Dr. Roy Millhouse joined the YTI faculty this year as Professor of Biblical Studies. A native of West Virginia raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Dr. Millhouse taught Bible, theology, and ministry for 10 years at Sterling College in Kansas. He earned his Ph.D. in Bible from Baylor University, M.A. in New Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and B.A. in Biblical Languages from Calvary University. He and his wife Mikki have two grown children, Benjamin and Jillian, and their youngest, Matt, graduated from high school this year.
Tell us a little about yourself—background, family, hobbies, etc.
I was born in West Virginia but grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. After becoming a Christian at the age of 18, I bounced around various jobs, mainly in the construction industry, as I tried to get clarity on God’s call over my life. After going to college at age 29, that clarity came, but it still took a long time! Along the way, we spent over a decade in Waco, TX. We loved it there; it is where we tell people we are from. Following that, I didn’t get my first full-time academic job until 2014 at Sterling College in Sterling, KS. Sterling is a town of about 2,000, so we have learned what it’s like to live rurally!
My wife Mikki and I met at college. We fell in love with each other while white-water rafting on the New River Gorge in West Virginia after traveling to the region for a soccer tournament. We were married on my birthday in 1993 (I have never forgotten our anniversary—not one time!). We had our first child, Benjamin, while I was a student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He lives in Sterling, KS. Our second child, Jillian, was born while I was pastoring in Russellville, AR. She is now married to Jacob Mapstone, and they live on the western edge of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Matt, our youngest, just graduated high school in Kansas. He came to Bozeman with us! After a gap year, he plans to enroll at MSU and pursue sports team management.
I love being outside, making Bozeman a dream place to live for us, and I am fascinated by geology, being “highly trained” in the field by watching many documentaries. I also love all sports, but especially hockey. I enjoy watching football, especially the Steelers (I want to enjoy baseball, but, well, I’m from Pittsburgh).
Describe your responsibilities with YTI.
I teach Bible and Greek. I teach Greek as a living language, so if you’re interested, this method minimizes the memorization of paradigms and makes it easier to hold on to what you’ve learned after you finish the course. Join us!
You are joining YTI as Professor of Biblical Studies. Why do you think advanced academic study of the Bible is important for the church?
One of the things an academic study of the Bible can accomplish is to enable us to listen to Scripture more like one to whom it was directly written. Paul’s words, for example, were written in a language different from ours, to places and people quite different from us, using images and metaphors that are often beyond our ability to comprehend without more detailed study. The better we can use the tools developed in the academic study of Scripture, the better we will be able to understand the Bible, see what God is communicating to us, and effectively communicate its truths to others. Don’t get me wrong; such study is not a magic key because I understand things like a genitive absolute. It’s a way to help our understanding, all to see more clearly our God and Savior.
What do you appreciate about YTI’s vision?
Several years ago, Tod Bolsinger, a professor at Fuller Seminary, wrote a book on leadership called Canoeing the Mountains. With the Lewis and Clark expedition as a model, Bolsinger identified the point on their journey when they realized there would be no long-sought water route through the mountains and used it as a springboard for understanding where we are today:
Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery were about to go off the map into uncharted territory. They would have to change plans, give up expectations, even reframe their entire mission. What lay before them was nothing like what was behind them. There were no experts, no maps, no “best practices,” and no sure guides who could lead them safely and successfully.
The true adventure—the real discovery—was just beginning (page 27).1
Bolsinger argued that the Church—especially in America—is at that exact point. Our culture is post-Christian, leaving that veneer more in the dust every day. One of Bolsinger’s “navigational guides” speaks directly to this: “The world in front of you is nothing like the world behind you” (page 14). We all know this to be true. Yet we are at a loss to know what to do. What draws me to YTI is the realization that to meet the challenge, we need a new way to train Christian leaders who can adapt and press forward. The old methods, whatever their value in their day, are of no value in our day. At YTI, we are looking to train people to contextualize the timeless message of the Gospel—the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ—in a manner that speaks directly to our culture without compromising the ancient truths of the faith that was “once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). As we train leaders in faith, adventure, and the arts, we prepare them to adapt to some of the critical components of our culture. And what better place to have such an adventure established and flourishing than in Bozeman, MT?
You have lived in several different states, but Montana is a new experience for you. What excites you about being in Big Sky Country?
Though we have been here for a mere two months, I have already been to Yellowstone twice! I’ve spent time in the Gallatins and, if you count Drinking Horse, the Bridgers. I marvel in worship every day at the beauty of God’s creation. We are thankful to live in such a place. I also resonate with the spirit of Montana, so I have greatly enjoyed the people and culture. I am also challenged by the call of Montana, a place very different from the Bible Belt and very much in need of the Gospel. I already feel at home. I would feel even more so if they would put the Steelers on TV.
1Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, expanded ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2015).