A little about "Dear Pastor Andy"

The other day, I received a comment. I would just publish it in the comment section, but I prematurely deleted it.   After praying about it some more, I came to the decision of responding to it in a main post.  The responder's name was not given.

Question:
The "Questions" that you respond to seem like they are fabricated by you. Also, you use the Bible to back every answer you give.  Not everyone considers the Bible to be fact, therefore you are only preaching to the choir and nobody else. People who are on the fence of believing/non-believing will be scared off by your lack of common sense.
Also, stop selling yourself out to advertisements like the Kindle. 


My Reply:
First, I would like to thank your for your comments and suggestions (this was the second one).  I'll answer each question separately:

  1. "Fabricated questions": I assure you, the questions asked on here are not fabricated, but actual questions that have been asked to me throughout my 15+ years in ministry.
  2. Preaching to the choir: Sure, maybe for some questions, but trust me, the choir still needs preaching to, also.
  3. The Bible is my only resource: Actually, the Bible's not my only source, but it is my main source. That's because the Bible is where the Truth is. Most of the questions on here are about God, and for such questions, the Bible is the only place for the correct answer (unless of course we're talking about archaeology, research, or physical evidences, whereas I'll often refer back to other books also, then list them below). You'll also notice I often share personal experiences and testimonies. Now there are some questions on here not pertaining to God or the Bible, and yes, I do reply with reference to God's Word. But this should be expected from "Another source for answers about God, Jesus, Christianity, the Bible, Theology, and life" and the host of the site being a Pastor (or any devout Christian). In other words, since Jesus is the center of my life, everything answered here is done so through the lens of the Bible and from a Christian perspective. Now, you are correct in saying that many today don't believe the Bible as Truth (and unfortunately, this is true even among many within the Church itself), and this IS a HUGE problem (and an issue I've been fighting in the Church for some time). But regardless of what people believe, the Bible IS still the Truth.
  4. People on the fence / non-believers: If I was Elijah, or the only Christian proclaiming the Word of God, and all the other Christians in the world were hiding in caves, then I can see the need for me to change my approach. But thank God I'm not. With that in mind, each time I post, I pray that readers may be blessed by what they read, or at least that they'll wrestle with it some. Either way, my hope is that if they don't fall to their knees and ask Jesus into their lives at that moment, then they'll either apply my replies, and/or go and get a second opinion from somebody they know (who knows Jesus personally) about what they read from my site, giving God an open door to speak through them, too. I'm also a man of simple, everyday words (which may be why my replies appear so similar to the style of the questions), not fancy, educated words, making it easier for people of many ages and levels of faith (or lack of) to better understand. Also, if you'll notice, a huge number (majority?) of the questions on here are asked by non-believers and people on the fence, most of which ask about the Bible.
  5. Too many Kindle Ads: I didn't realize the overkill of Kindle ads. Thank you for pointing that out. I like to include ads for products that I believe in, support, and/or have benefited from myself, and Kindle was one I was very excited about when it was first released. But you make a good point, so you may notice that I've since deleted them (and replaced them with some other products I think my target audience could benefit from). Hopefully it's no longer overkill, but thanks again for pointing that out.
---Pastor Andy

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