Day One: Wednesday 4 September 2013
Last year I undertook my first overt fundraising drive in nearly eleven years, since I became a full-time Catholic apologist in December 2001. It was successful and met and exceeded the goal within a month. I had hoped and expressed (and truly thought) that it would be a one-time thing, but that was not to be. The economy continues to languish and the royalties from my five Sophia Institute Press books are still 50-60% of what they were just five years ago. Imagine taking a pay cut like that at your job and surviving!
That's what I've had to face in the last three years: through no fault of my own at all. My house is literally worth half of what I still owe on it. If I were buying a house in my neighborhood today, I could buy two for the price of what I still owe. As a direct result of the bad economy, I lost my three-year staff job as moderator of the Coming Home Network Internet forum at the end of 2010. In one fell swoop, that took away a quarter or more of my income. And it was great because I was working out of my home and checks arrived every two weeks (unlike my twice or four-times-a-year royalties).
Since then, I decided to put my full effort into cultivating my biggest and most obvious asset: my books and desire and potential of writing many more books. I also developed my personal Facebook and Twitter pages, and recently, an additional professional "author" Facebook page. Looking forward, it is now clear that I must invest more in advertising (currently I am spending $90 / month on that on Facebook) and making my books known to a much larger audience. It's the same old catch-22: you have to have money to make money. I need money to advertise in order to sell books so that I can have enough income!
I have always needed some donations to be able to succeed and survive financially, doing what I do, but now I need proportionately more, and so am asking for your help. I continue to remain very uncomfortable with the whole solicitation / "begging" process, but at the same time I am not "ashamed" at all of my work and am totally confident that it is worthwhile supporting, as the manifestation of a calling from God that I have followed since way back in 1981, when I was an evangelical Protestant. I knew what God wanted me to do with my life then, and in these past twelve years I've finally been able to fully dedicate myself to it. I think the fruits and results have abundantly confirmed that it is indeed my calling and vocation.
Most Catholic apostolates regularly "beg and plead" (quite vigorously!): and usually more than once a year, and also including personal e-mails or letters in the regular mail. I've done all of three fundraisers in, now 13 years. That's it! From 2002-2011 I did none at all. And I remain dead-set against personal solicitation. You'll never get those sorts of letters from me. That's a promise and an absolute principle I have set for myself. I'm not saying those things are wrong per se; just that I will never do it. Occasionally I have done mass e-mailings, but they simply mention new books of mine, with just one little statement at the end that someone may wish to consider supporting the work. I also send out my famous "cyber Christmas cards" every year: usually with one of my original Christmas poems. No solicitation in those, either . . .
Briefly, I have a very meager income; I manage to pay my bills. We live in a lower middle class-type bungalow (built in 1943) in a lower-level Detroit suburb. We have good credit, and don't use credit cards (very soon the only debt I'll have at all will be my mortgage). We live simply, by principle and design. My wife homeschools, so I am the only breadwinner. We have four children. The cost of living is relatively low in Michigan, compared to the east and west coasts. I'm not rolling in the dough over here; clearly, my motivation for what I do is not riches and material goods. I'm 1000% dedicated to my work. I trust and have faith in God that He will provide, because this is what He would have me do. And He has, remarkably so all these years. He provides through people like you: not (too bad!) by sending dollar bills from the sky like manna.
Those of you familiar with my apostolate know how much work I have done. I've now written 40 books: nine of them "officially" published by five different independent publishers (i.e., not self-publishing outfits like Lulu, where I also have 31 books of my own). This includes my next "official" book, The Quotable Wesley, which will be published by the Protestant publisher Beacon Hill Press, in Spring 2014. That's quite a feat, if I do say so, for a Catholic apologist to have a book about John Wesley published by a Wesleyan publisher.
My blog, online continuously since February 1997, contains 2495 posts or papers: almost all of them about apologetics or related issues of ethics, culture, history, philosophy, etc. I've also done about 25 radio interviews, and have been published in magazines many times, going back to 1993. My first book, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism, was completed in 1996, and it took seven years for it to be accepted by a publisher (thanks to my good friend and editor -- now at Catholic Answers --, Todd Aglialoro). Now I offer additional material every day and amiable discussion on my Facebook page, which has the limit of 5,000 friends.
The majority of my income is derived from book royalties: my own hard work and the sweat of my brow, but that's not enough to completely support my family. The apologetics market is but a tiny niche in the bookselling arena. If such a book sells 10,000 copies, it is considered a bestseller in apologetics. I've accomplished that five or six times. But if you add up those royalties (often only as low as, say $1.50 per book sold), it's not much money. The publishers continue to get most of it. We authors get our 12-14% of the net profits.
All those papers on my blog and now Facebook pages, are there for free, and have some (if I do say so) educational value. Someone may say, "now there goes that lazy fool Armstrong begging again; why can't he get a real job?" You'd be amazed how often I have to hear this sort of thing. In fact, just last night it virtually happened again on my Facebook page. Of course, there are many false assumptions behind these kinds of criticisms. It's not like I'm a vagabond on the street who does nothing all day and who has no relation at all to those I am attempting to solicit funds from. Many if not most of the people following me on Facebook or reading my blog have been aware of my work, and have used it for years: sometimes many many years.
Therefore, it's a scenario of having made use of a service or a product, yet oftentimes without any thought of remunerating the person who took thousands of hours of his time (for 16 years) to write and publish all these educational theological papers on the Internet. I receive many glowing letters (I've collected many of them on one page), telling me how my writing primarily helped someone decide to become a Catholic, or return to the Church, or to undergo a big "revival" in their Catholic life. They thank me, and it's always very heartening, humbling, and rewarding to hear. All glory to God: it all comes from Him.
What is remarkable and puzzling to me, however, is how often those writing these gracious "thank you" letters don't make a connection in their minds that maybe they should consider financially supporting my work, that has helped them so much. It's worthy of that support. The Bible says that the "laborer is worthy of his wages," and St. Paul discusses that specifically in the context of Christian workers (evangelists). He himself also made tents on the side, but nevertheless he also taught that such workers were entitled to wages, and that he voluntarily went above and beyond his duty and chose to renounce some of that in order to present the gospel for free.
Well, in effect, I have done that, with all my free papers, and part-time supplemental "tentmaking" jobs through the years, such as selling used books, (early 2000s) a large urban paper route (2004-2005), and moderation at Coming Home (2007-2010). Yet I am entitled to wages for what I write, as well: particularly from those who have benefited from them. Moreover, even if someone hasn't personally been helped by my writing, they may recognize that it has educational and apologetic and evangelistic value, and so support it, just as any other mission is supported financially. That's what I'm asking you today: to please consider that.
There is a very unfortunate strain of thinking that apologetics is not "real work" or that it should only be done by priests and bishops (wrong! Lay apologetics and outreach in the Church has a long and honorable history, going back to the Church fathers). I wrote a paper about this a few days ago. It's also wrongly thought that the lay apologist (usually married with children) should make wages similar to that of a priest. But the priest has taken a vow of poverty, and has no family to support. He's following what is called "the evangelical counsels," which is a heroic, non-normative calling. It's like comparing apples and oranges. Karl Keating happened upon my Facebook page last night and made a very astute (and to me, quite humorous) observation along these lines:
Years ago I spoke at a parish in Maryland. I guess in the Q&A session someone asked how Catholic Answers was organized, and I mentioned in my answer that our staff members were paid (too modestly in those years). Afterwards the pastor came up to me, surprised that we paid our people at all. He expected everyone to be a volunteer, even those with families to feed. He said he got by quite well on his salary of $600 monthly. I guess he neglected to think that the diocese provided him free lodging, free food, free housekeeping, a free car, free health care, free retirement, free utilities, and so on.
That hits the nail on the head. In case anyone didn't notice, I'm not a priest. I'm a guy like most of you who is married with four children, who works very hard and earns every penny of a relatively tiny income (by American standards) that I manage to generate through this work. I have bills to pay and financial worries just as all of you do.
That's what I wanted to say today in my first installment. In the first comment I'll link to my Literary Resume, so you can check out exactly what work I've been doing in my apostolate (complete with links, excerpts, etc.), in over twenty years of published Catholic apologetics.
In the days to come (devoted mostly to this pledge drive until it is accomplished), I'll be sharing about the wide range of topics I cover in my work, my books, my blog, and the letters that I receive, which is the indication of the fruitfulness of this work. I'll tell you about some exciting upcoming projects that I have planned. I'll share my heart and my struggles with you, with my usual transparency and openness and straight talk. I say what I mean and mean what I say.
Above all, if you have gained something yourself from my writing, please strongly consider supporting it. If you think it is worthwhile in order to help others and to help "harvest" lost souls and nominal, uncommitted, miseducated Catholics out in the world, perhaps you would like to be a real part of that effort and outreach mission by contributing. You can help this effort quite a bit in other ways, too, besides your generous donations:
1) Prayer.
2) Writing endorsements and recommendations or "testimonies" about my work or books, what kind of person you've found me to be, etc. (on my page and/or on your own) as this drive proceeds.
3) Sharing these fundraising posts on your pages in order to "spread the word."
4) Hitting the "like" button on my Facebook author page (if you really do like it!).
5) Purchasing my books and telling others about them; linking to my various book pages or main book site, etc.
Donations are 100% tax-deductible (through my good friend John Martignoni's Bible Christian Society), and you are able to donate through PayPal and with a credit card if you like. If you don't need the tax deduction, you can send funds immediately through PayPal. It's very simple. Here are the instructions for how to go about all that.
During this pledge drive, the following "thank you gifts" will be in effect:
1) For every $25 worth of donations, I'll send you one e-Pub book of your choice, which is a $6.99 value (if you can't read ePubs, you need to let me know, and I can send a PDF instead). NOTE: This excludes my "officially" published books from Sophia and others; it applies to my 31 Lulu books only.
2) For a very generous donation of $500 or more, I'll send you three paperback books. These can be selected from all of my books: all 40. Just send me your home address and I'll get them out to you as soon as I can.
The total goal is $7500. The faster it's met, the sooner I can devote full energy to my writing again, and bring you more of the apologetics that I have been producing on a continuous basis since 1993. My motivation is as high as ever, and I have no plans of ever retiring. From me you get total "lifetime" commitment and passion for the work that I do. I'm at your service.
First things first: I gotta pay my bills. Please prayerfully consider a donation or one or more of the other things above that are helpful as well. Thank you so much and God bless you! I love all of you and always appreciate my readers from the bottom of my heart.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/dave.armstrong.798/posts/643956908972631
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Day Two: 5 September 2013. "You shall know the tree by its fruits." $150 out of $7500 raised (2%)
I've collected, going all the way back to 1997, many letters I've received, both from Catholics and non-Catholics about my work. This is an indication of its fruitfulness: thanks always and entirely to the grace of God alone. If something is in God's will, it'll be fruitful. In my case, that will be shown in lives being changed and transformed by the gospel and the message of the fullness of truth found in the one true Catholic Church.
I've received countless letters of this sort, and based on this first-hand report of unsolicited correspondence, it's confirmed that there have been multiple hundreds of conversions to the faith, reversion back to the faith (cradle Catholics who fell away and came back), and an increased zeal and understanding / renewal of personal faith, that the persons concerned attribute primarily or largely (on a human level) to my writing. That's the fruit; that's what it's all about, and why I do what I do: to literally help create more Catholics, and more vibrant, faithful, obedient, joyful, properly educated Catholics. These letters are a major reason why you should support this work. If you want more of this sort of thing, then my apostolate is one that you can support, to help bring it about.
This was noted early on, before I ever had a published book (though I had some published articles and my conversion story was in Surprised by Truth). Marcus Grodi (host of The Journey Home) wrote, way back on 2 May 1997:
"You utterly amaze me! Such good stuff . . . Dave, keep up your effective and eternally valuable apologetic journalism!"
I'll be sharing as we go along, what many well-known Catholics have said about my work. It's humbling and a great honor. Today, however, I'd like to share the letters that I've received, or public comments made (completely unsolicited), just in the last few months, up until yesterday. I had stopped recording them in October 2008, but started up again in June 2013. I'll keep folks anonymous. Some were in private PMs, but I don't think folks will mind an anonymous citation.
*****
. . . I recommended one of Dave Armstrong's books, saying that his blog was instrumental in bringing me into the Church. Facebook, 6-9-13
As always, you prefer to find common ground, the things where Christians agree as much as you can, while acknowledging that there are differences and not shying away from those differences. That is is why several years of talking with you, reading your posts on your blog and forum, and your conduct was a factor in my crossing the Tiber. Former Anglican, Facebook, 6-12-13
Back in the late 90's I used to stay up 1/2 the night reading through his website...I learned so much about my faith. His website was my first introduction to apologetics. Anonymous Catholic, Facebook, 6-15-13
I've found your work absolutely incredible. Specifically your method of using Protestant sources, commentaries and historians to prove the truth of the Catholic view and interpretation. The reason your articles and essays are so incredibly useful is because you have synthesized all the available data and information into a very ordered and succinct form. In other words you have done all the intense work and to study an issue I just need to read your essay and you have brilliantly provided all the data, summarized the evidence and explained the Catholic truth. Personal letter, 6-16-13
Dave, I love your books and the gift of wisdom God gave you. I always refer to them in need of a good answer. Facebook, 6-16-13
I will be received into the Catholic Church on June 29. Your blog, your posts here [Facebook], have helped me find my way. Thanks. Former Methodist pastor, personal letter, 6-16-13
Your writings helped bring me home. Facebook, 6-27-13
You, Patrick Madrid and Dr. Hahn are my three "go to" Catholic apologists. I know I might get some nonsense mixed in with the truth from other folks, but not the case from you three gentlemen. You are always orthodox and charitable. Thank you for your great work and may God bless you. Facebook, 6-30-13
A National Catholic Register article about your conversion inspired me to send you a long overdue thank you for your apologetics apostolate. As a high school agnostic searching for the truth, your website was decisive in my decision to be baptized, confirmed and receive first Holy Communion the Easter Vigil of 2003. Ten years later, I have gained a degree from Christendom College, worked for LifeSiteNews.com, become a professed religious with the Legion of Christ and am currently studying in Rome for the priesthood. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for an apostolate that truly changed my life. Please let me know if you ever find yourself in the Eternal City, so that I might thank you in person. Letter of 7-2-13
Back when it was just a website, Dave's work was instrumental in my conversion. Facebook, 7-4-13
Mr. Armstrong's work was instrumental in keeping me Catholic back in 1997 when I had a "crisis of faith". Facebook, 7-9-13
Dave, I have almost all your books on my Kindle. Thank you for all your hard work. Your website is invaluable. It's one of my first destinations every day. Facebook, 7-11-13
Thank you for defending our Church and for enlightening us in the teachings of the Catholic Church. You truly inspired a lot of Filipino apologists here in the Philippines. Facebook message, 7-30-13
Thanks for all the wonderful work you do here on Facebook. You have helped me grow and understand my faith so much better. Facebook message, 7-30-13
Thank you for all that you do every day for our Church. You are an inspiration. Facebook message, 7-30-13
I meant to mention how much good your Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths has done me. Gave me some much-needed encouragement and support in talking to non-Catholics/fallen-away Catholics/atheists. Thank you for your work! Facebook, 8-2-13
A Biblical Defense of Catholicism is one of the best books I have the privilege to own and I have bought many copies that I gave away to family and friends. It kind of started me on my journey to becoming a "learned" Catholic. Before that I was just happy to be a cradle Catholic who had no clue when it came to defending my faith. Thank You Dave. You have participated in changing my life, the lives of my relatives and friends. May God continue to inspire you and May He bless you always! 8-6-13
Thanks for being such a great Catholic apologist. It was largely due to your articles that I was saved from the sedevacantism dead end. God bless you for all you do for Catholics everywhere.
Facebook, 8-25-13
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Dave Armstrong is the hardest working Catholic apologist I know and barely scrapes by, . . . supporting his wife and many children. Seriously, he is an inspiration to me. Many excellent Catholic publishers have published his books (including Catholic Answers), but as I can attest, book royalties do not pay very much!
Facebook, 8-30-13
Dave has done lots of work that other apologists haven't: see his work Pillars of Sola Scriptura for just one example. But his whole style of providing wonderful popular level reference material is a niche that wouldn't be filled if he didn't take the time to do so. His work is valuable and should be respected . . . [his] work is much appreciated. Facebook, 9-4-13
Dave Armstrong is a big help to me in my journey of discovery and understanding of my Catholic faith; hence, I would like him to stay as an apologist, whether full-time or part-time, that is his call. But to me, he is a big help and the Church is blessed to have him. Facebook, 9-4-13
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