When God’s love has a radical, life-changing effect, it can lead to radical living for Him. One example of this is the life of Eddie Burchfield, a chaplain, author, musician, and evangelist.
In 1975, Burchfield was “living a crooked life.” He sold and used drugs. He played in nightclubs. He had not grown up in a Christian home. One night – after his wife, Alden, had asked him hundreds of times if he wanted to go to church with her and finally said she would kick him out if he didn’t go – he agreed.
“That Sunday night, I was high on cocaine and marijuana. I was very high. I told her if anyone said anything about the way I looked or smelled, I was gone. She said OK,” he noted.
“But people came up to me, shook my hand, and I was speechless. That night the Lord took hold of me and caught my attention. For the first time in my life, I was told in my heart that I was a sinner. I was almost 25 years old. … Everyone in the world tells you that you are a sinner, but until God tells you, you don’t believe it.”
Called
Even almost half a century later, that evening was the last time he had a craving for drugs.
Burchfield barely managed to finish school, but after God changed his life, he wanted to learn. He went to Jefferson State Community College and studied agriculture and horticulture.
He was also very interested in learning the Word of God and attended several Bible schools. At the age of 28, he was called to be a preacher, became a lay preacher, was ordained in 1985 and was ordained a priest in 2008.
“If God can do it for me, He can do it for anyone,” he said.
After being drafted to Vietnam in 1971, Burchfield served two years of active duty and seven years in the National Guard. In the Army, he became an assistant chaplain and, after training at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, he became an assistant chaplain.
In 2012, Burchfield took a course with Steven Wallace, the chaplain of Chelsea Fire and Rescue. Burchfield is now the chief chaplain with four subordinates.
Comforting others
There are other chaplains in Shelby County – those who primarily assist sheriffs and those who work with jail inmates. Both fire and sheriff chaplains respond to emergency calls.
“A fire chaplain can also be a fire chaplain for the sheriffs in certain situations. In addition, while the fire department is fighting fires, the fire chaplain does the heavy lifting of chaplaincy – helping and blessing, encouraging and helping to figure out what to do when needed,” he said.
Clergy are usually called to a life-changing tragedy, such as a house burning down, and help with comfort and practical needs such as shelter, furniture and clothing.
They are also responsible for another kind of grief when people get hurt or die.
“One time I got a call. It was a family with a 14-year-old daughter,” Burchfield recalls. “The 14-year-old daughter had gained weight and was being made fun of at school. She lost her confidence and self-esteem and committed suicide.”
Her father found her. When Burchfield got there, it was total chaos. Her grandmother, who also lived there, screamed, “Tell me, tell me she made it. Tell me, Kaplan!”
“I didn’t know exactly how to handle it because I couldn’t tell her. I couldn’t tell her that she didn’t know. But I could tell her that God is a good God, a long-suffering God, and that he understands what she was going through better than we do, and that we can trust God.
“It calmed the situation,” he said.
Joy of Redemption
Before he was saved, Burchfield had experienced suicides and overdoses. Back then, there was no hope. Now he can share the hope of Jesus through the key ingredients of counseling – a listening ear and a compassionate heart.
Sometimes that’s all he can do.
After intense periods of pastoral care for the suffering, Burchfield needs to spend time alone with God, knowing that this intimate place is the heartbeat of Christianity.
Sometimes the joy of his salvation resonates.
When Burchfield serves as a chaplain at the Alabama Therapeutic Education Facility prison, it is the complete opposite of his work as a fire department chaplain.
Services there include high-energy Southern gospel versions of songs such as “God is So Good,” “Amazing Grace” and “Jesus Loves Me.”
“There is nothing better than worshiping God, Amen! I love chocolate, and I love worshiping God more than chocolate, Amen! That’s saying something!” he said recently during a church service with a broad smile.
“Why spend your life with a hole in your soul when God can move in, drive out sin, and fill your life with love, joy, and peace?
“I just love loving Jesus. My life has been completely changed in a miraculous way and my desire is to see someone else saved and delivered by God’s amazing grace.”
Burchfield is a member of the Southern Christian Writers Conference and has written a book of poetry, Words That Rhyme Worth Your Time: Faith-Based Inspirational Poetry, available on Amazon. Burchfield is available for speaking engagements. Contact him at [email protected].
