He then returned and earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Old Testament Studies from Emory University located in Atlanta, Georgia in 1991.
In 2004 he then moved and accepted the position of Professor of Old Testament Language, Literature, and Exegesis at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.
Eight years later Columbia Theological Seminary honored him with the new position of William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, which he still holds today.
He was a founding member of Earth Covenant Ministry, a grass-roots organization of Presbyterian churches in the Atlanta area, which recently has been incorporated into Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, where he serves as an educator to churches interested in creation care.
He specifically is interested in the Psalms, wisdom literature, the Pentateuch, the book of Isaiah, the history of ancient Israel, and modern literary theory.