Joel P. Kramer

Since boyhood, Joel P. Kramer has had an adventurer's heart. Growing up in the Middle East, the son of an oil company worker, his desire to explore was nurtured on family caravan trips through the Arabian desert. After graduating from college in Arizona, Kramer pursued his passion for discovery by leading a two-man expedition across New Guinea. This harrowing experience brought him to the brink of death and transformed his understanding of what it means to lead by serving. His memoir, Beyond Fear: A Journey Across New Guinea, chronicles his story. Several years after returning from his expedition, Kramer became the lay-pastor of a small protestant church in northern Utah, where he gained a new passion for exploring Scripture. His desire to learn about the context of the Bible led him back to the Middle East. Living in Jerusalem for nearly a decade, he earned an M.A. in Archaeology, excavated extensively in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ai, and searched out the rich landscape of Biblical sites. His book, Where God Came Down: The Archaeological Evidence, couples his archaeology expertise with his passion for Scripture. These days, Joel lives in Amman, Jordan, with his wife and three children and is a long-distance adjunct professor for Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, NC. In addition to writing and teaching, Joel leads Biblical study tours and participates in various archaeological projects. He is still an adventurer at heart and loves nothing better than driving down a rugged, unmarked road with his Bible, excavation reports, and old 1800s explorers' accounts, searching out long-buried Biblical sites.