About | Danger Close

Insightful, bold, orthodox, prophetic, relational, trustworthy, faith-filled.

Insightful,
bold,
orthodox, prophetic, relational, trustworthy, faith-filled.

About Joe Riddle

Founder + Chief Researcher

Joe launched Danger Close Consulting in 2022 and concurrently serves as preaching & teaching pastor at Wave Church where he has served in varying roles since 2010. In 2023, he graduated with honors from Regent University with a master's degree in Divinity, specializing in Biblical language studies. He also regularly speaks in church, conference, and intensive lecture settings.

His three children (Uzi, Cruz, and Goldie) keep him on his knees believing for God's wisdom and protection. When Joe isn't serving churches through the efforts of Danger Close, you are likely to find him training for an upcoming endurance event.

Watch Joe preach here

Grounded

While the art of preaching can and should change over time, the truth of the Gospel is timeless and should remain steadfast. We don’t placate. We don’t medicate. We equip pastors to preach the truth in love. Our message is life and death for a world God dearly loves, so we take this responsibility seriously. If you are laboring at communicating an orthodox understanding of Scripture to a world that is increasingly untethered from the truth, we are here to help.

Experienced

At the center of Danger Close is our heart for the local church. Our approach and method is informed by fifteen years of ongoing, real world ministry experience on the pastoral staff of Wave Church in Virginia Beach. We too are in the trenches, and we know it’s not easy working theologically rigorous and grounded preaching into the muscle and sinew of your faith community. We understand this delicate process and are here to help.

Relational

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, find a battle buddy. We are not here to simply provide a service but to partner with you in preaching fresh, inspiring messages in even the most demanding of ministry seasons. We know going the distance in ministry requires faithful partners. We endeavor to become a part of that support community for you. Rambo makes for great movies, but in real life he dies. We are committed to a partnership that helps you walk out the call on your life and ministry.

More than a job.

It's a calling.

Our heart breaks for pastors who work so hard to proclaim a beautiful and redemptive Gospel yet rarely drink from it for themselves. It’s easy to slip into an overcommitted life that quickly hollows out the soul. Danger Close is motivated by a divine call to support pastors in their sermon preparation as a meaningful step towards reintroducing margin into their lives. A healthy you is the best gift you can give to your ministry, community and family. We want to partner with you in that noble endeavor.

Our name is derived from a military term used for calling in supporting fire close to one’s own position during particularly treacherous combat scenarios. In this situation, you have to trust the person on the other end of the line with your life. Ministry can be hard at times and we hope to be the partners pastors can trust to call for support. Our mission is to equip and support your ministry efforts so you can one day hear Jesus say, “well done, good and faithful servant.”

This is what we believe.

We believe the Holy Bible is the only inspired, infallible, and authoritative source of Christian faith and practice. The Bible is the supreme revelation from God, superior to conscience and reason, though not contrary to reason (2 Tim 3:16, 17).

01.

We believe that there is one God, eternally present in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:26, Matt 3:16-17, John 1:1-4).

02.

We believe that man was created in the image of God, but as a result of sin is lost and powerless to save himself (Gen. 1:26, 2:16-17, Rom. 6:23).

03.

We believe that the only hope for man is to believe on Jesus Christ, the virgin born Son of God, fully God and fully man. Through faith in Christ’s life, death and resurrection, mankind is redeemed (Rom. 10:9-10, 13, John 3:16, Eph. 2:1-10).

04.

We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells all believers, and through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit believers are empowered for Christian service, and gifted for this service. An evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. The Holy Spirit also enables believers to live a Christ-like life exhibiting Godly character (Luke 11:13, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 8:17, 10:44-46, 19:6, Gal. 5:22-23, 1 Cor.12).

05.

We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, both universal and local, and is composed of individuals who through faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that Christ Jesus is the Head and Lord of the Church. The mission of the Church is worship, evangelism, discipleship and the nurturing and care of one another (Matt. 28:1-20, Col. 1:18, Eph. 2:19-22).

06.

We believe that eternal life in heaven is the reward of all who believe and receive Christ as their Lord (John 3:16-17, Luke 23:43, John 14:2-3).

07.

We believe that those who do not accept Christ, are condemned to an eternity apart from God’s presence, which the Bible declares to be the second death (John 14:6, John 3:18, Rev. 21:8).

08.

We believe that salvation is by faith and through grace alone. No amount of good works will produce justification before God. We further believe that the manifestation of faith and grace is a holy life expressed through righteous works (Eph. 2:8-10).

09.

We believe in the calling and gifting of various ministries in the Church, including but not limited to apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers and deacons. We believe that the Church has responsibility for recognizing, equipping, and commissioning these various ministries for the edification of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13, 1 Cor.12:12-30, Rom. 12:3-8).

10.

We believe that divine healing, physical, emotional and spiritual, is included in the atonement of Christ (Isa. 53.4, Matt. 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24-25).

11.

We believe in two sacraments of the Church: a) The Sacrament of Water Baptism, b) The Sacrament of Holy Communion. (Acts 2:38; Matthew 26:26-30).

12.

We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the consummation of the Kingdom of God, and the restitution of all things spoken by the mouth of all the prophets since the world began (Matt. 24:42-44; Act. 1:11; 3:19-21; Rev. 11:15).

13.

We are passionate about pastors leading from a healthy place.

Your life is your greatest message and your preaching an extension of the entirety of your being. Sermon preparation is a time consuming task. When the margins begin to slip in a pastor’s life, it affects the message he is living and preaching.

Let us handle the research demands of that upcoming sermon, book, or ministry curriculum so you can do what nobody else can: invest into your own well-being and personal life. Our partnership helps position pastors to lead and teach from a healthier place.