Education:

 

     Ph.D. (Religion/New Testament), Emory University, 1995.  Dissertation: “Despising Shame: The Social Function of the Rhetoric of Honor and Dishonor in the Epistle to the Hebrews” (advisor: Luke T. Johnson).  Published as Despising Shame: The Social Function of the Rhetoric of Honor and Dishonor in the Epistle to the Hebrews (SBLDS 152; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995).

 

     M. Div., Princeton Theological Seminary, 1990.  Thesis: “Paul’s Defense Of His Apostolate In 2 Corinthians: Conflicting Understandings of Apostolic Legitimation and Their  Implications for the Gospel” (advisor: J. Christiaan Beker).  Published as The Credentials of An Apostle: Paul's Gospel in 2 Corinthians 1 through 7 (N. Richland Hills, TX: BIBAL Press, 1998).

 

     A. B. (English), Princeton University, 1987.  Thesis: “Old Wine, New Wineskins: The  Reform of Anglican Homiletics during the Seventeenth Century” (advisor: Seth Lerer).  Three chapters published as “The Feast in the Text: The Sermons of Lancelot Andrewes,” Anglican Theological Review 76 (1994) 9-26;  “At the Threshold of Heaven: The Preaching of John Donne as Sacrament of the Word,” Anglican and Episcopal History 43 (1994) 5-34; “The Pattern for Preachers: Archbishop John Tillotson and the Reform of Ecclesiastical Oratory in the Seventeenth Century,” Anglican and Episcopal History, forthcoming.

 

Academic Employment:

 

     Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, OH

          Trustees’ Professor, 2005-present; Professor, 2002-2005; Associate Professor, 1998-2002;

          Assistant Professor, 1995-1998.

 

     Courses taught:

                 New Testament Introduction I and  II

                 Biblical Greek I, II, and III

                 Latin I and II

                 Exegesis of 2 Corinthians

                 Exegesis of Galatians

                 Exegesis of 1 and 2 Thessalonians

                 Exegesis of Hebrews

                 Exegesis of 1 Peter

                 Exegesis of the Revelation of John

                 Judaism in the Second Temple Period

                 Apocalyptic Literature

                 Dead Sea Scrolls

                 Senior Seminar in Biblical Sudies

                 Biblical Foundations of Formational Counseling (D. Min. Program)

 

     Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA

          Visiting Professor of New Testament, Summer 2004

 

     Courses Taught:

          New Testament Exegesis: Exegesis of 1 Peter

     Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, GA

          Assistant Instructor, 1994-1995; Adjunct Faculty, 1992-1994;

 

     Courses Taught:

                 Exegesis of the Revelation of John (NT 339)

                 Introduction to the Apocrypha (OT 352)

                 New Testament Greek (BL 331 and 333)

                 Social Sciences and NT Interpretation (NT 320).

 

 

Publications

 

1. Academic Books

     An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (Downers

          Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004).  Translations in Portuguese, Chinese, and Romanian in

          progress.  A 2005 Gold Medallion Book Award Finalist, Reference and Academic Books.

     Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

          Academic, 2002).

     New Testament Themes (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2001).

     Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament  Culture (Downers Grove,

          IL: IVP, 2000).

     Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews

          (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000).

     The Hope of Glory: Honor Discourse and the New Testament (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press,

          1999).  Published in Portuguese as A Esperança da Glória (Säo Paulo, Brazil: Paulinas, 2005).

       Bearing Christ's Reproach: The Challenge of Hebrews in an Honor Culture (N. Richland Hills,

          TX: BIBAL Press, 1999).

     4 Maccabees (Guides to the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha; Sheffield: SAP, 1998).

     The Credentials of An Apostle: Paul's Gospel in 2 Corinthians 1 through 7 (N. Richland Hills,

          TX: BIBAL Press, 1998).

     Despising Shame: The Social Function of the Rhetoric of Honor and Dishonor in the Epistle to

          the Hebrews (SBLDS 152; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995).

 

2. Books for Ecclesiastical or Popular Audiences

     Invitation to the New Testament (co-authored with Emerson Powery; Disciple Short-Term

          Studies; Nashville: Abingdon, 2005).

     Afterlife: Finding Hope in the Face of Death (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2003).

     Paul and the Macedonians (Nashville, TN: Abingdon,  2001).

     Praying with John Wesley (Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources, 2001).

     Untold Stories of the Bible (co-authored with Dr. Victor Matthews; Lincolnwood, IL:

          Publications International Ltd., 1998).

 

3a. Books in Press

     4 Maccabees (LXX Commentary Series; Leiden: Brill, forthcoming in 2005).

 

3b. Books in Preparation (contracted ms. completion dates given):

     1 Peter (Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Series; Deo Publishing, 2005).

     The New Testament and Pastoral Counseling (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005).

     Seeing the World Through John’s Eyes: The Rhetoric of the Book of Revelation (Louisville, KY:

          Westminster John Knox Press, 2006).

     An Introduction to the Apostolic Fathers (co-authored with Michael W. Holmes; Grand Rapids,                        

           MI:Baker Academic, 2007).

     A Socio-rhetorical Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008).

     Reflections on the Book of Common Prayer.  Vol. 1: The Sacramental Life; Vol. 2: The Daily

          Offices (Boston: Cowley Publications, 2006 and 2007).

     Galatians (New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.

          Eerdmans, 2010).

 

4. Selected Articles in Journals and Collections of Essays:

 

     Letter to the Hebrews

     “Despising Shame: A Cultural-Anthropological Investigation of the Epistle to the Hebrews,”

           Journal of Biblical Literature 113 (1994) 459-481.

     “Exchanging Favor for Wrath: Apostasy in Hebrews and Patron-Client Relations,” Journal of

          Biblical Literature 115 (1996) 91-116.

     “The Epistle to the Hebrews in Social-Scientific Perspective,” Restoration Quarterly 36 (1994)

          1-21.

     “Hebrews 6:4-8: A Socio-Rhetorical Investigation (Part I),” Tyndale Bulletin 50/1 (1999) 33-57.

     “Hebrews 6:4-8: A Socio-Rhetorical Investigation (Part II),” Tyn Bull 50/2 (1999) 225-235.

     “Eschatology, Rest, and the Rhetorical Strategy of Hebrews,” Trinity Journal 21NS (2000) 25-

         43.

     “The Invention and Argumentive Function of Priestly Discourse in the Epistle to the Hebrews,”

          Bulletin for Biblical Research, forthcoming.

 

     The Revelation of John

     “The Social Setting of the Apocalypse of John: Conflicts Within, Fears Without,” Westminster

          Theological Journal 54 (1992) 273-302.

     “The Revelation to John: A Case Study in Apocalyptic Propaganda and the Maintenance of

          Sectarian Identity,” Sociological Analysis (now Sociology of Religion) 53 (1992) 375-395.

     “The Image of the Beast and the Christians in Asia Minor,” Trinity Journal 12NS (1991) 185-206.

     “The Construction and Social Function of a Counter-Cosmos in the Revelation of John,” Forum

          9:1-2 (1993) 47-61.

     “Honor Discourse and the Rhetorical Strategy of the Apocalypse of John,” Journal for the Study

          of the New Testament 71 (1998) 79-110.

     “The Persuasive Strategy of the Apocalypse: A Socio-Rhetorical Investigation of Revelation 14:6-

         13,” Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers