Fire Chaplain Training: Because You Don’t Know, What You Don’ t Know!
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 2 Chronicles 1:10 (NIV)
By Chaplain Doug Kizer
If you’re already a minister, a firefighter, or maybe even both, you may ask the question, “Why take the ‘basic’ chaplain training offered by the Federation of Fire Chaplains?” At first thought it may seem impractical, or maybe even impossible for you to invest the time and money necessary into a training that you’re really not sure you need!
Before I went through the FFC training, I had worked in full time public service for 17 years. I began in an EMS department, and then became a police officer. By the time I got out, I felt like I had seen just about everything: car accidents, homicides, suicides, airplane crashes, drownings, fires, and crises of nearly every type. I then became a pastoral care pastor and now serve a church of 3500 people. I was ordained, CPE trained, served five years as a volunteer hospital chaplain, and seven years as a volunteer police chaplain. I’ve been on hundreds of emergencies and have been around emergency workers most of my life! So after being appointed as a fire chaplain in my area, the question could be asked, “After all of this, why take the ‘basic’ fire chaplain training?” I am ready to answer that question.
No matter what is included in our life experience or what we are doing now or have done before, the old adage remains true and can be applied to fire chaplaincy: “You don’t know, what you don’t know!” The FFC basic training opened my eyes to see the fire service and ministry to its people in ways I had never seen before. It answered questions I might not have even thought to ask.
What are common mistakes chaplains make? What’s the best way to establish a chaplaincy or build on a foundation that already exists? What is the “culture” of the fire service and why is that so important? Why do firefighters behave, believe, or react the way they do? How do I build trust and relationships? How do I get my foot in the door of their fire station? What do I do when a firefighter’s “world view” is different than mine? In what ways will this ministry challenge me? How is fire chaplaincy different than church ministry? How is it different than police chaplaincy? What does a fire victim need most from a chaplain? What do firefighters need? How do I help when a firefighter is in trouble, suspended, or arrested? Will my ministry ever be rejected? What do I do if it is? What resources are available to me and to those I serve?
I could fill the next several pages with the questions that were answered when I attended the basic fire chaplaincy training. As I sat in class, I was surrounded by literally hundreds of years of experience collectively. Relationships were established that will last an eternity, and now I have people I can call anytime for guidance or direction. It was just the beginning of a lifetime of continuing fire chaplaincy education that has blessed my ministry over and over again.
If we are serious about our role as fire chaplains, we must humble ourselves daily and seek the wisdom that God is offering us to do the job He has called us to do. Because after all, we really don’t know what we don’t know.
