Robert J. Priest, PhD
Robert J. Priest is professor of mission and intercultural studies and director of the Doctor of Philosophy in Intercultural Studies Program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he has served since 1999.
Dr. Priest earned the Bachelor of Arts at Columbia Bible College, the Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the Master of Arts in social science from the University of Chicago and the Doctor of Philosophy in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Prior to coming to Trinity, Dr. Priest served nine years as a professor at Columbia Biblical Seminary and Graduate School of Missions. He has served in a variety of ministries, including the roles of youth director and assistant pastor. Born to career missionaries, he was raised in Bolivia and eventually returned to South America, conducting nearly two years of anthropological field research among the Aguaruna of Peru, focusing both on traditional religion and on conversion to Christianity. Among his recent publications is the book This side of heaven: Race, ethnicity and Christian Faith (Oxford, 2007), coedited with Alvaro Nieves.