In the 1980s he wrote The Case for Liberal Christianity , beating the, if not yet dead, terminally ill horse of liberal Christendom. It is fun to watch Miller entering these congregations as an outsider, curiously poking about in their inner lives, attempting to decipher the sources of their phenomenal growth. He tells a great story of churches that confound simplistic labels and conventional wisdom. They do exorcism, anointing, tough preaching, all to the heartfelt beat of Maranatha Music. The theme of democratization runs throughout Miller's story.
Liberalism is a hard habit to get over.
That is, Miller praises these congregations for giving people what they need, for helping them to make sense of their often confusing lives. What Miller explains as a sociological phenomenon, these churches name as an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Of course, a sociologist can't ask these questions. I kept wishing Miller would venture a judgment. Social scientists are forever attempting to weasel out of doing theology.