Millie Dienert

Mildred Dienert ( Elsner; September 3, 1917 – August 24, 2015) was an American popular Christian women's speaker and Bible teacher in the 1960s to 1990s, associated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Early years and education Dienert was born in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Miriam and Theodore Elsner. Her father was a traveling evangelist and as a child she felt neglected and blamed God for her parents' absence. When the 17-year old Millie Elsner survived an automobile accident that killed all of the other occupants in her car, the teen experienced increased devotion and a resolve to dedicate her life to Christ. By the mid-1960s, her husband was the television producer for the Billy Graham Crusades and she helped Graham by organizing prayer groups in advance of his crusades. In writing his 1996 book, With God on Our Side, author William C. Martin included in his research the role of Dienert in Billy Graham's crusades. His research material is now preserved at Rice University's Woodson Research Center.

As a speaker Dienert was a popular Bible teacher and speaker at church meetings and conferences around the U.S. Dienert rejected the prosperity gospel teaching that blessings and well-being are always God's will for the believer, saying, "I have a problem with people making Christian life look so beautiful and great that you have to be one". During the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, she served on the Advisory Group for the National Day of Prayer, along with others such as Harold Lindsell of Christianity Today.

Writings and honors Dienert was named Churchwoman of the Year in 1990 by Religious Heritage of America. a compendium of tributes about the famous evangelist from celebrities and personal anecdotes from his friends. Although the Publishers Weekly review was generally dismissive of the book, calling it "tedious", the review praised Dienert's humorous reminiscence and "vivid account" of Graham's influence on her life. She also wrote the introduction to the 1980 book, The prayer that teaches to pray.

Personal life and later years The couple had three children, Ted, Marilyn, and Darlene, whose name appealed to the Dienerts after hearing the daughter of a Bennett agency client, G. E. Lowman, so named. When her husband died in 1993, Dienert succeeded him as president of Walter Bennett, although she was at the time. She died on August 24, 2015, at the age of 97.