Clearing up Baptist Background Controversy

Addresses skeptical claims that he has never been a Baptist Minister and that he has never taught at Jerry Falwell's Liberty College.

It has come to my attention that some of you have received misinformation regarding my past, particularly my Baptist background.

I have received three or four letters from some of you, saying that you had contacted Jerry Falwell’s university about my teaching there in the past and that—to use one person’s own words, "…I have done some checking on my own. Would it interest you to know that Liberty college never heard of him, and yet he claims to lecture there or has lectured there in the past…"

That puzzles me, for I was interviewed for an English faculty position back in 1980 by a Mrs. Ruth Chamberlin, then head of the English Department, and she hired me. I was indeed on faculty at Jerry Falwell’s. Dr. Chamberlin’s phone number is: (804) 582-2436. I’m rather certain she is still on faculty there, though no longer the chairperson of the department. There are others still on faculty in the English Department at Liberty University. They were there when I was. Their names are: Teresa & Ed Brinkley, husband & wife, (804) 582-2081 & (804) 582-2458. They will remember my being there. Bill Gribbin, (804) 582-2777, will also remember. Bill and I arrived on campus the very same year, 1980. He had his Ph.D so became the chairman of the English Department and Mrs. Chamberlin was demoted. She later received her Ph.D. Also Olga Kronmeyer was there when I was there. Her phone number is: (804) 582-2238. There was also a Dr. Suhail Hanna (we became rather good friends) who was there when I was. He is no longer on faculty there. My office mate, Professor Samuelson, is no longer there either.

If you are one of those persons who has contacted Liberty University, and they told you that they had never heard of me, please, would you get that person’s name and phone number, and contact me. I would like to know who it is that’s spreading the misinformation. Please email me. And thank you. I was indeed on faculty there in the early 1980s. And if I must, I can produce the documentation. Our daughter was born in Lynchburg, VA, while I was on faculty there. I sang in the Old Time Gospel Choir on national TV every Sunday for over a year. My name is in the yearbook under faculty members.

The above listing of English faculty members and their office phone numbers are public domain. I got the information off Liberty University’s website. Should you contact any of my fellow faculty members whom I worked with while there, I would also be interested in their response. And would appreciate your letting me know by email.

There are some things in life that are unpleasant to talk about and this is one of them. I did not even want to discuss this matter, but my friend, Sterling Allan, suggested I do so. And perhaps he’s right. None of us, however, enjoy defending ourselves—or coming to our own defense. The Bible says "…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things…" (Philippians 4:8).

What I’m about to share is not too lovely. But what I’m about to share is a matter of public record and you may check out the information for yourself. The information is filed in a district court of law in the parish of Lynchburg, VA.

To begin with, two things "got me in hot water" as a faculty member. One incident was true; the other was a rumor and not true. One involved a miracle; the other, a viscous falsehood which was later vindicated in a court of law.

To be specific, two of my freshman composition students--both deaf & dumb--came to one of our weekly home prayer meetings. While there, both students received the laying on of hands, and both simultaneously began praising and speaking in another language! That's the first time either of the two had ever uttered a word. They could feel & sense their vocal cords vibrating and I don't mind telling you--it excited them. They were both sitting on our living room floor speaking in tongues, in another language.

Word got out on campus that two deaf & mute students "….had gone over to Ridenhour's house and came back speaking in tongues." Falwell does not believe in the gifts of the Spirit. He (and the position of his college) takes the position that the gifts of the Spirit ceased when the Bible was printed. I lost my contract for the following year. It was not renewed. I was labeled a "charismatic" Christian.

In other words, the miracle was true. It did take place in our living room. The rumor was not true, however, that I was writing an article for Penthouse Magazine to embarrass Rev. Falwell. That was a viscous rumor circulating around campus. I never wrote any article for Penthouse Magazine. None was ever published.

I told my friend, Sterling Allen—fundamentalist Christians can get paranoid at times.

When I was there in 1980 Falwell had recently sued Penthouse Magazine for some reason. I think over slandering his name in a parody they scripted on Falwell in one of their magazine issues. The buzz that Falwell had sued Penthouse was a big thing on campus then. It was my first year there. Crazy things happen. Rumors start. Often for no reason at all. Rumor got out to the President of the college there that I--a new faculty member--was writing an article for Penthouse magazine to embarrass Falwell. Well, it never happened.

My office was bugged. Security was confiscating my typewriter ribbons in hopes they could read the ribbon to see if I was in fact writing a Penthouse article. My office was searched. All of this I discovered later.

One day Dr. Don Garlock—then Dean of Communications--lost it in the hallway in front of my office and started screaming "GUARDS! GUARDS! GUARDS!" I mean--he went banana. Wouldn't let me leave my office or use my phone. "You’re not calling your attorney," he yelled. I had no attorney to call. Why did I need a lawyer? Armed guards surrounded me in my office and held me hostage for two hours--not letting me in touch with the outside world. I stood in my office under armed guard as I watched guards load up my books in boxes and put them in my car. They emptied my office, then escorted me off campus, banning me from ever returning.

That was on a Wednesday afternoon. That evening at prayer meeting at Falwell's church--you got to remember, half the town of Lynchburg, VA, attend his church. That's about 22,000. That night at prayer meeting with the house packed Falwell gets up and announces "...we've got a traitor in our midst. He's Judas. Penthouse knew who to contact. You know who you are. You're lower than a snake's belly. Now you sit there and squirm. You know you're out there, and you need to get up out of your seat right now, come forward, and get right with God. We might take you back but we might not..."

All my faculty peers were sitting there. The whole student body was sitting there. I was watching myself being blackballed. Banned from campus, and called "Judas, lower than a snake's belly" by Falwell publicly before thousands of people.

I wrote no article for Penthouse. And none was ever published. It was all a rumor. To this day I have a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach when I get around some fundamentalists. All that hate in the name of love.

Falwell told me personally he was going to blackball me from the academic community. He told me he'd do it nationwide, and he tried. I was never let back on campus. I stayed at home sending out resumes. Trying to find work. Finally a small Brethren College in Indiana hired me. I was thrilled. I wanted out of Lynchburg in the worst way. I felt like I had been lynched. Linda and I had just had Lori, our daughter. She was two months old. We had the U-Haul packed and were actually pulling out of the driveway when Linda heard the phone ring from inside our empty apartment. I said, "...hon, let it go" She insisted, so I stopped the U-haul, got out, and answered it. It was the President of the college in Indiana--I wish I could remember the name of the college. He had gotten word that I was a "trouble maker." And that they had changed their mind. They didn't want me.

I couldn't believe it. I had signed an actual written contract with their college. Our U-Haul was loaded; our lease had expired; our two-month old daughter and my wife were sitting in the truck. I told the man, "...sir, I have a baby and a wife waiting in the truck. We have no place to go." He agreed to pay for us to spend the night in a motel.

We sued Falwell for defamation of character, and, of all things--kidnapping. And won! Our lawsuit is a matter of public record on file with a case number in Virginia somewhere. And if I have to, I'll drive down there, or fly, or call, and get a copy of the actual case documents. Falwell settled for an undisclosed amount and I agreed to a gag order not to disclose the amount.

I said in the beginning of our letter that I was puzzled. Not really. I think I know what’s going on.

I'm not one of their favorite professors. It wouldn't surprise me if the administration would lie and say they never knew me. I was an embarrassment to Falwell. One of his own faculty members "has gone Mormon" on him. They want to keep that quiet. And, to say the least, he doesn’t want our defamation of character lawsuit to become national news-- that one of his own faculty members was held under armed guard for suspicion of writing for Penthouse--and that I was not allowed contact with the outside world for over two hours, and that I sued for defamation of character--and kidnapping--because I could not find work in my field for his public slanders "...we have a traitor in our midst. He's a Judas, lower than a snake's belly..."

There was no truth to his slanderous remarks. I had written no article for Penthouse. But he doesn't want the lawsuit out.

His sermon was tape-recorded and we obtained a copy. Our attorney used his remarks as evidence.

As I said, these are not pleasant things to discuss. It’s been over twenty years ago. I can do a bit of research and obtain the actual case number. I will, hopefully in the near future, be posting documentation that I indeed was on faculty at Jerry Falwell’s.

I did find one thing. I had my licensing ceremony, not in 1963 but 1965. August 10, 1965 to be exact. I have a copy of the clerk's church minutes. I called my sister, Joan Abel, not too long ago and asked if she could check with the church clerk and ask her to go back through the church minutes. My sister mailed me a copy. Mrs. Erline Robertson, church clerk back in '65 is still the church clerk. I couldn't believe it. She's still living there in Belle and was, of course, there that day during my actual ceremony.

As for an actual certificate, I was mailed one years ago. It was signed by our pastor L.M. White (now deceased) and I believe our church clerk and Deacon Al Bledsoe. We have moved so many times throughout the years since 1965 that I honestly have no idea where it is. But there are people in my home town that was at my ceremony that are still living. As I said, I do have a copy of the handwritten church minutes taken by Mrs. Robertson on August 10, 1965. In it includes the statement "...Deacon's recommendation was to grant a license to preach to Lynn Ridenhour. Bro. Bledsoe made a motion to accept the Deacon's recommendation, was second motion carried..."

Our First Baptist Church in Belle, Missouri, is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, TN. When Sara said she called the convention, unless I was "politically active" there with many who work at the headquarters, there is a good reason they have not heard of me. No need to. Sara must understand that certification among Baptists is authorized on a local level. Each local church carries its own autonomy, and authority to ordain and license.

And finally, Sara wrote, "...I have checked with the American, Conservative, and Southern Baptist Conventions and none have ever heard of him. I do not believe he ever was a pastor, nor is he one now…"

One, Sara, as I said, needs to understand the dynamics of the national conventions. The national headquarters for the Southern Baptist Convention is located in Nashville, TN. There would be no particular reason for them to know me, or even to know of me. Not unless I was high up in their ranks. Which I’m not.

And two: regarding record-keeping on pastors. Pastors come & go all the time within the Baptist circles. The average stay for a Southern Baptist pastor in one place is seven years. Record keeping, to say the least, is not up to snuff.

And three: within the structure of the Baptists, there are typically three choices one has for full-time service. 1) pastor, 2) missionary, and 3) evangelist. I say that to say this--during my active years as a Baptist, I not only pastored, but I was a youth evangelist as well. In other words, I did not always hold down a local church. I was on the move as an evangelist. Baptists are big on evangelists.

Nevertheless, there were times when I did pastor. It would have been in the early seventies. I am going to try and contact some of the church members in those churches and have them write letters, verifying that I was indeed their pastor at such & such church. May take me a few weeks but I'll try. Then we'll post those letters on my website.

We must keep in mind, however. It was during the year 1972 that Joe Hoover, one of my Baptist deacons, came by our home, left me a set of tapes to a charismatic conference that he had just attended. I listened to the tapes and was filled with the Spirit. Our ministry purpose and direction, from that time on, took a drastic turn. I no longer pastored Baptist churches, but became heavily involved in the charismatic renewal. That does not mean that I left my Baptist roots. I still embraced those cardinal doctrines such as the born again experience that Baptists are so fond of proclaiming.

That's primarily why today I refer to myself as a Baptist minister. The longer I am around the restoration movement, the more I'm convinced the experience of the mighty change of heart is not preached. Many, I believe, have never been born again but who are active within the restoration movement. They lack that personal relationship with the Lord. That's not a criticism but an observation.

I also still refer to myself as a Baptist minister because I am a Baptist minister. I have never been X-communicated. They have never revoked my license. To be perfectly exact, however, I refer to myself as "charismatic Baptist." For most Baptists do not embrace and practice the spiritual gifts. I do. Another thing--since the mid-eighties, my wife and I have been heavily involved in the house church movement. Some refer to it as "cell churches." We strongly believe in a plurality of eldership leading a local group of saints.

I repeat myself--I have nothing to hide. I have no hidden agendas. I have no desire for notoriety. I have never deliberately intended to falsify my credentials or lack of them. I simply want to love and to serve our Lord & Savior the remaining days of my life, and to remain faithful to the end. I desire no ministry. That is, I do not desire to "kingdom build" for myself. Life is too short. I do, on the other hand, have a deep desire to edify and to be a blessing to the Body of Christ at large, and here in Zion in particular.

I must admit--I am human, and do get weary of people at times that seem to be trying to "catch me at something." Their cynicism annoys me.

Interesting follow-up to Ridenhour's story, post-1985 (when he embraced the Book of Mormon:

Doc Mullenex came to me, saying that he had 200 acres of land down at the Lake of the Ozarks that he wanted to turn into a retreat for believers to come and relax. The land was all paid for and in a family trust. He wanted to not have to raise the capital by borrowing and going into debt, but he wanted to pay and develop the project as we brought in the funds. I said I would help....We set up a 20/20 program. Twenty weeks at the retreat and 20 hours of motivational materials. The package was marketed for, I believe, $1,500..."

The case itself, according to The Multi-Level Marketing Law Library...

1. During November and December of 1986, an individual named Lynn Ridenhour introduced a multi-level sales program to residents of Shawnee County and surrounding areas. This was done through meetings or seminars held at the Holiday Inn and Ramada Inn in downtown Topeka and at private residences located in and surrounding Shawnee County, Kansas. [Note: the Ridenhours lived in Missouri at the time]

2. The program was called the Top Flight Success System ('TFSS'). The TFSS program was marketed by Ridenhour on behalf of Products Management Corporation ('PMC'), an Oklahoma corporation. PMC was organized in 1976 but remained inactive until October of 1986. Prior to 1986, Ernest Mullenax [i.e. Lynn's "Doc Mullinex"] was president and a director of PMC. Mullenax's wife, Margaret, was an original incorporator of PMC. Subsequent to October, 1986, [Lynn] Ridenhour was vice-president, Mullenax was director, and both were control persons of PMC.

3. Participants joined the program by paying a $1500 entry fee. Payment of the fee entitled the payor to have his/her name placed on a chart in an entry level position as a 'passenger.' The charts consisted of four levels organized in a pyramid fashion. At the base of the pyramid were eight positions called 'passengers.' Above this in ascending order were four positions as 'crewmen,' two positions as 'co-pilots,' and one position as a 'pilot' at the apex. The system was metaphorically referred to as an airplane pyramid. Once eight passengers paid their money ('boarded the airplane'), the pilot cashed out, and the remaining participants split into two new pyramids with everyone advancing one level. Each new airplane in turn recruited eight new passengers, in which event the pyramids again multiplied. Theoretically, the process continued ad infinitum. The longer the TFSS program operated, the need for passengers increased exponentially.

4. The $1500 entry fee was paid in two checks. One check for $1250 was made payable to TFSS. A second check for $250 was made payable to PMC. The check made payable to TFSS was deposited into a TFSS account, and the money deposited was paid to the pilot of the chart the payor was entering. A pilot on a pyramid which successfully filled all eight passenger positions "cashed out" or exited the system with $10,000. PMC received $250 from every participant when they entered the program.

Again, from Ridenhour...

"...Mr. Phillip Gibson, assistant attorney general for the state of Missouri, indicted us for selling securities without a license. Our attorney, who was on the board, said that the definition of a security was "a return on investment," and that we were marketing memberships, not an investment. There was no promise of a return on investment. You and your family simply purchased for $1500 20 weeks of vacation time at our resort, plus 20 hours of positive mental attitude motivational materials..."

And now back to MLMLAW...

5. The offer and sale of participation units in the TFSS system were ostensibly joined with two products: 1) a 'Top Flight Vacation Card' entitling the holder to use of a recreational facility (to be developed later by a subsidiary of PMC) for 20 weeks a year for five years, and 2) a set of motivational tapes. The value of these products was insignificant in comparison to the value of the $1500 entry fee. Participants were encouraged and did, in fact, re-enter the TFSS system multiple times. Multiple sets of vacation cards and motivational tapes were of no additional value to the participants. There is no known or demonstrable market for the products outside the TFSS network.

6. Ridenhour, on behalf of PMC, offered and sold the participation units in TFSS in meetings or seminars as described in paragraph 1. Interested persons and participants were encouraged to bring other prospects to the *922 meetings. Prospects were encouraged to join through expectation of a short-term return of $10,000 on a $1500 investment. As a result, over 250 individuals from the Shawnee County area purchased units of participation, and many of these individuals purchased multiple units.

7. As the program was originally structured, PMC centrally maintained investor charts and kept track of the placement of participants' names and their movement on the various charts. As mentioned, payments to the pilots were originally made to PMC d/b/a TFSS, which then made payment to the 'pilots' cashing out. As the program proliferated, these arrangements broke down and individual participants kept track of the charts, and TFSS checks were endorsed over for direct payment to the 'pilots.'

8. There is some factual dispute as to the degree of involvement of certain defendants in actively promoting the program and soliciting others to join. However, there is no dispute that all named defendants 1) knowingly purchased participation in the TFSS program with the expectation that they would progress through the levels and ultimately 'cash out,' earning a significant return, 2) knowingly permitted their names to remain in the system on various charts as they progressed through the levels, 3) 'cashed out' as pilots and actually received payments from other participants, and 4) retained such payments."

And back to Ridenhour...

"...The state of Missouri froze our assets, our bank accounts, and I was penniless for 18 months....Mr. Gibson, assistant attorney general, froze our bank accounts. We had $465,000 in three different accounts. He took every penny. The FBI asked me that evening if Mr. Gibson asked us for any cash the evening he was in our home while serving me with the indictment. He, in fact, did ask us if we had any cash. We had $3,000 stuffed away in a dresser drawers. My wife, Linda, went in the back room and got it, then handed him the money. She asked for a receipt. He gave her one..."

"...About a month later we read in the Kansas City Star where Mr. Phillip Gibson, assistant attorney general, had been arrested and charged with consumer fraud. It was all a scam and we were the victims. The FBI had been investigating the attorney general's office for three years. Bill Webster, attorney general of the state of Missouri, Phillip Gibson, assistant attorney general, and I can't remember the names of the other assistants, all went to prison, convicted on consumer fraud. They would slap a phony charge on a new business in the startup phase, indict them, scare them to death, threaten them with prison, and doctor the confiscated funds. For instance, the attorney general's office took $465,000 of our money, but only reported $150,000. Bill Webster, attorney general, and his cronies, were on the take. They pocketed the rest..."

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That brings our story up to around 1990. Remember that in 1985 they had just moved back to Missouri and been convicted of the truth of the Book of Mormon. Lynn wrote "The Baptist Version of The Book of Mormon" in 1990, following his conviction by the State of Missouri.

The Ridenhours had $3000 - in cash - lying around their house sometime around 1987-1999. They had an additional half-million in the bank, no doubt derived (at least in part) from the business described in detail in the court records. The court said there was "no dispute" Lynn Ridenhour had cashed out as a "pilot" in this pyramid scheme. And Lynn willingly handed over three grand in cash to someone later convicted of corruption, conspiracy, and embezzlement. And Ridenhour's conviction has never been overturned.

Missouri's Attorney General at the time, Bill Webster, pled guilty - not to consumer fraud, but on federal charges of public corruption while in office. Webster signed an agreement in June 1993 in which he pleaded guilty of conspiracy and embezzlement charges connected to his campaign for governor in 1992. Whether or not the AG was corrupt doesn't change the fact that Lynn Ridenhour was involved in a pyramid marketing scheme. He just got taken by a bigger crook.

How does the saying go? You can't cheat an honest man.

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