Cross-country walk promotes family values




ON HIS FEET— Jim Buckley, teaching pastor at Newbury Park First Christian Church, will walk across the U.S. to promote the importance of a healthy home.

ON HIS FEET— Jim Buckley, teaching pastor at Newbury Park First Christian Church, will walk across the U.S. to promote the importance of a healthy home.

“As goes the home, so goes the nation.”

It’s a maxim that Jim Buckley, a longtime pastor at Newbury Park First Christian Church, takes to heart.

“The home is so important,” he said. “Addiction, pornography, abuse. . . . If we have struggling, dysfunctional homes, our nation is in trouble.”

On April 1, the day after Easter, the 66-year-old Newbury Park resident will hit the ground walking as he embarks on a journey across the continental United States, ala Tom Hanks in the 2004 film “Forrest Gump.”

The tour’s slogan is “Inviting America Home.”

“I want to help people,” Buckley said. “I’m walking across the nation saying, ‘The home is important.’”

During his six-month sabbatical, the pastor will walk from the church on Knollwood Drive to Times Square in New York City. a distance of nearly 3,000 miles. Glenda Buckley, his wife of 44 years, will follow the route in an RV, providing support to her husband.

On their journey through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York— with two flights home in the middle to recharge— the couple will visit churches and homes, offering people encouragement to make a healthy, faith-based home life a priority.

Walking the talk

The former lead pastor and current teaching pastor at Newbury Park First Christian, Buckley has counseled thousands of individuals and families in the community.

Spreading God’s word at home and abroad, he teaches classes twice a year through TCM International Institute, a Christian seminary based in Austria.

During the course of his 45- year career, the father of five and grandfather of 12 said he and his wife have become increasingly concerned about the state of the American family.

“Homes in America are troubled with abuse, addictions, loneliness, immorality (and) anger,” he wrote on his website.

Outside distractions prevent families from spending time together, Buckley said.

“We can be together in the house but not together,” he said. “In our homes we have several televisions, several computers, several cellphones . . . you can hide in your own electronic medium.”

The concerned minister was taking an early morning walk in 2010 when the idea struck him.

“I thought, ‘I need to walk across the United States,’” he said. “I didn’t hear voices or anything, but I felt like the Lord was leading me.”

Prepping for the big walk

With plans to walk 20 to 25 miles a day, six days a week, Buckley is getting in shape for the long road ahead.

Already an avid walker, the senior citizen has been taking long treks near his home.

He often walks to The Oaks mall or Gold’s Gym, where he works out.

In June, he walked 85 miles in three days— a test for the months ahead.

“It’s no joke,” said the minister, who has been given the okay for the walk by his doctors. “Because of my age, I’m concerned about being in good health.”

To keep his feet in fighting form, Buckley will go through 10 to 12 pairs of Brooks shoes, specially designed for long-distance travel.

“I don’t want to feel my feet,” he said. “If I feel them, the next thing I’ll feel is pain.”

During the trek, Buckley and his wife will update a blog called “Walking with Jim.”

Members of church’s congregation will be regularly updated on his whereabouts.

The Rev. Ken LaMont, the church’s lead pastor, said he’s blown away by the magnitude of Buckley’s plans.

“It’s pretty amazing,” LaMont said. “He’s sending the message that faith is not something you sit around and talk about. It’s something that you do.”

To support Buckley’s efforts, many church members have taken a pledge to eat at least one meal a week with their families, engaging in prayer and meaningful conversation.

“America is busy, busy, busy,” Buckley said. “It’s amazing how many people don’t eat together anymore.”

Longtime church member Leslie Haggard is working with a small team of people to plan the couple’s route.

Haggard said she admires the pastor’s humility.

“He’s such a real person,” she said. “He doesn’t put himself on a pedestal. His family has had problems and he’s honest about it.”

Despite his personal struggles, Buckley has hope for a better future, Haggard said.

“ Jim has such a heart for people,” she said. “He wants to sit down with people and encourage them to become champions of the home.”

For more information, visit www.invitingamericahome.org.


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