Timothy Laniak

When he joined Gordon-Conwell in 1997, Dr. Laniak brought extensive cross-cultural experience to his post. He served as a missionary in 15 countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as the director of the International Fellowship House in Boston, and as a welfare housing manager for elderly immigrants, also in Boston. Dr. Laniak has fostered a lifelong interest in the intersection of cultures and Scripture. He spent two years studying in Israel, including one year of research that formed the basis for his books Shepherds After My Own Heart and While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks. During that same year of research, he was the Annual Professor at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. He periodically leads study tours to the region, as well as teaches occasionally in Southeast Asia and Africa. He is also on the Chairman’s Advisory Council of the Overseas Council, an organization dedicated to furthering the training of Christian leaders worldwide. Dr. Laniak also holds other leadership positions in both public and church-based education. He is a founding board member of the Union Academy Charter School in Monroe, NC, and is a weekly adult education teacher at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charlotte. He is also the director of Shepherd Leader Ministries (www.shepherdleader.com), a ministry focused on equipping leaders to think biblically about their roles. He occasionally appears on the David Chadwick Radio Show in Charlotte. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, American Schools of Oriental Research and the Institute of Biblical Research. Dr. Laniak’s research and ministry passions combine social anthropology and the study of Scripture. His scholarly interests include the social world of the Bible and social scientific criticism, metaphor, biblical theology and hermeneutics, archaeology, leadership and ecclesiology. In addition to his other academic responsibilities, he serves as the Coordinator of the Urban Ministry Program and Curator for the Cooley Collection of the Robert C. Cooley Center for the Study of Early Christianity at Gordon-Conwell-Charlotte. His personal interests include mountain biking, travel and photography. He and his wife, Maureen, have three children. Dr. Timothy S. Laniak’s Publications • Guide to Hebrew Exegesis (Logos, 2008) • While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks: Reflections on Biblical Leadership (Shepherd Leader Publishers, 2007; Logos, 2008) • Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible, NSBT, (InterVarsity Press, 2006) • Esther, in Ezra-Nehemiah-Esther, NIBC Series, Hendrickson, 2003 • Shame and Honor in the Book of Esther (Scholars Press, 1998)