Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies and Bible and former Academic Dean at Moody Bible Institute (MBI), Dr. Michael Rydelnik (ThM, 1983) continues to serve as a radio host, Bible teacher, adjunct professor, and author. He’s married to his forever friend, Eva, and, in their opinion, they have the two cutest grandkids on the planet. He and Eva live in Grand Rapids, as one of his sons and his wife “had the temerity, the chutzpah, to take their grandkids to Michigan.” Their other son, who served as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, teaches high school English in Chicago. When they’re not hanging out with their family, you’ll find Michael and Eva watching classic Hollywood movies or out hiking with Frodo the sheltie and Jake the boxer. When they’re not hanging out with their family, you’ll find Michael and Eva watching classic Hollywood movies or out hiking with Frodo the sheltie and Jake the boxer.
Born to Holocaust survivors, Michael was raised in an observant Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York. During his high school years, his mother became a follower of Yeshua. After many disputes, Michael became His follower too. He started teaching the Bible almost straight away, and he has spent his life training others in the Scriptures and helping fellow Jewish people come to know Yeshua as their Messiah.
Over the years, Michael’s ministry has taken different forms—everything from planting and growing congregations with Chosen People Ministries to broadcasting on live radio. He’s taught extensively too, lecturing to students throughout New York, Chicago, and beyond. He’s never veered from the basics: his undying loyalty to New York-style pizza and, more importantly, his deep concern for the things of God’s heart, especially Israel. Michael knows that the Lord loves the Jewish people with an everlasting love (Jer 31:3; Rom 11:29). The Scriptures tell us that God himself chose Jerusalem as his desired home, his resting place forever (Ps 132:13-14). The prophet Isaiah writes that, like a mother who never forgets her children, God will never forget his people; they are forever engraved on the palms of his hands (Is 49:15–16). Because the Jewish people are close to God’s heart, it is fitting that they should be near to the heart of the church. It is God’s heart for his people that has been a key driver throughout Michael’s ministry: loving those the Lord loves, especially Israel, and encouraging others to do the same.
Michael met Eva the summer before he started attending Moody Bible Institute. Michael was working with Chosen People Ministries, and Eva, already a Moody student, was wrapping up an internship. While at Moody, they became better friends. When it came time for Eva to graduate, he thought, “I don’t want to miss out on being with my best friend.” He called Eva and said, “I think you should marry me.” Eva’s response? “We need to talk in person.” Michael headed down to the Moody Arch, expecting to get friend-zoned. Eva looked him in the eye and asked, “Do you love me?” Michael responded in the affirmative, and the pair got married two months later. They’ve spent the last fifty years as husband and wife, serving the Lord in a variety of contexts, including teaching together for thirty-two years at Moody.
The Rydelniks spent the next ten years serving with Chosen People Ministries, planting Messianic congregations. Michael eventually took on the role of Northern Regional Director, supporting staff from Montreal to Philly and from New York to Chicago. They didn’t have any plans to leave the congregation they planted on Long Island until one Saturday, when Dr. Lou Goldberg, then professor of Jewish Studies at Moody, showed up. On his visit to Michael’s congregation, Lou shared that he was retiring from Moody and wanted to recommend Michael as his replacement. Michael had always longed to teach Jewish studies at Moody, and so a year later, they packed up their house and moved to Chicago. Both Michael and Eva started teaching at Moody. Michael became the fifth Professor of Jewish Studies.
Michael loved teaching at MBI, fielding both Jewish Studies and Bible courses. He feels so privileged to see how the Lord has extended his teaching ministry, sending his students to serve Jewish communities throughout Israel, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. In 2012, Michael also started hosting a radio show, Open Line, answering Bible questions every Saturday morning. It broadcasts on 325 stations worldwide. Two things help Michael answer the unscripted questions he receives. First, the baseball stats he memorized as a kid trained his mind to retain information and argue exegetically—an opinion also shared by Bob Chisholm (ThD, 1983). Secondly, the depth and breadth of his DTS education equipped him to field the variety of questions he receives, some academic, others applicational, allowing him to lean into his pastoral background. In 2022, Michael transitioned from being a full-time professor to Academic Dean. During his Moody years, he worked on several books, including The Moody Bible Commentary and The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, a Dallas staple, gave him the idea for the commentary. For the Messianic prophecy handbook, he collaborated with Ed Blum (ThM, 1961; ThD, 1968), to whom he had been a graduate assistant while at DTS.
Michael’s current ministry primarily takes place over the radio. He enjoys talking to people from a wide variety of backgrounds and locations. The anonymity allows his callers to be more transparent. Lots of the questions Michael receives relate to the Jewish people, allowing him to share God’s heart for them. He receives calls from all over—Florida, Japan, and even Israel. He’s even led people to the Lord over the air. With all his connections, he’s usually able to get them plugged in with local believers.
Michael handles lots of speaking engagements for Moody and gets his teaching fix by serving as an adjunct professor for DTS. He also writes, crafting new projects and revising older titles for the popular level. He started working on his newest book after the U.S. bombed an Iranian uranium enrichment facility in 2025. An acquisitions editor from Moody called, asking him to write a 10,000-word book in one month. The contract grew, and the final count for How Should Christians Think About Israel? weighed in at 26,000 words. Moody promptly released a second edition, accompanied by an afterward, addressing the harsh social media criticism directed toward the book’s first edition and the Jewish people; a surprising amount of that criticism came from evangelical corners. Moody, recognizing the need to address the growing antisemitism, even inside the church, is hosting a conference this November—The Moody Summit Opposing the New Christian Anti-Semitism. Michael will serve as one of the keynote speakers, along with Dr. Mark Yarbrough (ThM, 1996; PhD, 2008) and Dr. Everett Piper.
It is healthy for the church to know God’s heart for Israel. Michael knows that when believers recognize God’s love and unshakable faithfulness for Israel, they can better comprehend the depths of God’s faithful love to every Jesus follower. Recognizing God’s heart for Israel also draws believers into a more intimate knowledge of God’s heart; they can appreciate his tenacious love for those he holds dear, generation after generation. The Scriptures show us a God who is afflicted in all of Israel’s afflictions (Is 63:9). The church is called to comfort God’s people, not attack them. She is to know the love that God has for Israel, both drawing confidence from his never-failing love toward Israel and expressing God’s compassionate love to his people. The Lord remains and will remain faithful to Israel. That’s what Michael and Eva’s ministry is all about: sharing God’s steadfast heart for Israel, with both Jew and Gentile, that others might know the Jewish Messiah and love that which is close to God’s heart.
Morgan Dau (ThM, 2023) is the Office Manager for the Alumni and Career Services Office at Dallas Theological Seminary and a PhD student and writer. She and her husband, An, along with their black cat, call Dallas home.