Anthony Basil Taylor was born April 24, 1954, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Bishop Taylor attended parochial and public schools, graduating from Ponca City High School in 1972. He attended the University of Oklahoma for two years, then attended St. Meinrad Seminary College in Indiana for two years, graduating with a bachelorís degree in history. From 1976-1980 he attended the North American College in Rome, taking classes at the Gregorian University and was ordained a priest at St. Mary Parish in Ponca City on Aug. 2, 1980.

In 1984 then-Archbishop Salatka decided to send Father Taylor to Fordham University in New York for further studies. During this time he served Holy Rosary Parish in the Bronx. Fordham University awarded Father Taylor a doctorate in biblical theology in 1989.

Upon his return to Oklahoma, Father Taylor was named the vicar for ministries of the archdiocese. He was named bishop of Little Rock in 2008.

Cackie Upchurch serves as the director of Little Rock Scripture Study. Her work involves writing, editing, lecturing, leading retreats and days of reflection, and helping people learn how to use the Bible in simple and effective ways. She is also an associate editor of The Bible Today, a journal of biblical spirituality.

Father Alex Kratz, OFM, is a Franciscan priest in Detroit, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a bachelor's degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame and a master's degree in divinity with a Scripture concentration from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

He resided for one year in the Holy Land and is an authorized spiritual leader by the Commission of Christian Pilgrimages of the Holy Land.