 In 1987, in the United States his German book "Die stadtrömischen Christen" was awarded the distinction of "Scholar’s Choice" ("significant current theological literature from abroad").In 2005, he co-founded the "Research Center for International and Interdisciplinary Theology" (FIIT) at the University of Heidelberg, and in 1997 he founded the "Societas Theologicum Adiuvantium" in Kiel.He has been on the editorial board of international scholarly journals and book series.