Mike's Story
“Homeownership does more than provide a family a home. When a family owns a home, their perception of themselves changes; their perception of the community changes, and, in fact, their whole life changes.” – Michael Smathers
Michael (Mike) Fleming Smathers was born on August 4th, 1941, in the Big Lick community of Cumberland County, Tennessee. He was the only baby to be born in the rural health center next door to Calvary Big Lick Presbyterian Church. Mike would eventually follow in the footsteps of his father, Reverend Eugene Smathers, and serve as pastor at that same church.
Growing up in Cumberland County, Mike attended Cumberland County High School (CCHS). Mike was an athlete, playing quarterback for the football team and a center for the basketball team. He also dedicated his time to the local Future Farmers for America (FFA) youth organization and the National Beta Club. He earned the honored title of Valedictorian in 1959.
Mike spent his life pursuing education and serving communities. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of Wooster in Ohio. Mike and Judy married in Norwalk Ohio, just prior to his enrollment at Pittsburgh Theological School where he earned a master’s degree in divinity. He took his first church placement in Booneville, KY. With a distinguished scholarship from the Seminary, he returned to study at the University of Kentucky and then taught an Appalachian Sociology course at Lees Junior College in Jackson, Kentucky. Both daughter, Susan, and son, Jeffrey, were born in Kentucky.
Mike ultimately returned to Big Lick with his family in 1974 and settled on land originally bought by his parents. It was here that Mike spent the rest of his life. With the help of neighbors, he and Judy built their family’s home. From 1979-1990, Mike pastored Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick.
Mike announced he was stepping away as pastor in October of 1989 to pursue a new social service ministry. Calvary Presbyterian Church of Big Lick supported him in this endeavor, and Mike and his wife remained church members enduringly.
Mike’s envisioned social service ministry was born the very next month and named Creative Compassion. The name was born from a sermon written by Mike’s father that was titled “The Call to Creative Compassion.” That sermon’s message, combined with the ideas of the Calvary Church Homestead Project of 1939, created the concept of Creative Compassion. That concept’s biblical foundation is from Isaiah 58:10, which states that, “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day.”
Creative Compassion became a nonprofit organization co-founded by Mike and his wife, Judy. The new nonprofit was brought off the ground with enduring help from Mike and Judy’s children, Jeff and Susan, and the many others who held onto the belief that giving of yourself to help others is an effort that is never wasted.
Creative Compassion has been a family organization from the beginning. Not only were Mike and Judy involved at its onset, but Jeff Smathers worked for Creative Compassion for 11 years. Jeff helped with repairs to the rental houses and construction of the new houses. Susan Smathers also helped a few times along the way as well. She helped in the office for several months the year that Mike had heart surgery and spent a month in 2004 helping the assistant director, Charlie Watkins, finish a grant proposal during another time of illness.
After leading Creative Compassion for almost 20 years, Mike then achieved what many nonprofit founders struggle to do: he passed the executive reins to a new leader in 2006.
In his retirement, he authored two books, titled “Let Them Be Not Forgotten” and “Adventurers in Faith” (renamed “A Profile in Purpose: Memoirs of an Appalachian Ministry”). In 2016, Mike was inducted into the CCHS Hall of Fame, an honor only given to outstanding alumni who have made significant achievements or made positive impacts on their community at the local, state, or national level. He remained an active Board Member of Creative Compassion until his passing in July 2024.
Achievements & Awards
- Undergraduate degree in history from College of Wooster.
- Master’s degree in divinity from Pittsburgh Theological School.
- Master’s degree in Sociology from University of Kentucky.
- 1959 CCHS Class Valedictorian
- 1978-1986 served on Cumberland County Board of Education (as Chairman 3 years)
- 1988 Soil Stewardship Sermon award from Tennessee Association of Conservation Districts.
- 1989 co-founded Creative Compassion, Inc. nonprofit with wife, Judy
- 1992 HOME Investment first ever funding award made in Tennessee.
- 2014 published author, “Adventurers in Faith” (renamed “A Profile in Purpose: Memoirs of an Appalachian Ministry”).
- 2016 published author, “Let Them Be Not Forgotten”
- 2016 CCHS Hall of Fame inductee.
Links to Articles Featuring Mike
His commitment to housing lives through us.
See how we are continuing our Founder’s mission to improve housing right here at home, including a memorial scholarship for students in the building trades.