[citation needed] In 1872, he joined a commission organized by the general conference to develop a code of ecclesiastical law for the Methodist Episcopal Church.

[4] Beginning in 1873, he served as chair of systematic theology at Drew University in Madison, NJ,[2] after his brother-in-law, Randolph Sinks Foster, left the seat to become a bishop.

[3] Miley was one of "the Great Five" revered professors who led Drew for decades, along with Henry Anson Buttz, George Crooks, James Strong, and Samuel F.

[5] He was the author of Systematic Theology (1892), a two-volume work which served as a key text for Methodist seminarians for nearly thirty years.

[5][8][9] He developed a strong governmental theory of atonement based theology heavily reliant on the work of Hugo Grotius.