Everett L. "Terry" Fullam (1930—2014)
Country of Origin
-
United States
Countries/Regions of Ministry
- United States
Traditions
- Episcopalian
- Charismatic
Ministries
- pastor
The parishioners of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Darien, Connecticut—perhaps the wealthiest town along the state’s “Gold Coast”—thought they knew what they were getting when Everett "Terry" Fullam arrived as their new rector in October 1972. His academic record, including a master’s degree in philosophy from Harvard (magna cum laude), was strong. He had the bishop’s endorsement. He was now forty-two years old, the vote to call him had been unanimous, and at six-foot-three, he looked the part.
“This morning, as I start my ministry among you,” the man in the long black cassock, white surplice, and slim green stole said, “I must ask your prayers. For I come in the assurance that this is the Lord’s call as well as your own. It is certainly my prayer that God will, in our time together, mold us and make us according to his will.” The worshipers nodded in approval.
A week later, however, brought some surprises. Fullam got more specific:
“I think it is important for all of us to realize something,” he intoned in a steady voice. “In the coming months, one of two things will happen to each of you. Either you will find yourself opening up more and more to the Lord, in which case you will be growing and expanding in your relationship with him, and you will know it—or else you will find yourself constricting and tightening, in which case the atmosphere will become intolerable.” People held their breath…what did he mean?
Without a touch of harshness, he added, “Some of you will find it necessary to go.”
A few may have left the church in that season, but they were quickly replaced by newcomers drawn to listen to the articulate, biblically grounded rector. The Wednesday night Bible study outgrew the parish hall and was moved to the sanctuary. A Sunday evening prayer meeting, largely attended by youth, had to move to a larger Episcopal church in Stamford. A Tuesday morning gathering for worship, teaching, sharing, and Communion surged to 250 attendees, filling the sanctuary. Bible studies in homes flourished, troubled marriages were restored, and healings were reported. Sunday morning attendance grew from 250 to 1,200 in five years amidst sophisticated New England. Two of the four Sunday services had to move to a nearby high school to accommodate the crowds. Said the bishop of Connecticut, “Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop.”
Phil March, an advertising executive and a lay reader in the church, made this observation:
What we had … was the traditional people coming to the Lord and getting baptized in the Holy Spirit—the people who had sort of played around in the Episcopal church most of their lives—they more or less figured, “Well, we’ve got it all” and then they discovered something was lacking and Fullam was able to help them find it….
And, of course, you had the new people coming at the same time, the people who had really wanted nothing to do with an established church, but who were finding that this guy was making good sense…. And then they got zapped, and before you knew it, they were coming because they really wanted to.”
Fullam wanted to be sure it was not all about him: “I am not the head of this church,” he said repeatedly. “I can’t build this church. I haven’t the foggiest idea how to do it. But the Lord knows how, and He will do it if we just submit ourselves to Him. He is perfectly capable of building His own church.” Fullam was so convinced of this that he persuaded the vestry (governing board) to adopt a radical idea: all decisions going forward would be unanimous. By removing “majority rule,” then even one dissenting vote would mean that the group did not yet have the mind of the Lord. They should pause for more reflection and prayer. But, in case after case, this proved to be the path of wisdom. “Jesus can run the church,” Fullam kept insisting.
When a magazine editor flew from Chicago in 1984 for an interview, he noticed an architect’s model of a large sanctuary sitting in a corner, gathering dust. What was this? the editor asked. “That’s what we thought God wanted us to build five or six years ago, when our present building first filled up,” Fullam answered. “The place was packed, we were having four morning services—time to build a bigger barn. It was going to go right out on the front lawn. But when we went to the city fathers for approval, they said no. Our plans would be a massive overdevelopment of this wooded area.”
Out of that disappointment came an alternate vision through the church’s senior warden: “God wants us instead to build the living church, to give ourselves to strengthening his people not only here in Darien, but across the nation and even the world.” That is indeed what happened. The church began holding semiannual Parish Renewal Weekends, drawing leaders from various quarters, 300 at a time. Fullam was endorsed by the vestry to take more outside speaking invitations to clergy and diocesan conferences across the nation. He also became president of a network called Episcopal Renewal Ministries.
After twenty-seven years at St. Paul’s, Fullam resigned his post in 1989 to travel more widely, ultimately touching more than twenty-five countries. His perspective is perhaps best summarized as follows:
My vision for the church today is of three streams leading into one river. From the historic Protestant side comes the emphasis on the Word, the priesthood of the believer, and the need for individual, personal encounter with God. From the Catholic stream comes the idea of the corporate body of Christ—that you can’t be a Christian all by yourself….So here I learn the need for mutual submission.
Then the third stream is the charismatic dimension, which emphasizes the immediacy of God’s working in our lives. The operation of the Spirit does not supplant the Scripture in any way, but it shows that God still speaks to us today, through prophecy and in other ways as well.
So my personal quest is for wholeness, for moving from a partial to a more adequate understanding of the vision….The church as I see it needs to be Catholic, Protestant, and charismatic all at once.