Mike Smathers is a retired pastor, non-profit developer and administrator. He and his father before him pastored Calvary Church of Big Lick, Presbyterian for a total of 46 years. He has degrees fro...view moreMike Smathers is a retired pastor, non-profit developer and administrator. He and his father before him pastored Calvary Church of Big Lick, Presbyterian for a total of 46 years. He has degrees from the College of Wooster, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and the University of Kentucky. He was founding Coordinator of the Southern Appalachian Leadership Training (SALT) program and is Founder of Creative Compassion, Inc., a low-income housing developer. He has previously published the book Adventurers in Faith, and articles or chapters in Voices from the Mountains, Appalachia in Transition, Southern Exposure, and Mountain Life and Work.view less