He researches the archaeology of Palestine from Hellenistic to Byzantine periods, early Christianity, and post-biblical Judaisms, and is the Director of the Excavations at Shikhin in Israel. He received his B.A. (Classics) from Furman University, an M.Div. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, an M.A. (Formative Christianity and Judaism) from the University of South Florida, and his Ph.D. (New Testament and Formative Christianity) from Emory University. Publications include The Emergence of the Christian Basilica in the Fourth Century(Global Publications, 2000), The Moral World of James (Peter Lang, 2010), and articles for journals, volumes of essays, and dictionaries and encyclopedias; including “John and the Geography of Palestine,” forthcoming in Archaeology and the Fourth Gospel, edited by Paul N. Anderson (forthcoming).