Pastor Michelle Buckles

At first glance, Michelle Buckles, CUMC’s new minister, doesn’t seem like your typical pastor. First of all, she’s...well, a she rather than a he. Although the numbers are slowly changing, the majority of clergy positions continue to be filled by males.

Another physical difference that sets Michelle apart - she has one brown eye and green one. Add to that, she considers herself a “coffee connoisseur”, insisting that she’s never met a cup of java she didn’t like. And the last indicator that Michelle is ‘not your average’
minister? She is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast.

So it’s easy to see that Cherokee UMC definitely has a one-of-a-kind pastor. Which makes Michelle Buckles an excellent fit for a one-of-a-kind church like CUMC.

“I love anything related to the outdoors and fitness - running, power walking, strength training, yoga and I also enjoy hiking and camping,” she explains enthusiastically. “For the future, I am open to cycling and rock-climbing, and I am open to anyone willing to introduce me to such!”

Surely there are some folks at Buffalo Mountain Camp who would be willing to take her up on that challenge with eager anticipation.

But much as she enjoys them, Michelle’s professional passions run deeper than those secular pastimes. Pastoral care, counseling, preaching, teaching and the administrative duties that accompany pastoral leadership are aspects of the ministry that she feels God has placed on her heart. Michelle also embraces missions with exuberance.

“I have a true passion for missions, both local and foreign, having worked in both capacities as both a teenager and adult,” she explains.

“I am deeply interested in the Johnson City District’s partnership with the Czech Republic and am already in conversation with Randy Frye (district superintendent) about how I can be a part of serving in this capacity both for the benefit of Cherokee and given my own personal interest in missions.”

Locally Michelle sees CUMC’s place as being very much a part of the larger whole. A great deal of her energy will be spent on that mission field, once she gets up to speed.

“While I do not know the Johnson City community yet, one of my passions about the church overall is that in order for it to fully serve its purpose here on earth, it should be a vital part of the community in which it exists,” she stresses. “What are the greatest needs in the community? How attuned is the church to those needs? What is the church doing to help meet those needs or to develop people to meet those needs?

“In order to be a part of that continual kind of discerning process for Cherokee, as a pastor, I hope to be involved in community networks of leaders/pastors. Knowing the pulse of the community and culture is vital in any church’s effort to be relevant and transformational with the gospel.”

Though new to Cherokee, Michelle recognizes that she and daughter, Annie Laurie, have been called to a church with a long history of working in those very areas of interest and concern. As a result, Michelle sees her future dovetailing smoothly with that of CUMC’s.

“Surely it will involve partnering with the congregation in using/sharing both our individual and collective gifts how and where they are most needed,” she envisions. “I do know that one of the most fulfilling places to be on earth is in the midst of a congregation which recognizes and celebrates the individual gifts with which the Holy Spirit has invigorated each member. Based on what I’ve seen and heard thus far of Cherokee, I believe that God is placing us in the midst of such a church!”

A native of Marion, Virginia, and a graduate of Emory & Henry, Michelle singles out Proverbs 3:5-6 and Philippians 4:8 as especially inspiring scriptures, along with Ephesians 3:20 which says, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine; to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever. Amen.”

“I am reminded of the line from an old Bill Gaither song: ‘I could never, never out love the Lord’,” she recalls. “When we give and serve in love, our supply of such is always replenished two-fold. In God’s economy, abundance is always the operative word!”

Along with outdoor sports, reading and writing are favorite pastimes, yet Michelle returns to a sports term to describe her approach to pastoring.

“The tell-tale sign that I am working in my ‘sweet spot’ has always been when my heart is filled with complete joy and peace in the midst of the activity,” she points out. “For as much love as we give when serving in our ‘sweet spots’, God’s love is even greater still.”

And while every pastor is unique, Michelle shares one trait in common with them all. She allows God to work through her to reach those in her congregation as well as others.

“Over the course of my life, I have finally learned to trust my heart and to ‘let my life speak,’ to use the title of a book by one of my favorite Quaker authors, Parker Palmer,” Michelle concludes. “There is a true art in learning to listen to our deep heart longings. I have found that if we are that in touch with our soul, it will rarely deceive us.”

Because that’s where God lives.