James D. Smith III is Associate Professor of Church History at Bethel Seminary San Diego, Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego, and on the pastoral staff of College Avenue Baptist Church in San Diego. He is on the editorial board of 'Christian History & Biography' magazine. He is also coeditor of 'The Subjective Eye: Essays in Culture, Religion, and Gender in Honor of Margaret R. Miles' and of the forthcoming 'Encyclopedia of Christian Literature'.

Philip Sellew is Associate Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Studies and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the forthcoming volume 'The Hundredfold Reward: Martyrdom and Sexual Renunciation in Christian North Africa' and is coeditor of 'Pauline Conversations in Context: Essays in Honor of Calvin J. Roetzel'. He has been the editor of 'Currents in Research: Biblical Studies' and 'Forum'.

This volume celebrates the unique contributions of Helmut Koester, who has been a leader for fifty years as scholar, professor, editor, and mentor. Having studied at the universities of Heidelberg and Marburg, Koester was a student of both Gunther Bornkamm and Rudolf Bultmann. He began teaching at Harvard Divinity School in 1958, where he is currently John H. Morison Research Professor of Divinity and Winn Research Professor of Ecclesiastical History. He is the chair of the New Testament Editorial Board of Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible and long-time editor of Harvard Theological Review (1975-1999). Among his numerous publications are Trajectories through Early Christianity (with James M. Robinson); Ancient Christian Gospels; History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age; History and Literature of Early Christianity; and The Cities of Paul: Images and Interpretations from the Harvard Archaeology Project (CD-ROM). He was President of the Society of Biblical Literature in 1991 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Humboldt University (Berlin) in 2006.