A new chapter will be added every other week until I run out of them.
Chaplain Fairman
The purpose of this section is to let you know something about the person who is running this website and to keep you abrest of my current books by directing you to the article entitled BoxingYour Moral Compass.
I'm going to tell you a little about me and why I am running this website.
If it wasn't for Christ then I would never have come to this point in my life.
I was born into a family lineage that really never displayed to me any hint that
any of them had any knowledge of the Gospel of Christ. I don't know if any of
my family on either my mother's or father's sides ever knew Christ or His
salvation but if they did they never let me in on it. So as you might well
conclude I am not a person who can say, "I have been a Christian all my life."
As a sidebar to that, I have a friend and brother Chaplain named Kevin who is
also a Marine and former LEO, who has been the Chaplain of the FSU Seminoles
football team and the Chaplain for the UGA Bulldogs football team, Kevin likes
to ask people he meets if they are Christians and when they respond that they
are, he asks "how long have you been a Christian?" If they respond "All my
life", then he tells them they need to come see him in their free time so
he can really show them the plan of salvation, because as Kevin puts it to
them,you aren't born a Christian and you don't get there based on your
parents relationship with Christ, you get there based on your own
relationship with Christ.
Anyway, back to my early years. I was born in ancient times in the year of
our Lord 1945 as WWII was fading from the scene. My mother was a factory worker
who worked at Pratt & Whitney and at Colt Firearms in support of the war
effort. My father was a Marine Corps Master Sergeant who flew in the Gilbert
and Solomon Islands Campaigns. Dad elected to stay in the Marines after the war
and make a career of it. In 1950 my mother died during childbirth as did the
sister I never knew. My dad shipped me off to live with my grandparents on a rotating
basis. When I was with my mother's side of the family I was told how bad my dad
was and that he was responsible for mom's death. They told my dad that a lot
too I guess and eventually I began to see the results as dad took to alcohol
like a duck takes to water.
I watched sometimes from near and sometimes from afar as his attempts to find
peace resulted in more than 10 marriages and cohabitations that really left him
a functioning alcoholic. Later I found out that my mom died from medical
complications during childbirth and not as a result of anything for which my
dad was responsible. But I watched as dad lost his compassion and his sense of
purpose. So, I was for all intents and purposes on my own from about 12 YOA. I
ended up living with various relatives, mostly on mom's side of the family and
even with some friends I met through school. I went to 17 different schools
before I graduated from San Marcos High School in Santa
Barbara CA in June of
1963. I was a kid with no conscience and a finely tuned sense of
self-centeredness. I learned to take care of number 1 in a pretty good fashion.
I was never on the skyline of any law enforcement radar, but I was somewhat
active below that threshold. I would have been a lost cause, I am sure, today
if a family, Dick & Emmy Nell Ernstrom, & their son Rick had not become
my surrogate family. Through participation in Christian Service Brigade at
Grace Church in Santa Barbara California, and their example of living their Christian
Witness everyday instead of just preaching it to me, I learned that
even a kid as bad and screwed up as I was becoming could belong to Christ. I
learned that God loved me even if I didn't feel that anyone else did. (Believe
me I felt that way a good deal of the time as a kid growing up and at times,
even as an adult)
I came to understand the real meaning of being a follower of Christ, Who loved
sinners but detested their sin so much that He died for them while they were
yet living in that sin. That was a bit hard for me to grasp at first. You see I
felt that I needed to do something myself and the fact that I had nothing to do
to earn that salvation was not easy for a kid who had to take care of himself
to accept.
I would say I learned about salvation and the Gospel, but that would not be
totally accurate, as I only began to learn, a process that has continued over
the last 45 years and is still continuing I pray to this very day. Even being
influenced daily it took from about 12 or 13 years of age until I was 16 years
old to understand and accept that the availability of forgiveness, grace and
love was waiting for me through Christ. Even after I reached that necessary
point of brokenness in my life and accepted Christ as My Lord and Savior, I
still over the years, at times, have refused to grow and have been an unruly
son on more than one occasion. As time has gone on and I have worked at trading
pride for self-sufficiency (Not a good thing I might add) and then
trading that for humility and the attitude of a servant. This has not been easy,
especially as I found God calling me into careers that don't seem on the
surface at least to condone compassion, humility and servitude.
CWO4 Fairman
I spent 10 years on active duty in The Marine Corps from 1963 to 1973 during
which time you might well have been able to find me if you looked far enough
across the Pacific Ocean to a small garden spot called "Nam" by those of us who
spent any amount time there like I and many others did. During that time I was
working my way up the ranks very slowly at first to Staff Sergeant and even
though my dad and I were both in the Marines at the same time we did not cross
paths often nor did we ever grow closer together as I hoped we would. I always
wanted to make my father proud of me for some reason and to get his approval on
my accomplishments.
(Later in life thanks in part to Jon Eldridge's book "Wild at Heart" I did get
a better understanding of why that feeling existed.)
I tried on many occasions to bridge that gap both before and after I got
married but never really succeeded. Dad eventually retired medically with 26
years of active duty. He died I believe feeling that somehow he short changed
me. I hope he knew I loved him no matter what happened in my life. He gave me
life and though he may have not shown it I think he loved me as best as he knew
how. He just never had the love of Christ in him to be able to express it
clearly. I did learn a lot of lessons both good and bad from my dad and I still
guide my life by some of the good things I learned from him.
I was married in 1969 after returning from my last tour in RVN and when my
enlistment ended in 1973 I went into the Marine Corps Reserves and spent the
next 32 years as a reservist in the VAANG, USAR, USAFR and USMCR finally
retiring with 42+ years of combined service and several combat tours in both
Southeast and Southwest Asia as a USMCR Chief Warrant Officer-4. During my
military years I learned early on, frequently and sometimes reluctantly, that
holding on to Christian principles and morals would not always be the easiest
and very often not the most popular mission I would undertake. However, with
God's help I was able to see that if I ever wanted to see any changes made in
that arena, it would require some personal examples of Christian leadership to
be on display there in that environment. These personal examples would be tried
and tested many times but they could not be allowed to succumb to the pressures
to compromise.
Over the years I have tried my hardest to set a militarily professional example
of what it really means to be a Christian. I grew sporadically as both a
Christian and a Marine over that 42 year career and as I became better at one
the other improved as well. I think I eventually realized that my profession
was my ministry and my mission field. If I was lead by God then He could
accomplish great things on that mission field. However, the hardest lessons to
learn were those I learned when I tried to take control, consciously or
unconsciously, of God's Plans and make them my plans. You see there are a
lifetime's worth of lessons God has to teach us if we truly want to accept
positions affecting changes in the way people live their lives and the way they
relate to the Gospel and to Christ. If we turn off, with a "holier than thou
attitude," everyone we encounter who does not conform to our understanding of
the way we are to live, then who and how many folks will we ever truly have an
opportunity to influence.
Never take for granted just how much we need strength and confidence from God
to operate in this professional theater, but remember we also need patience and
compassion to reach those who need to be reached and those who also need the
encouragement, strength and confidence to live as Christians that God can
provide. You need to lead them to Christ by example and compassionate
exhortation, not by conviction. I have learned over the years that
conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit and not my job. And as for Judgment,
that is a task far better handled by God and jurist prudence than by me. Besides
men are like sheep and not cattle, they like to be led not driven.
When I began my career in law enforcement in 1973 I had no earthly idea why?
I planned to stay an active duty Marine for life. I did for once though listen
to God without too great a domestic disturbance. I left active duty and
reported for duty with the Anaheim CA Police Department and have served on both
sheriff's departments (or if you prefer sheriff's offices) and police
departments ever since. 13 years on police departments and 27 years on
sheriff's offices and 10 years with federal credentials. (As you can see
there must be many overlaps in my careers since both the Military and Law
Enforcement careers are nearly 40 years each and both include active and
reserve duties)
During this period I was married, I went to college for years at night,
raised two kids, (a son and a daughter, both are married and military veterans,
as is their mother, my wife of 37 years and my son-in-law). I have experienced
many successes and a good number of failures in life as I toiled in all these
environments and tried to raise and lead my family. I didn't have much to go on
when I started out to be a Marine, a Cop, a Husband or a Parent and often I
leaned on my own understanding, a trait I don't recommend to anyone else. I had
few role models to use but as I progressed as a Christian, God showed me how to
use His Word and the assistance of the Holy Spirit to discern the worthy
characteristics from the less valuable traits of many folks He brought into my
life. I am far from perfect and I pray I will continue to grow in my
understanding, but I have learned enough from the myriad of life's lessons I
have been taught by Christ and The Holy Spirit to accept the responsibility of
making myself available to those who are walking the same dangerous and dark
valleys that I once trod.
I have held every rank from patrolman or deputy sheriff through Undersheriff or
Deputy Chief. I have worked Undercover Narcotics, Patrol, Aviation, Youth
Services, Crime Prevention, Training, Field Training, Community Relations,
Accident Investigation, Criminal Investigation, Cyber crimes, Planning and
Research, Accreditation, SWAT and Administration at various operational,
supervisory and command levels. Yeah, I got all the T-shirts, but now I keep
them in my bottom drawer and wash my car with them because I finally discovered
that the measure of a man is not determined by what he has achieved, but by
that which he achieves for and through others.
I have observed and experienced the gauntlet of pressures and temptations of
the life of both a Combat Marine and a cop and no matter what kind of
assignment you have or geographical area your department serves, I have an
understanding of just what you face. I have watched many a life or relationship
fall to the daily pressures that impact the lives of LEO's and their loved
ones, not to mention those with whom they serve side by side along that "Thin
Blue Line." So, after 35 years of paid law enforcement I finally gave in to The
Lords calling about 5 years ago and allowed Him to lead me into a position I
felt a bit unqualified for even though I had been a deacon or elder for more
than 15 years. I followed His "still small voice" and I pursued the Police
Officer Standards and Training Council's requirements for State Certification
as a Police Chaplain in Georgia.
I was subsequently ordained in 2003 and certified in 2004. I now serve my
community and my Lord in an unpaid volunteer status as a Police Chaplain who
carries the Word of God to those who man that "Thin Blue Line" in a language
they can understand and listen to their needs, problems and fears (yes, they do
have some) with an understanding born of more than 35 years of experiencing
many of them myself.
I ask that God continue to bless those who work in His fields and return
someday to harvest the fruits of His labors through His people here on earth.
If I can be of service to any of you or you would like
me to stop by and talk with you or your Christian Law Enforcement or Military
Fellowship or your churches men's fellowship or any group, just drop me an
email via the contact link on the home page.