtech-institutes-work-with-civilians-and-military-chaplains-in-ukraine

Help raise the funds to send Rev. Dr. Brad Miller back to Ukraine for a 5th time. All of the money that we raise through this campaign will be used to deliver aid directly to civilians impacted by the ongoing battles in Ukraine. Our focus will again be the city of Kherson and the surrounding areas (...

07/24/2024

This is a very worthwhile read and consistent with my observations near the front. My next trip is January 1 to 10. If you have military experience and are willing to help in areas near combat (though absolutely in a non-combat role) - please message me.

On the front line, drones are killing hundreds every day - showing the world a new kind of high-tech war.

05/29/2024

Recordbreaking oppressive heat in Delhi - it must be one week until my departure for DEL airport!

The Indian capital's power demand also soars to an all-time high as residents try to cope with the heat.

04/06/2024

Preview slide from tomorrow's sermon at First Lutheran Church Ottumwa. Also featured: bell curves, "Is means is", and the Man of La Mancha.

03/29/2024

A fantastic new resource.

Verba Vitae: A Serious Christian Journal of Life and its Significance

03/26/2024

For the first time in decades, I decided that I needed to send a Letter to the Editors of the WSJ. It is in response to an excellent editorial by Jillian Kay Melchior, which I link to in the comments.

To the Editors of the Wall Street Journal

Ms. Melchior has done a commendable job of refuting and exposing the errant claims of assaults upon religious liberty in Ukraine. She demonstrated remarkable restraint in refusing to ask the obvious questions like: Is Senator J. D. Vance (and his ilk) willfully ignorant or simply Putin sycophant functionaries? Her missive kept focus and dealt with essential facts.

Not every perspective could be considered in refuting what she exposed as a carefully orchestrated PR campaign of falsehood. Still, I dare to opine that a key metric of war-time religious liberty has been overlooked – a metric which shows that the purported victim institutions of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church have actually received questionably excessive favors granted by the Ukrainian government – perhaps as a mindful mechanism to balance the travails of their schismatic rift with the Moscow Patriarchate.

I have made three trips to Ukraine over the past 16 months to encourage the work of military chaplains in the area around Kherson. I, a Lutheran, have been privileged to minister alongside Orthodox, Baptist, Mennonite, and non-denominational clergy who were risking their lives in forward positions. Military chaplaincy is quite new in Ukraine and the formula for awarding “slots” to chaplains is dramatically and heavily biased toward Orthodox priests. In church growth parlance, we distinguish between adherents and active participants. Orthodoxy has far more adherents than they do active participants in Ukraine. Other denominations and traditions made dramatic headway in evangelization in the decades immediately after the collapse of the USSR. Those groups are now under-represented in the ranks of commissioned military chaplains.

Is this proof of religious discrimination? Hardly. It is evidence that under trying circumstances and a rapidly evolving religious culture, their government is moving forward as quickly as they can and some of the nuances and niceties are unaffordable when your civilian populace is under constant attacks from artillery, missiles, and drones. The mix of commissioned chaplains, certified volunteer chaplains, military tentmakers (and a few oddball foreign visitors) are endeavoring, in the best tradition of US military chaplaincies, to provide spiritual care for every soldier, sailor, and marine who seeks it.

Religious freedom should always be a concern and it will always require give and take. In the current context, it is clearly a false flag for those who lack the courage to state the real reasons that they are choosing the wrong side in a difficult war. The people of Ukraine deserve our prayers – and sufficient ammunition to keep up the fight!

The Rev. Dr. Brad Miller

ChurchTech Institute

1019 NE 5th ST, Ankeny, IA 50021

12/20/2023

Pretty skies from the window seat across the Atlantic. Almost home! Thank you for all of the prayers!