about us

Rick is the president of Didactic Ministries. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. He has worked as an engineer and project manager for several high tech companies and as an adjunct professor for Somerset Christian College. He enjoys teaching and biblical research. 

Rick and his wife have served for many years in Sabbath-keeping congregations and Bible study groups in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. They started Didactic Ministries in 2006 to provide Pro-Torah Christian educational materials to individuals and ministries throughout the USA and the world.​

We support the growing recognition among Christians that the seventh-day Sabbath and annual festivals listed in Leviticus 23 summarize God's plan of salvation for humanity and are the proper basis for sanctified worship by God's people.

We also offer opportunities to observe the biblical holy days while touring the Holy Land with other Sabbath-keeping Christians. The trip is physically demanding, so you must be able to tolerate heat and climb steps or hills. But, the view is worth the climb. Trips vary based on level of interest and must be planned well in advance.

This ministry uses the standard Hebrew calendar to determine the dates of biblical Holy Days. After the Exodus, God established elders, priests and judges to administer civil and religious affairs within Israel. At first, they followed an arbitrary system of direct observation to determine the start of months and years; Israel eventually adopted a calculated calendar based on the best astronomical data available. All calendar systems need to be adjusted over time, but certain individuals want to modify the Hebrew calendar on their own without proper authorization. We will follow the standard Hebrew calendar until the proper authorities within Israel update the current system.

This ministry avoids the use of certain terms as religious titles. Jesus taught His disciples not to call one another “Rabbi” (Teacher), “Father” or “Master” in a religious sense because there is only one Person who rightly holds those titles (Matt 23:8-11). Moreover, we avoid related terms such as “Reverend,” “your Holiness” or “your Grace” for the same reason. God alone is worthy of such lofty titles.  

 Many people today claim to have charismatic gifts such as miraculous healing, prophetic revelation and speaking in tongues (foreign languages), but their dubious record to date suggests otherwise. Therefore, this ministry will apply careful, biblical tests to anyone in our fellowship groups claiming to have such gifts (e.g., Deut 13, 18, Isa 8:20, 1John 4:1). Candidates will be expected to (1) have a reputation for godly behavior, (2) teach what agrees with Scripture and (3) demonstrate a verifiable miracle as evidence of divine authorization. 

 This ministry does not require or forbid the use of terms like “Yahweh,” “Yeshua,” “God” or “Jesus,” but we discourage the use of “Jehovah” since it isn't a legitimate word. There is no biblical prohibition against speaking God’s sacred name, and it is self-evident that ancient Israelites commonly did so. Some groups argue endlessly about the precise pronunciation of Hebrew names as if this makes any difference to the God who knows all of our thoughts. The important point is to treat God’s name with respect no matter which language we use. 

We do not use images of Jesus in print or video content for several important reasons. First, there are no reliable descriptions of Jesus, and the most common depictions are certainly inaccurate and misleading. Second, people use such images to disobey the spirit and letter of God’s law against idolatry (Deut 4:11-19). Third, these images tend to focus on the death of Jesus which distracts people from thinking of Him as the risen and glorified Lord (cf. Rev 1:9-18).