About 1989, I was 'put on the half brother list' (for lack of a better term since there is no scriptural term for what happened to me) ostensibly because I missed church services when I had to work one Sunday morning while I was in a foreign country (where there was no OCCOC) taking care of an emergency situation which had developed with some equipment my company had delivered, and for which I was held responsible. The brethren at my local congregation felt that I was (and I quote) "not a good example to put before the congregation." So, I sat on the bench and worshiped God from there. I didn't really mind doing that since I had always felt that one could worship God and go to heaven without ever giving a public sermon or leading a song or a prayer. Many men (and especially women) go through their whole lives without ever doing those things. I was certainly no better then they, and I did not want to present myself as an example for the congregation to follow, thus robbing God of His glory. I believed (and still do believe) that we should let Christ be our example, not ourselves.

After eight or nine years of bench warming, listening to sermon after sermon about how we need to be busy working for the Lord, something began to gnaw on my insides - something about not doing even what I could do for the cause of Christ. So, while taking inventory of just what it was that I could do from my pew, I realized that the Internet offered a wonderful opportunity to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ without ever standing in a pulpit. Thus was born this web site, A View From the Pew. Initially, it contained only two essays - The Observance of the Birth of Christ and The Lawlessness of Legalism. Ever since then, much new content has been added and continues to be added. This web site is always under construction. If I ever get it perfect and complete, I'll stop changing it.

Soon after starting this web site, I realized that there were many other brothers and sisters in Christ who also seldom had opportunities to speak to people to give their own testimony about Jesus Christ, and the scriptures clearly teach us to do that (Rev 6:9 and Rev 12:11). Thus was born the idea of collecting the writings of other bench warmers and letting them have a say as well. There are some who would deny us this opportunity, but our response to that is the same as that of Peter when he was command to keep quiet about Jesus - (Acts 5:29) "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."

If you feel passionate about something and would like to have your thoughts posted on these pages, possibly right alongside something already here, please send it to me for consideration. I am open minded enough, and believe in fair play and equal time enough, that, if it is well written and does not slander anyone, I will very possibly post it for the consideration of others. I believe that the truth will be victorious eventually. In the meantime, we are all just gathering evidence to determine what the truth actually is.

I know that this web page is not as fancy as many others are, but it has never been my goal to make it fancy. I've intentionally kept the number and size of the graphics small to make the loading of the pages faster. I've been reluctant to use frames since older browser programs do not support frames. (As more and more people upgrade their browsers, this reason becomes less and less important. I may reprogram everything with frames some day since programming with frames does offer some advantages.)

It is not my intent with this web page to offend, inflame, upset, nor disturb anyone in any way. It is my intent to inform, stimulate brain cells to movement (i.e. cause people to think - which is the hardest thing I have ever tried to do), and bring glory to God Almighty and The Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you have never attended a church which has a sign somewhere in front of the building which contains the words "CHURCH OF CHRIST", then you may not be able to relate to some of the things you will find on these pages. I was "raised in the church" as we often say, and I have never been a member of any other kind of church. So all of my thinking is from that perspective. However, please bear in mind that I do not speak for any congregation.

The thoughts expressed on this web page may or may not represent the views of anyone with whom I worship. No one besides myself can be held accountable for the things I have said. If you want to respond, please respond to me, not to anyone else. I alone should be blamed for whatever you dislike about what you find here.

No one besides myself is responsible for the content of this web site. I did not write everything on it, but I am responsible for everything on it. That does not mean that I agree with everything you may find here, since, in some cases, I may post opposing viewpoints. This is the only approach an honest person can take unless they know all truths. I do not know all truths. I am still learning, and I plan to continue to learn for as long as I live. There is much more to learn than I will ever know. The one thing that I do know is that our salvation depends on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

May God bless you as you consider what you find here.

Gary D. Fancher
1918 San Jacinto Dr.
Arlington, Texas 76012-1750
[email protected]