Brother Buckles, 1909-2008

There are some people who have but marginal impacts in life. They affect those immediately around them...family, friends, co-workers, a neighbor or two...not that they don't affect people but their circle of influence is pretty small. At the other end of the spectrum are people like a Ghandi who affect great numbers of people, in the millions, and are quite well known. And then there are people who fall somewhere in between.



No doubt most people in the U.S. today have never heard of Harold Buckles. Yet he has influenced as many people as anyone I have ever met with the possible exception of Archie Word. Certainly I am one of them.



The first interaction between my family and Brother Buckles came in the 60s before I was born. Actually, it came even before Mom and Dad met. A believer in God early in his life, Dad had become, in his words, an atheist. I would call him an agnostic. He came to Portland to attend Bible college specifically to find out if God existed. That, to me, is an agnostic, one who "does not know", not an atheist...but either way, he did not believe in God.

A short time in Bible College had Dad not only believing but doing a bit of preaching. Brother Word, widely regarded as one of the most effective preachers in recent memory, told Dad, "Go down there to Salem and study under Brother Buckles. Learn everything you can about him about how to preach."

That, to me, is high praise indeed. And it also illustrates the wide-ranging impact Brother Buckles had. He directly influenced how Dad went about his business which, in turn, influences how I go about mine.

Later I had my own interactions with Brother Buckles when I was dating a girl who went to church there in Salem. I also spent a lot of time reading his Good Reading paper, a humble little tri-fold that month after month after month, year after year had valuable, effectual teaching that mattered. And when I went to Salem Mr. Buckles always took time out to talk to me not as "Hugh Barton's son" as so many people did but rather as Andy. Yes, he is one of the very, very select number of people I was not offended by who used that diminutive because he commanded so much respect.

He commanded that respect because of his integrity. Brother Buckles always told it to you straight. There were no euphemisms, no beating around the bush, no wondering where you stood. You always knew what Brother Buckles believed and where you stood with him. There was no chance of misunderstanding his intent.

As one person, I believe it was Ivan Norris, said at the funeral, Brother Buckles told it to you straight and didn't 'fancy it up'. He believed in making what he had to say accessible to everyone. He had a gift for taking complex subject matter and deep thoughts and turning them into easily absorb able bits of information. You never got lost in a neat turn of phrase or an obscure word.

Of course, when someone tells it straight they are not always well loved by all people. Some people object to be told what they are doing wrong in no uncertain terms. Far and away the most frequent criticism of Brother Buckles was his lack of tact. Maybe that was a fair criticism. Maybe not. I know I never had an issue with it, but I can be a pretty blunt person as well.

I told Emily very little about him on the way to the funeral. When it was over she said, "People loved him, didn't they?" just based on what she heard there. That says a lot. There were people from as far south as Glendale that I knew of but the one that surprised me the most was the guy who came all the way from Colorado on just a couple days notice to pay his respects. That speaks highly of the impact Brother Buckles had.

I knew of him from as long as I can remember and had active interactions for almost 3 decades. He was a man I respected, honored, and would like to emulate as much as possible. The world is a poorer place for his passing. His influence, however, will last as long as people like Dad, myself, and anyone else who learned from him is alive and applying the lessons we learned.

Rest in peace, Harold Buckles, man of God and a good influence on us all.