Speakers

Dr. Mark Wilson

Asia Minor Research Center

Program Director

Dr. Alan Bandy

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Dr. Mark Wilson

Program Director

Dr. Mark Wilson is the founder and director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, a country in which he and his wife Dindy have lived since 2004. He received a D.Litt. et Phil. from the University of South Africa (Pretoria) where he serves as a Research Fellow in Biblical Archaeology. He is a Visiting Professor of Early Christianity at Regent University and also Professor Extraordinary Discipline Group Old & New Testament at Stellenbosch University. Mark regularly leads study trips for the Biblical Archaeology Society to Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece. He also blogs periodically for Bible History Daily. He is the author and editor of numerous books, articles, and reviews including Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor. His particular research interest is the ancient Jewish communities, Roman roads, and Biblical routes in Turkey. Mark has been married to Dindy for thirty-nine years; they have four adult children, four grandsons and four granddaughters

Dr. Barış Yener

Pamukkale University

Dr. Barış Yener is the head of the Colossae excavation at Pamukkale University.

Dr. Alan Bandy

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

EDUCATION: Ph.D., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (2007), M.Div., Mid-America Seminary in Memphis (2002), B.A., Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, (1998)

TEACHING SPECIALIZATIONS: New Testament, The Apocalypse of John

Dr. Douglas Jacoby

Lincoln Christian University

Douglas Jacoby is a Bible teacher who has served as a minister on church staff for 20 years, in London, Birmingham, Sydney, Stockholm, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Washington DC, Douglas. Since 2003 he has worked as a freelance teacher and consultant.
Douglas has engaged in a number of public debates (Islam, atheism, theology, Judaism). He also serves an adjunct professor of theology at Lincoln Christian University and professor of theology in the Rocky Mountain School of Theology and Ministry. With degrees from Drew, Harvard, and Duke, Douglas has written 35 books, recorded nearly 900 podcasts, and spoken in over 100 universities, and in over 500 cities, in 126 nations around the world. Douglas has led 25 tours to the biblical world. The Jacobys have three adult children. Douglas and his wife, Vicki, reside in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr. Sharon L. Putt

Messiah University

Sharon L. Baker Putt is Professor of Theology and Religion at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Southern Methodist University and is the author of Razing Hell, Executing God, and A Non-Violent Theology of Love: Peacefully Confessing the Apostles’ Creed. She has traveled with extensively throughout Europe and the Middle-east, and has significant experience traveling abroad with students on cross-cultural trips. Her disciplines are world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christian theology, specifically in the areas of divine non-violence, atonement, and interfaith theologies.

Dr. Don Westblade

Hillsdale College

Born and raised in Colorado, I reached Michigan by way of an educational path through Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut, plus a two-year sojourn in Germany and France for language study. I met my South Dakota wife, Joni, in Denver and we married in 1983. We have three married children and two grandchildren, who live in Illinois, Virginia, and Minnesota. I have taught courses in Early Christianity and Bible at Hillsdale since 1988. I was ordained in the Baptist General Conference (now Converge) in 2005. Outside my professional, academic life I am invested in the ministries of Young Life, InterVarsity, and College Baptist Church. I play racquetball at least twice every week and love to ski and travel. Turkey and Uganda stand out among my most beautiful and frequent international destinations.

Dr. Phillip Long

Grace Christian University

Grace Christian University, MI Long is the author of Jesus the Bridegroom (Pickwick, 2012) and he has contributed several articles and book reviews for theological journals. He currently serves as editor of the Journal of Grace Theology. He has served as an interim pastor in Michigan and California and currently serves as teaching pastor at Rush Creek Bible Church, Byron Center, Michigan. He regularly leads trips to Israel for Grace and has done so since 2005. He routinely blogs at Reading Acts (https://readingacts.com/), and many of his papers are available at Academia.edu (https://gbcol.academia.edu/PhillipLong) Married to Lori since 1984, he has two daughters, Amy and Caroline.

Dr. Jason Borges

Asia Minor Research Center

Jason Borges (Ph.D. Durham University) is an American scholar who has lived in Turkey with his family since 2017. He lived in Cappadocia for four years, and since 2021 he has lived in Antalya, where he works at the Asia Minor Research Center doing biblical research and training. Borges regularly leads study tours to biblical sites in Turkey. He often trains Turkish tour guides on Turkey’s biblical and Christian history. He has published books and articles related to the background and history of early Christianity. Borges is a member of SBL, ETS, and EABS. His research interests include honor-shame values, ancient travel, and the social history of early Christianity. His websites include www.CappadociaHistory.com and www.BiblicalTurkey.org.