His teaching and research center on cross-cultural studies focusing on culture and personality, pastoral care and counseling, and psychology of trauma and recovery. He contributed three essays for two books published in 2008: Being Black, Teaching Black: Politics and Pedagogy in Religious Studies and African American Religious Life and the Story of Nimrod. He earned his doctorate from Northwestern University, his MDiv from Garret-Evangelical Seminary, and his BA from Allegheny College.