Education

• Ph.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, Biblical Studies (Major: New Testament; Minor: Theology), 2004. Dissertation: “Understanding the Meaning of Jesus’ Death through Mark’s Presentation of the Last Supper.” Chair: Dr. William F. Warren, Jr.
• Th.M., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, 2003
• M.Div., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, Biblical Languages, 1998
• B.A., cum laude, Blue Mountain College, Blue Mountain, Mississippi, Major: Biblical Studies; Minor: Social Science, 1996
• Alma-Ata Industrial and Technical College, Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, USSR, Major: Mechanical and Industrial Processing and Engineering, 1992

Courses Taught

• Biblical Literature
• Life and Teachings of Christ
• Acts of the Apostles
• General Letters
• Romans
• Intertestamental Period
• Johannine Literature
• Introductory and Intermediate Greek
• Parables of Jesus
• Orthodox Icons and the Bible

Research Interests

• New Testament and Old Testament Literature
• Jewish Second Temple Literature
• Eastern Orthodoxy and the Bible
• Backgrounds of Early Christianity
• Social and Cultural Aspects of the Biblical Texts
• Literary and Rhetorical Approaches to Biblical Texts
• Studies of the Person and the Life of Jesus
• Textual Studies.

Bio

I was born in Kazakhstan, the former republic of USSR. While pursuing a degree in mechanical and industrial engineering, I sensed God’s call to ministry. In 1993, not long after the fall of Communism, I came to the United States to pursue studies in Scripture and Theology. I have been at LeTourneau since 2005 and I have come to value and appreciate this university’s unique role in the arena of Christian higher education. I love to explore ways in which our students’ lives and disciplines can participate in the story of God’s mission of redemption and reconciliation of all things. Currently, my interests lie in working with the New Testament texts and early Church’s rich ways of interpreting them and discovering how those shape and inform all that we are and do. Having grown up in the Eastern part of the world, I enjoy bringing and exploring some rich insights and ideas from the Eastern Church to my classroom and scholarship. I feel honored to be working at LeTourneau.

Publications & Presentations

• The Eucharist and the Temple: Examining Markan Literary Strategy, Making final revisions. Under
• contract with The Edwin Mellen Press. Forthcoming. 
• “Teaching the Life of Christ with Orthodox Iconography,” Southwest Commission on Religious Studies
• Meeting, Irving, TX, March 2018.
• “Travelocity, Biblical Literature, and Personal Formation: Study Tours Abroad as Part of Affective
• Domain Teaching in Bible Courses,” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, GA, November 2015.
• “Healthy Family Research in Light of the Orthodox Doctrine of Theosis,” Annual Meeting of Christian
• Association for Psychological Studies, Denver, CA, April, 2015 (presented with Dr. Melanie Roudkovski).
• “Imitatio Christi in 1 Peter and Mark’s Central Section,” Southwest Commission on Religious Studies
• Meeting, Irving, TX, March 2015.
• "James, Brother of Jesus". In The Lexham Bible Dictionary, edited by John D. Barry, Lazarus Wentz,
• Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair-Wolcott, Rachel Klippenstein, David Bomar, Elliot Ritzema,
• Wendy Widder and Derek R. Brown. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2013, 2014.
• "Mark, the Gospel of, Critical Issues". In The Lexham Bible Dictionary, edited by John D. Barry, Lazarus
• Wentz, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair-Wolcott, Rachel Klippenstein, David Bomar, Elliot
• Ritzema, Wendy Widder and Derek R. Brown. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2013, 2014.
• “’Sojourners’ ‘on the Way:’ Theological Correlation between 1 Peter and Mark 8:27-10:45.” International
• Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, St. Andrews, Scotland, July 2013.
• “The Literary and Theological Significance of the Last Supper Tradition in Mark,” Published in the
• Journal “Important Issues of Biblical Studies, Theology, and Church History,” Fall, 2012. (Theological Journal published by St. Petersburg Christian University). 
• “The Literary and Theological Significance of the Last Supper Traditions in Mark and Matthew,”
• Conference on “Important Issues of Biblical Studies, Theology, and Church History,” St.
• Petersburg Christian University, St. Petersburg, Russia, April 2011.
• "Last Supper as a Part of Jesus' Temple Program in Mark," Southwest Society of Biblical Literature,
• Irving, TX, March 9, 2010.
• "Encomiastic Themes in the So-Called Hymnic Passages in Hebrews," International Meeting of the Society
• of Biblical Literature, Tartu, Estonia, July 2010.
• "Last Supper, Temple, and the Death of Jesus in Mark," International Meeting of the Society of Biblical
• Literature, Tartu, Estonia, July, 2010.