Dr. E.C. Fulcher, Jr.

Jesus said (Matt 12:30), “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad”.  Pastors that preach the Bible the way it is will believe this scripture as it is. They will also believe that there is no middle ground in Christ, that is what Pastor Fulcher preaches, teaches, and believes. As the scripture says, you are either on God’s side or you are not.  Just this one statement has caused division between more Pastors and Christians alike. This has led to a situation that Pastor Fulcher fully understands, but distresses him none the less — Men of God, like him, are hated by unbelievers, as well as people who believe they are religious but have not been taught the truth, and especially former believers.

You may think that people go to church to learn of God and understand the Bible, but that is not always the case. Most people actually go to church to learn what God can do for them or to appear that they are really dedicated Christians. The opposite can be said about those that attend Pastor Fulcher’s church. People come to Truth House Church to hear Pastor Fulcher preach the Bible as it is and to learn what God expects of them.  Some have stayed; some have left.  Some people who have left have found other churches that cater to their whims and have disappeared into the woodwork. They think that they have found a church that everyone fits into, that lets them do what they please how, and when they please, they think they have found freedom and have hit the jackpot. The problem with that is the Bible says in (1 Cor 7:22) For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called being free, is Christ’s servant.”

What distresses Pastor Fulcher and other Pastors like him that teach the Bible as it is, is that sometimes when people leave for personal reasons and need to validate them they become enemies of the church. Some cannot find fault with the doctrine that has been taught so they find fault with the person teaching that doctrine, the Pastor. These people tend to attack the personal life of the Pastor. They will find fault with his human life or the decisions and actions that he takes from the pulpit without having an understanding of why he has done or said what he has said. They base his actions on what their human reasons would have been in that same situation.  When you take away all the rhetoric and smokescreen of emotion, you discover that these people are attacking Pastor Fulcher for his particular stand on the Word of God. 

Pastor Fulcher’s stand on the Word of God boils down to a simple either/or question: either the Bible is the Word of God or it isn’t.  If it is not, no big deal.  But… if it is… shouldn’t you pay close attention to everything it says?  And that is exactly what Pastor Fulcher does and by doing so “inconveniences” those who are not willing to follow him as he follows Christ, (I Corin 11:1), “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ”.  For example, Pastor Fulcher holds two services a week: one on Friday night and the other on Sunday afternoon.  To some people, the Friday night service means they either have to give up clubbing or delay their going until after the service.  The service on Sunday interferes with watching the pre-pandemic NFL games.  Pastor Fulcher also teaches firmly and plainly (Heb 10:25) “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching.” To those that believe the Bible means what it says and follow Pastor Fulcher or any other Pastor that teaches this, it means that they will be present for any and all services that their Pastor holds. Some might say, Oh but if you go to Pastor Fulcher’s church you can’t go on vacation, not true, no one is told whether they can or can’t go on vacation.  There are plenty of people that go on vacations routinely, they just make the choice to vacation during the week so that they may keep the scripture of Heb 10:25. 

This is not an inconvenience for those who put God first.  It is for those who don’t.  And those who don’t put God first are basically in Satan’s pocket which explains the virulence of their attacks.  They were never of God, to begin with, no matter how long they sat at the feet of the man that was revealing God’s word to them.

The other group of detractors are so-called Christians who are upset that Pastor Fulcher, by using the Bible, can so easily unmask their hypocrisy.  “He doesn’t live the life,” they claim.  “He’s a sinner.” But by who’s definition is Pastor Fulcher a sinner and what does that have to do with his ability to teach the Word of God? Remember they called Jesus a sinner as well.

One of the best lines in a western is in the movie Heaven With A Gun.  In the movie. Glen Ford plays a gunfighter turned preacher.  After one of his sermons; the dance hall girls come up to him and thank him for allowing them to attend the church but they would be willing not to attend if it would make things easier on him to which the Glen Ford character responds, “If God closed the doors to sinners, I couldn’t get into my own church.”

The Bible teaches that Jesus, himself, dined with publicans and sinners and the hypocritical religious leaders of that time thought that was terrible. (Matt 9:10) “ And it came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples” and (Mar 2:15) “ And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.” Likewise, when Pastor Fulcher uses the Bible to expose the hypocrisy of modern Christians, they hate him for it, because it means they would have to change their thought process or keep living a lie. 

Despite the attacks on what he teaches and the attacks on his character, Pastor Fulcher realizes that he is in good company.  All through the Bible the Men of God withstood attack after attack to preach what God wanted them to.  I Kings 18:20 starts the story of how on Mt. Carmel, Elijah challenged the priests of Baal. He defeats the priests of Baal and in doing so incurs the wrath of Queen Jezebel and has to go on the run for fear for his life.  By 1Kings 19:4, he is hiding in the wilderness praying to die. All because he stood for God and did what God told him to do, not the people.

2 Kings 2:23 tells of a group of children disrespecting Elisha.  Children are the mirror of their parents.  They disrespected the Man of God because their parents disrespected the Man of God. 2 Kings 2:24 shows how God dealt with these children for disrespecting His servant.  Jeremiah 38:6 tells how Jeramiah is lowered into a pit with mire for preaching exactly what God told him to.  (Dan 6:10-16) Daniel a mighty Man of God was thrown into a lions’ den simply for refusing to turn his back on God. He chose to continue to pray and give thanks to God even though the King signed a decree that it was not allowed.  (2Timothy 4:14-17) shows that even Paul came under attack from Alexander and was thrown into the lion’s den as well, but God delivered him out because he was faithful to God’s word, not the people.

People not of God hear and see everything through the colored glasses of their own vanities.  They don’t realize that they have put themselves first, worshipping the desires of their own bellies. Therefore, anyone that challenges their misguided beliefs feel they must attack their human life because they can’t attack the doctrine, the Bible says what it says. When Pastors teach the Bible as it is, it shines a light on their shortcomings and weaknesses and they can’t let that happen. They must justify their decision to turn their backs on the Bible, and they can only do that by judging a Pastor with their limited understanding. People simply don’t like to be told that they are wrong.  This is a perfect example of beasts who are biting the hand of the man who is trying to feed them.

So, if Jesus, our Lord, and Savior was hated and crucified, Pastors in this day and age that are talked about, hated, and disrespected for following God’s word and not the peoples, are in good company. It just further proves that they are called of God. (Matt 10:22) “ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”, (Mar 13:13) “ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”, (Luk 21:17) “ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.”

Written by Eric B. Ruark and Tanya Tillman