ABR Associates
ABR Associates are students and professionals who graciously contribute their research and expertise to the ministry of ABR. ABR Associates help to educate and enlighten both seekers and saved, helping provide answers and information for those who come within the reach of ABR. We are so grateful for their contributions to the ABR ministry!
Reagan Barnett
Reagan Barnett acquired an academic interest in archaeology her freshman year of college when a professor began giving her ABR articles to read. She continued pursuing this interest and graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and a minor in Biblical Greek. Her primary focus is in Egyptology, mainly Middle Kingdom Egypt, especially as it relates to the Joseph narrative. She also has a strong interest in bio-medical Egyptology and the history of medicine. She has presented two papers on these topics at conferences of the Near East Archaeology Society, in 2008 and 2009. As the result of a battle with cancer, Reagan became involved with a non-profit organization called Lynch Syndrome International and now serves as their Young Adult Representative. She also speaks to physician panels and raises cancer awareness wherever possible. Through this involvement, Reagan is combining her interests in both modern and ancient medicine. In Fall 2011, she began working as a Lab Assistant in a molecular biology lab at the University of South Alabama and also began to pursue her PhD in Medical Sciences, specializing in molecular biology and cancer genetics. She hopes to one day make an impact in the area of genetic cancer research. It is also her hope that she can use her medical training to more extensively study the field of bio-medical Egyptology. Reagan has been an ABR Associate since July 2009.
Dewayne Bryant
Dewayne Bryant was born near Nashville, TN. He earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1998, and MA degrees in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary 2000 and in Bible from Lipscomb University in 2003. He studied archaeology and ancient Near Eastern languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently completing a PhD in Biblical Studies (emphasizing in Old Testament) at Amridge University. He has been teaching undergraduate classes at Amridge in Pentateuch and Biblical Archaeology since 2006. He served as a field assistant at Tell el-Borg, Egypt for the 2006 season. He also serves as an involvement minister and has taught and conducted seminars not only in the United States, but also in Ghana and in New Zealand. Dewayne has been an ABR associate since August 2011.
Read Articles by Dewayne Bryant
Dr. Gerald Culley
Born in the Midwest, Dr. Gerald Culley studied at the Cincinnati Bible Seminary (now Cincinnati Christian University), The University of Kentucky at Lexington, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and earned his PhD in Classics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Culley taught Greek and Latin languages and literature at the University of Delaware from 1970 until 2011. His professional interests were Greek inscriptions and computer–assisted instruction. He delivered some 60 papers or invited lectures, published some 36 articles on Greek epigraphy, comparative literature, and computer–assisted instruction. He developed several programs to aid instruction in Latin and Greek, and in the 1990’s published a software program, Evolution: Science or Myth? through the Answers in Genesis organization. In recent years God has given him a ministry in Christian apologetics: how archaeology, history, and science support our confidence in Scripture. He has been privileged to share these truths with young believers in Christian schools and youth groups throughout the area. He and his wife, Betty, their two daughters and seven homeschooled grandchildren, all live in the vicinity of Newark, Delaware.
Kristen Davis
In 2006, Kristen went to Israel to explore the world of the Bible. In 2009, she went to India to study Middle Eastern religions first hand and in 2010, she went to Jerusalem, Israel for an archeological dig with Dr. Randall Price at the Temple Mount Sifting Project and the Western Wall Plaza Excavation. Kristen has a Bachelors of Science in Religion (Summa Cum Laude) from Liberty University and a Masters of Arts in Christian Apologetics (Highest Honors) from Biola University. She teaches weekly apologetics classes at various churches around Jacksonville, Florida and speaks at apologetics conferences around the country. She did her Master’s thesis with Biola University on the religious artifacts of Tel Dan (Tel el-Qadi) during the Late Bronze and Early Iron ages, to see how the religious archaeological remains relate to the Biblical conquest account. She is the Founder of doubtLess Faith Ministries.
Tania Fenwick
Tania Fenwick is from South Australia and lives with her husband Brian and their three adult daughters. The family travelled to the Philippines in 1998 and Saipan in 2000-2001, working for Far East Broadcasting Company on short term assignments. Tania has been involved in music and children's ministries, Bible studies and has studied theology by extension. She completed a Bachelor of International Studies degree in 2008 and Honours in Classical Studies in 2010, at the University of Adelaide. She majored in Classics, mostly focusing on archaeological topics, and as part of her degree took part in an archaeological field school in Jordan for four weeks of intensive excavation training in site supervision at the site believed to be ancient Zoara in Khirbet Sheikh 'Isa. Her thesis topic was on mosaic pavements in Roman Syria and her area of interest is Near Eastern Archaeology. Tania volunteered at the ABR excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir, Israel in 2012. Tania had been an ABR associate since April 2011.
Dr. David Graves
David E. Graves (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), a Canadian, is an Assistant Professor at Liberty University Online, School of Religion in Lynchburg VA where he teaches Archaeology and NT since 2009. He is a field supervisor with the Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project in Jordan since 2005 under the direction of Dr. Steven Collins, dean of archaeology at Trinity Southwest University, Albuquerque, NM, in a joint project with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Near East Archaeological Society. In 2005-06 he worked with the ArcImaging team, as the Director of Operations for the Mount Ararat Archaeological Research Expedition conducting Noah's Ark research in Turkey. He has written peer reviewed articles for various archaeology journals and the author of several books. His PhD dissertation entitled "The Seven Messages of Revelation and Vassal Treaties: Literary Genre, Structure, and Function" was published by Gorgias Press. His other books include Key Themes of the Old Testament, 2013. ISBN: 978-1478122692, Key Themes of the New Testament 2014. ISBN: 978-1490922744, Key Facts for the Location of Sodom, 2014. ISBN: 978-1499660241, and Biblical Archaeology: Introduction and Recent Discoveries That Support the Reliability of the Bible. Forthcoming ISBN: 978-1502467072. David has been an ABR Associate since February, 2009.
Greg Gulbrandsen
Greg is a wet sifting supervisor at the Shiloh Excavations. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Greg is a product of the city's Public School System. He spent his freshman college year in Oslo, Norway and then finished his undergraduate degree in English Literature at Wagner College in Richmond, New York. After two years in the Navy, Greg went back to school and received his certification in engineering. Greg spent the next twenty years working as an engineer at high-tech companies including Nicolet, Wavetek, Rockland, and Physical Acoustics. In 1990, Greg decided to get into education. After getting his teaching certification and a Masters in Communication from the State University of New York, Greg taught high school for six years and then was asked to become the Director of the Media Center at SUNY New Paltz. Greg retired from SUNY in 2003 and moved to Bend, OR to be with his immediate family. Since then, Greg has become involved in Apologetics (Apologetics4You.com) and now spends most of his time writing, taking photographs, producing videos for this subject. Greg also teaches part time at the Central Oregon Community College (Islam, archaeology, and visual arts). Greg travels every year to volunteer at various archaeological sites in Israel, including: the Temple Mount (Wet Sifting), Hazor, Gezer, 'Ir David, Khirbet Qeiyafa, and Khirbet el-Maqatir. He has also traveled and studied in Egypt, Morocco, Andalusian Spain, and Jordan. Greg has published a number of articles including "Parables from the Arab House (Teibeh)", "Is the Temple Mount Really Jewish", and "Pilgrimage to the Holy Land." His photograph of the Merneptah Stele was featured in the 2016 publication, "Pharaoh in Canaan" by the Israel Museum. Greg serves the ministry of ABR by editing videos for YouTube and promoting ABR at Christian conferences. He has been an ABR Associate since April, 2011.
Colonel David G. Hansen, Ph.D.
Colonel David G. Hansen, Ph.D., served in the US Army for thirty-five years. He taught at the US Army War College for nine years, was the chairman of the Department of National Security and Strategy, and a tenured professor. He left active military service with academic degrees in geography and international relations. David then taught at Penn State for eight years while finishing his Ph.D. in biblical studies. David has participated in five archaeological seasons either under the direction of Dr. Wood or Dr. Livingston. He has traveled extensively and lectured in the Middle East, published articles in several journals about the impact of geography on military affairs and the Bible, authored one book (In Their Sandals, Xulon Press, 2008) and co-authored three. His latest co-authored books, A Visual Guide to Bible Events (selected as one of the top five 2010 books in its category by the Christian Evangelical Publishers Association) and A Visual Guide to Gospel Events(selected as one of the top five 2011 books in its category by the Christian Evangelical Publishers Association), are available through ABR. David served as the president of the ABR Board of Directors for 8 years, and has written many articles for Bible and Spade and the ABR Website. David has been an ABR Associate since August, 2009.
Read Articles by David Hansen
Joel Kramer
Joel Kramer is the son of an oil company worker, raised in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After graduating from college with a BA degree in communications, he moved to the 95% Mormon town of Brigham City, Utah where he married his wife Cathy, began a family, and started Living Hope Ministries. The vision was to focus on the medium of film to both educate Christians about Mormonism and produce tools that would more effectively equip Christians in their witness to Mormons. Joel and his team released four films, DNA vs. The Book of Mormon (2003), Called to Be Free (04), The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon (05) and Lifting the Veil of Polygamy (07). The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon proved to be the most effective tool in bringing Mormons to Christ because it not only taught the falsehood of the Book of Mormon, but emphasized the truth of the Bible. To teach Mormons what is true about the Bible became Joel's passion, so he moved his family and Living Hope Ministries from Utah to Jerusalem, Israel in 2007. The name of the ministry was changed to SourceFlix and the vision broadened beyond, but not excluding, Mormonism. SourceFlix has produced three more films from Israel : The Jesus Tomb Unmasked (2009), Jericho Unearthed (2009) and The Bible vs. Joseph Smith (2010). Joel dillgently serves the ABR ministry on the ground in Israel: filming, providing administrative assistance for ABR's Dig in Israel, and informing ABR about the events happening on the ground in Israel today. Joel has been an ABR Associate since May 2010. Read articles by Joel Kramer
Suzanne Lattimer
Suzanne Lattimer serves as a Field Archaeologist at Khirbet el-Maqatir. She attended Bryan College in Dayton, TN and received her B.A. in Bible and Piano Performance, with a minor in Koine Greek. She went on to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Deerfield, Illinois and received her M.A. in Near Eastern Archaeology and Semitic Languages. While at TEDS, she studied under James Hoffmeier, Kenneth Kitchen, and K. Lawson Younger Jr. Suzanne participated in ABR's excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, and served as a square supervisor in 2010, 11, 12 and 13. She was promoted to Field Archaeologist in 2014. She has also dug at Tel Dor in Israel, in the Great Smoky Mountains with the National Park Service, and interned at the ABR office. She has written articles for children in Bible and Spade, and has spoken to many children and adult Sunday School classes about the importance of archaeology. Suzanne has been an ABR Associate since July 2010.
Steve Mathews
Steve Mathews is a pastor and professor specializing in New Testament studies. A graduate of Florida Baptist Theological College (B.A., theology), he holds master’s degrees in philosophy and apologetics (M.A., Trinity Theological Seminary), divinity (M.Div., Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary), and business administration (M.B.A., Liberty University). He holds two earned doctoral degrees: the D.Min. in applied theology from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Ph.D. in biblical and religious studies from the University of Pretoria. He is the author of numerous articles and several books, including Know the New Testament and Holy Habits: Spiritual Disciplines for Christian Living. Steve serves on the faculty of several institutions of higher education, including Fruitland Baptist Bible College, South African Theological Seminary, and Seminary Extension. In 2010, Mathews traveled to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and explored such areas as Petra, Giza, Nazareth, Galilee, Jerusalem, Akko, Masada, the Dead Sea, Eilat, Cairo, and Alexandria. When not researching, writing, or teaching, Steve can be found enjoying outdoor activities with his wife, Dawn, and their two sons.
Don McNeeley
Don McNeeley has graduate degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Triune Biblical University. He retired from the Navy as a Supply Corps Officer in 1999. As the director for the Church and Biblical Research Group, Director for the Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and President of Tidewater Bible College, all located in Virginia Beach, VA, he is busy expounding the truths of biblical archaeology, spiritual formation, and the church to the world. His passion is teaching men and women in an atmosphere that dynamically integrates Christian spirituality with the classroom experience; thus obtaining the ability to change not only the church, but the world. His publications include book reviews, articles and presentations on biblical archaeology, and one book: A Biblical Reference Manual which was used by a teaching ministry in Africa. Additionally, he is responsible for the Near East Archaeological Society meeting exhibit held in conjunction with the Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting. His research is concentrated on understanding how spiritual formation concepts revealed in the scriptures resulted in the archaeological artifacts recovered from the sands of time, which can then assist us in understanding how we should be pursuing our own spiritual disciples in the 21st century. Don has been an ABR Associate since July 2009.
Scott Patterson, MSc, CSP, CPEA
Scott Patterson has over 34 years of experience working in insurance industrial safety in a variety of field consultant, management, and executive leadership positions. He has designed and developed a wide range of highly successful training programs for participants from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Malaysia, the U.K, and the U.S. Scott holds a B.A. in Biology from Barrington College, RI and an MSc in Training & HRM from the University of Leicester, England. Scott is a former guest lecturer on safety at the Harvard School of Public Health and a former adjunct staff member of the Safety Studies Department of Keene State College. Scott participated in ABR’s 2012 excavation season at Khirbet el-Maqatir, Israel, and at Tall el-Hammam, Jordan with Trinity Southwest University (TSU) in 2014. He designed and taught a semester adult Sunday school class, "Biblical Archaeology 101". Scott delivered his paper "Archaeological Safety Considerations on Construction Sites" at SAFE 2013, the 5th International Conference on Safety & Security Engineering, in Rome, Italy in September, 2013. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Archaeology & Biblical History at TSU in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A certified scuba diver, he has explored numerous shipwrecks in the U.S., Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Curacao. Scott currently resides near Keene, New Hampshire on a colonial-era farmstead, with Keri, his wife and serves as an Elder at Grace Evangelical Free Church. He has been an ABR Associate since August 2012.
Dr. Brian Peterson
Dr. Brian Peterson has served ABR at the Khirbet el-Maqatir excavations since 2010, as both a labourer and a square supervisor. His passion is marrying the truth of the Word with historical records and archaeology. In 2003, he completed a Master of Theological Studies from Beeson Divinity School and in 2004 completed his second master’s degree, a MAOT, from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Brian graduated in 2009 with a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from the University of Toronto. Since then Brian has taught classes at the Gambia Theological Institute in the Gambia, West Africa as well as spending a year (2010) as an Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Prairie Bible College in Alberta, Canada. In the summer of 2011, Brian joined the faculty of Lee University in Cleveland, TN as a part of the School of Religion in the Theology Department where he presently teaches a variety of Old Testament classes and Introductory Hebrew. Brian has published several articles and essays. His dissertation has been published by Wipf and Stock in the Princeton Theological Monograph Series entitled "Ezekiel in Context: Ezekiel’s Message Understood in its Historical Setting of Covenant Curses and Ancient Near Eastern Mythological Motifs". He also has a book forthcoming in 2014 with Fortress Press entitled, "The Authors of the Deuteronomistic History." Brian has been an ABR Associate since October 2013.
Doug Petrovich
Doug Petrovich served as Academic Dean and Instructor at Novosibirsk Biblical-Theological Seminary, Novosibirsk, Russia from 2000-2008. He taught, devised and established curricula for the Bachelor/Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, and Distance-Learning Programs. He earned an B.A. in Evangelism from Moody Bible Institute, an M.Div. in Biblical Studies and Th.M in New Testament from the Master's Seminary. Doug is currently enrolled in the PhD program in ANE History and Archaeology at the University of Toronto. Doug participated in the Hazor excavations in 2007, excavating in Area M. He has studied Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic and Egyptian. Doug has been an ABR Associate since December 2010. Read articles by Doug Petrovich.
Dr. John Roskoski
John was born and raised in New Jersey in the Roman Catholic tradition. He was interested in the Bible from a young age and pursued this interest through academic pursuits. John graduated from Seton Hall University with a BA in Religious Studies (1981); he received a MA from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in Theology (1986); a MA from Seton Hall University in Jewish-Christian Studies (1990); a MPHIL from Fordham University in Biblical Studies (2004); and a PhD from Omega Bible Institute in Biblical Studies (2006). Although still Roman Catholic, John has embraced the Evangelical tradition regarding Biblical Interpretation because he is a staunch advocate of Biblical Inerrancy and has little regard for the Minimalist and Deconstructionalist approaches which permeate much of Biblical Criticism. His major area of concentration has been the Old Testament, with a particular focus on the Samson Narratives. John has received the "President's Award" from Omega Bible Institute for graduating with a 4.0 average. His name has appeared on several "Who's Who" lists including "Who's Who in the World" and "Who's Who in American Education." He is also a member on the "Community Editorial Board" for the Home News-Tribune, a New Jersey newspaper in which his articles concerning topics of local importance appear regularly. John has been a competitive athlete since his youth. As an adult he has found success in the field of Powerlifting, in which he has held many titles. John is an Adjunct Lecturer at St. Peter's College, Jersey City, New Jersey, and on the Adjunct staff at Omega Bible Institute. John has been an ABR Associate since March, 2009.
Read Articles by Dr. John Roskoski
Eric D. Schwartz
Eric D. Schwartz is a high school humanities teacher at Dayspring Christian Academy, Mountville PA, where his courses include New Testament Greek, Biblical Hermeneutics and Worldviews. He has a BA in Ancient Languages and Music Composition from Wheaton College, IL. He serves as an elder at New Hope Bible Fellowship in Lancaster, PA. Eric has been an ABR Associate since October 2009.
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Justin Singleton
War veteran, archaeologist, teacher, father of five: all of this speaks of adventure. Justin is a PhD student in Near Eastern Archaeology at Andrews University. His current research (Spring/Summer, 2014) involves preparations for two sites in Sicily-Mt Reitano and Mokarta-where Justin will serve as a field director. In the summer of 2013, Justin participated in excavations at Kourion, Cyprus. In May of 2012, Justin received an MAR in Biblical Cultural Settings; while in seminary, Justin became the president of Eta Beta Rho (a Hebrew honors society on campus). As a part of this degree, Justin spent six weeks at Tall Jalul, Jordan as a square supervisor at an archaeological dig. This supervisory experience added hands-on training to the book, academic knowledge from seminary. Justin served in the United States Army in an Infantry Recon Platoon in the Anbar province of Iraq in 2006 earning the prestigious Combat Infantryman Badge-which translates into direct combat experience. Justin currently teaches online courses (Archaeology of the Old Testament, Readings in Archaeology, and Religions of the Ancient Near East) at God's Bible School and College in their distance education department. Justin has been an ABR associate since April 2010.
Jerry Taylor
Jerry Taylor is a life-long resident of Northern Michigan, where he lives with his wife, 3 of his four adult children and one grandchild. After graduating from Northwestern Michigan College in 1983 with a degree in Digital Electronics Technology he was employed as an Emissions Test Facility Technician for General Motors and as a technician for a meteorological instrumentation company. For the last 20+ years he has been working as a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Specialist and Design Technician for Survey/Civil Engineering firms in Northern Michigan. Jerry is NAS (Nautical Archaeology Society) Level II certified and has taught seminars to NAS students covering the use of GIS & aerial photography in underwater archaeology. Jerry is currently developing a 3D contour map of Khirbet el-Maqatir, and plans to apply photogrammetry and remote sensing technologies to the ABR excavation. Some of his personal interests include: Researching Paleo-Indian locations in Northern Michigan, locating downed WW II aircraft in the Great Lakes and the application of Remote Sensing Technologies to Archaeology. For the last 25 years, he has been teaching adult education classes at his home church. Jerry has been an ABR associate since July 2012.
Rodger Young
Rodger Young received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Reed College and his BA and MA in mathematics from Oxford University. While hitch–hiking in Germany in the summer between his years at Oxford, he was given a ride by an American missionary couple. In the ensuing discussion, when asked about his religious viewpoint, he replied that he was an agnostic. He was also influenced toward Buddhism (Zen Buddhism is compatible with atheism and agnosticism) due to his involvement in the martial arts–he was captain of the Oxford Judo team. The missionaries showed from 1 John that while man by his own efforts cannot attain to a knowledge of God, God does what man cannot do and makes Himself known to those who trust in His Son, giving them an assurance of His presence with them and of His promise that they have eternal life. Later, back at the university, Rodger committed his life to Christ after hearing a clear presentation of the Gospel by Dick Lucas and James Packer. He experienced for himself that what the missionaries said was true. Oxford was followed by two years in the army and two years of studying Biblical languages and theology at Nazarene Theological seminary. After spending most of his career in the computer field, Rodger retired from IBM in 2003. He then took up writing in the field of Biblical chronology. He has a concern to deal fairly with the difficult passages of the Bible in order to help agnostics such as he once was to understand God’s love, the reasonableness of the Christian faith, and the reliability of all of God’s Word. Rodger and wife Vivian live in St. Louis and have two daughters and three grandsons.
Read articles by Rodger C. Young