Sarah Emanuel (Ph.D., Drew University) is Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Her research focuses on how the Bible—a collection of literary and cultural artifacts—creates, reflects, responds to, and is consumed by communities of storytellers and story-listeners, and how interpreters might utilize a variety of theories and methods to explore its layered modes of meaning-making. Her most recent monograph, Wrestling with Paul: The Apostle, His Readers, and the Fate of the Jews (Fortress, 2025), considers this dynamic with regard to Paul, the biblical field, and the history of Jewish-Christian relations.
Rosy Kandathil (Ph.D., Emory University) is an assistant professor in the Department for the Study of Religions at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she teaches the critical study of biblical literature. Her current book project is a comparative literary investigation of constructions of gender, power, and Jewish identity during the Second Temple period in the book of Esther, tentatively titled, Seriously Funny: Humor and Violence in the Narrative Traditions of Esther. Her research has been supported by the Louisville Institute and the Forum for Theological Exploration. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as a trial attorney, and she is certified in spiritual direction.
Susan Sparks (M.Div., Union Theological Seminary of New York) is a trial lawyer turned standup comedian and pastor. She is Senior Pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City. Her teaching, writing, speaking, and ministry focus on the healing power of humor. She is an award-winning, nationally syndicated humor columnist and a best-selling author of five books, including Laugh Your Way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor (2010), Preaching Punchlines: The Ten Commandments of Comedy (2019), and Love, a Tiara, and a Cupcake: Three Secrets to Finding Happy (2021). Her work has been featured in the Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, TEDx, and on such networks as ABC, CNN, and CBS.
F. Scott Spencer (Ph.D., University of Durham) was a tenured professor of biblical interpretation at Wingate University and Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia. He is the New Testament General Editor for The SBL Study Bible and author of numerous books, including Dancing Girls, Loose Ladies, and Women of the Cloth: The Women in Jesus’ Life (Continuum, 2009), Salty Wives, Spirited Mothers, and Savvy Widows: Capable Women of Purpose and Persistence in Luke’s Gospel (Eerdmans, 2012), Passions of the Christ: The Emotional Life of Jesus in the Gospels (Baker Academic, 2021), Seven Challenges that Shaped the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2024), and commentaries on the Gospels of Mark and Luke, Acts of the Apostles, and the Song of Songs. He regularly teaches and preaches in area churches and has served several interim pastorates.
Casey Wait (M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary) is a PC(USA) pastor, visual artist, and trained biblical storyteller. She serves as head of staff at John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Annandale, Virginia, and maintains an art studio at Idylwood Studios in Falls Church, Virginia. Through preaching, storytelling, and mixed-media painting, she explores the intersections of faith, imagination, and communal life, cultivating spaces where creativity becomes a practice of connection.
