Most people don't think much about the importance of asking questions of their pastor. Sometimes I get e-mails from college students who have an assignment to complete, and I do my best to respond to their questions, often using the internet to access information from places they may not be familiar with.
Occasionally I'll get a question about something I said in a sermon. Those are always tricky because people often remember exactly what I said and I don't.
Some questions are about the Bible or theology, and once in a while someone poses an issue they are dealing with and want a confidential reply.
Being asked questions makes me feel important, especially if I can give decent answers. It's one way I can reach out to people who take their faith seriously.
A few years ago I met an Anglican priest whose church was featured in three one hour programs on BBC television. In one broadcast he mentioned quite innocently that he had a link on their church website for people to use in asking religious questions.
In the next few days e-mails came to him from all around the world, wherever people could view the BBC specials. At first he replied carefully to each one. Eventually he started to write out more "standard" responses that he could send back to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). Eventually he had to hire a retired priest on a part-time basis to keep up with the workload.
I recently heard that my priest friend has left the priesthood altogether.
When I issue the invitation to send in questions to me, I have his face in the back of my mind. Obviously, I won't have his problem, at least not until BBC comes over here to do some special broadcasts about Hope, but I am willing to invite you to ask questions whenever you have them, in writing through this blog or via e-mail. If they are private questions, please let me know.
So, here we go. You need to sign up to reply to this blog, but you can e-mail me at rohill@optonline.net and I will get it.
Any questions?
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