Biography

Reginald M. Buckley was born in Jackson, MS to the Rev. and Mrs. Horace L. Buckley. He matriculated through the public school system of Jackson and completed his undergraduate education at Tougaloo College. A recipient of the Andrew W. Mellon fellowship, Pastor Buckley entered graduate school at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1994 and completed the Master of Arts Degree in English Literature in 1996. While a graduate student, he served as an associate minister at Salem Baptist Church of Champaign, where he was licensed and ordained. Upon graduation, he completed coursework toward the Master of Divinity Degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL and Wesley Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS In January of 1998, he was called to serve as the interim pastor of Second Baptist Church of Danville, IL. A few months later he became the senior pastor and ministered there for nine years. During his tenure there, he also served as Secretary and 2nd Vice Moderator of the Wood River Baptist District Association. Through his pastoral leadership at Second Baptist, along with the development of vibrant ministries, a new sanctuary and education wing were completed in 2006. Pastor Buckley accepted the call to return to Jackson, MS and serve as the executive pastor of Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in 2007. He served as executive pastor for seven years and assumed the role of Senior Pastor in January 2015. He also currently serves as the Dean of Christian Education for the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Baptist Seminary and Bible College. Pastor Buckley believes that the church is a critical component in the life of any community. As such he has been instrumental in the development of the Cade Development Corporation, which has developed a 13 million dollar 81-unit senior citizen apartment complex in the Virden Addition community. Committed to the causes of social justice and equity, Pastor Buckley is also a W. K. Kellogg Fellow and is currently participating in a three year Community Leadership Network sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation. Pastor Buckley is married to Lecretia A. Buckley, Ph.D. and they are the parents of two children, Jonathan and Anna.