Welcome to Twoth.com we are speaking with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, currently the senior pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, and visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California. He is also a co-host of the White Horse Inn radio program, which is broadcast weekly on more than fifty radio stations.
Dr. Riddlebarger has served as a visiting lecturer in the graduate program in Reformation studies at Concordia University in Irvine, CA and was the chairman of the Growing Reformed Churches Conference, cosponsored by First Chino URC and Westminster Seminary California, where he served as a member of the board of trustees. Dr. Riddlebarger also served as executive vice president of Christians United for Reformation (CURE), the forerunner of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE).
Dr. Riddlebarger is an ordained minister in the United Reformed Churches (URCNA), is a regular contributor to publications such as Modern Reformation and Table Talk and has written chapters for the books Power Religion (Moody), Roman Catholicism: Evangelicals Analyze What Unites and What Divides Us (Moody), and Christ the Lord (Baker). Kim is the author of two books; A Case For Amillennialism, (Baker Books, 2003), The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist (Baker Books, May 2006).
Dr. Riddlebarger has earned a number of academic degrees including:
California State University Fullerton (B.A.)
Simon Greenleaf University (M.A.)
Westminster Seminary California (M.A.R.)
Fuller Theological Seminary (Ph.D.)
Welcome to the Twoth Dr. Riddlebarger. It is an honor to have you and we appreciate your willingness to answer a number of our questions in the midst of your busy life. You wear a number of hats including: Husband, father, pastor, theologian, professor, author, talk show host, etc. The list could go on and on so once again, thank you. Let's get to it:
Chris: Born and raised?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I was born and raised in Orange County, California. I am a fourth-generation Californian. As far as the Reformed guys I know, only Bob Godfrey (president of Westminster Seminary California), has deeper California roots than I do, but his are in the Bay Area.
Chris: Very nice. I'm a third-generation Southern Californian. Raised mostly in Westminster, CA. Possibly fourth gen but that would require some research.
Chris: Currently living?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I live in Buena Park, not far from Knott’s Berry Farm, if you’ve heard of it. I live in our old family home, which my dad built back in 1950. I am raising my own family there. It’s a lovely Cape-Cod style home in a secluded
place (a rarity for my neck of the woods).
Chris: Favorite book(s)?
Dr. Riddlebarger: That’s tough. It’s easy to say “the Bible,” but that’s a given. I love the Heidelberg Catechism, the Book of Common Prayer, and Calvin’s Institutes.
Chris: Quote that stirs your heart most?
Dr. Riddlebarger: “The bastards are getting away!” That’s from Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, when a huge Japanese fleet turned away a small group of American destroyers and escort carriers, at the very moment the Japanese should have crushed the Americans. It shows a sense of courage and humor that I greatly admire and try to emulate.
Chris: Dead theologian influences?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Warfield, Berkhof, Turretin, Bavinck.
Chris: Living theologian/pastoral influences?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I’ve had the privilege of studying under some great men: Rod Rosenbladt, John Warwick Montgomery, Bob Godfrey, and Richard Muller, to name a few. Mike Horton’s also been a huge influence on me.
Chris: What does a typical day or week look like for Dr. Riddlebarger?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I have a Germanic temperament, so I am up at the same time every day. I get my coffee, read my email, hit the total-gym and the treadmill, and then get to work in my study. I teach two nights a week at church, and then conduct two different services on Sunday, and then have pastoral duties (meetings, visitations, marrying and burying). So, I stay plenty busy. But I do take Saturdays off, and people know that if they call me or email me that day, they won’t catch me anywhere near my study.
Chris: Do you read a lot? Are you a mark your books up kind of guy? We want to know about you as a reader. Can you speak to this?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Yes, I read a lot, schedule permitting, mostly in the late afternoons and evenings. I read history (WW II, Civil War, current events) for pleasure and to relax. I read scholarly stuff very carefully and slowly. Richard Muller taught me the value of xeroxing select pages of important stuff, and then marking up the copies. Keeps the originals clean, makes stuff portable, and is much easier to make notes.
Chris: What’s Dr. Riddlebarger currently reading?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Darryl Hart’s Secular Faith, a draft of Horton’s next book in his “covenant” series (prolegomena), Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, and Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas.
Chris: /Chris tips Dr. Riddlebarger a handsome sum of money to get his hands on Dr. Horton's prolegomena manuscript. /smile
Chris: What volume in your personal library are you most proud of?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I have a Latin copy of Turretin’s Institutes which (according to the notes inside the cover) was used as a textbook by someone in A. A. Hodge’s class at Princeton. I also have a copy of Warfield’s rare book on textual criticism
given me by a church member.
Chris: Speaking of books, you yourself are an accomplished author having frequent contributions to magazines such as Modern Reformation and Table Talk, your personal blog entitled “the Riddleblog” and you are the author of two books; A
Case For Amillennialism and The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist. What projects are you working on now? If you had the time what would you like to write/research next?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I was working on another popular book on eschatology, but the project is rapidly morphing into a more ambitious effort–a Reformed/amillennial equivalent of J. D. Pentecost’s Things to Come. I’m also working on an exposition of Romans and a commentary on the Belgic Confession.
Chris: What does Dr. Riddlebarger do to keep the heart aflame?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Sermon preparation does it for me.
Chris: For those of us desiring to be preachers, could you walk us through your sermon preparations and do you have a certain structure you follow?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Yes, I follow a pretty rigid pattern. 95% of the time I preach through a book of the Bible. So, I repeatedly read the whole book several times (or listen to it on CD). I read number of commentaries (mostly scholarly and
critical). Once I select a particular pericope (my text for that particular Lord’s day), I will read it in the original language, and then take notes on odd/important stuff. I’ll then get to work on the sermon. I am a manuscript preacher, so over the course of the week, I’ll write out the whole thing (edit and re-edit) and then memorize it.
Chris: What advice can you give to aspiring ministers?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Find a good Reformed/Presbyterian Church. This is invaluable. Then go to a good Reformed/Presbyterian seminary. Devote yourself to your studies and don’t worry about “ministry” until you’ve gotten sufficient training and direction from your church.
Chris: You’re a minister in the United Reformed Church (URCNA) would you walk us through what sets the Reformed church apart from the Presbyterian Church? What are the distinctions between, for example, the URC and OPC? Is it purely a confessional and land mass issue; island versus continent?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Not having been in the OPC, that’s hard to say. Of course, there are some differences in ethos and some minor differences in polity, but there’s so much more in common, I’d rather not emphasize the differences. I will say, I’m in the URC because I am a Heidelberger. Our catechism is a rare jewel.
Chris: If you can say anything to students currently in seminary whom maybe discouraged in their labors what would it be? Do you have anything to perhaps add from your own academic efforts that would encourage us to continue the fight?
Dr. Riddlebarger: I was never an “A” student. But I am a hard worker so I got good enough grades. If you are called to the ministry, put your shoulder to it, and trust God to see you through it. Read Warfield’s little tract on the Religious
Life of Theological Students. Its worth its weight in fine gold.
Chris: You’ve been the co-host of the White Horse Inn radio program I believe since the beginning and it was Rev. Ken Jones that came later. How has being apart of this show changed you as a person?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Yes, I am an original. Jones came later. I know where all of Horton’s and Rosenbladt’s skeletons are buried. Of course, I have none (smile). The White Horse Inn has been a joy and a delight. For sixteen years I have observed good-ole Reformation theology impact people’s lives in the most dramatic of ways. That explains why my eyes roll when people tell me this stuff doesn’t matter, or that some new fad will provide the thing we are all supposedly
missing.
Chris: What was the most bizarre moment or statement made on the show?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Where to begin . . . All I can say is that it was uttered by Rod Rosenbladt, probably should not be repeated, but was totally called for at the time. It had to do with one of those sappy commercials the radio station ran during our program. The commercial was for the PMS clinic. Enough said.
Chris: As you may or may not know when we interview someone we usually will ask a "Dinger" question; a question that is a little uncomfortable to ask, we call it "being twothed!"
Dr. Riddlebarger here is your Dinger: You’ve written two books dealing with eschatology: A Case For Amillennialism and The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist. Both of these books were written right in Dr. Kenneth Gentry’s backyard so to speak. Was there any intimidation there? Do you think there will be a public debate soon, friendly of course? Has Dr. Gentry contact you? *Yeah I know its not much of a Dinger but I can’t stick a minister of the URC too hard for I’m still a member in good standing of a URC. /smiles
Dr. Riddlebarger: I have never met Ken Gentry nor spoken with him. Ken Gentry was in my backyard (to set the record straight), but we never crossed paths.
Chris: Congratulation Dr. Riddlebarger you've been Twothed! Ok any last thoughts?
Dr. Riddlebarger: Enjoyed it!
--------------------------------------- Interview by: Chris Rehers of twoth.com -----------------------------------------------------
*All introductory biographical information has been taken from Dr. Kim Riddlebarger's biographical page from his blog site.
To read more about Dr. Kim Riddlebarger and his work please visit The Riddleblog.
** The views expressed in our interviews are not necessarily the beliefs held by those of us at Twoth.com but then again you're not here because you care what the two guys at Twoth believe anyway, now are ya?!?!
*** The presence of a " / " will indicate that an act or emotion is being conveyed in the interview to capture the feel that doesn't translate to paper/html. Also it's humorously incorporating the current Internet language which is another culture and language unto itself. "Lol" = Lot of laughs. /smile = I'm smiling. "IMHO" = In my honest opinion. Etc.
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