I would settle into a comfortable slouch at my desk in the corner classroom that hosted my contextual theology class, unwrap my giant blueberry muffin, and begin to dig in when the professor would bound into the room and ask “Did Jesus have to be a man?”
This happened at least a couple times a month. Each time, someone would begrudgingly offer up the same answer: “Well, because of the culture of the time, Jesus couldn’t have accomplished what he did without the freedoms he had as a male. So… I guess?”
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Priscilla Papers is an interdisciplinary journal. And rightly so, for both CBE and Priscilla Papers advocate for an interdisciplinary cause. More precisely, CBE and Priscilla Papers advocate in an interdisciplinary way for a biblical cause, a Christian cause, a kingdom cause.
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I stood with a coworker, staffing a booth at a convention of evangelical scholars. A booth advocating the shared leadership of men and women is not the most popular at this event, so most people just smile politely as they pass by. When a middle-aged man with an impressive mustache meandered over to our table, a glance at his nametag revealed an unfamiliar name, but I recognized the name of his predominantly complementarian school. I prepared to graciously explain our mission and presence at the conference.
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Essential to an academic journal is a group of scholars who ably advise the editor. These four women and four men have agreed to comprise the Priscilla Papers Peer Review Team. They deserve our gratitude for sharing their expertise and thereby advancing the mission of CBE.
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I sat uncomfortably rehearsing how I’d ask the question that had to be asked. I knew it would initiate a painful conversation, but we couldn’t ignore it forever.
I was not wrong. It became clear in that meeting that yes, our pastoral candidate was a staunch complementarian. Our church, with its egalitarian tradition, governing documents, and leadership structure, was poised to hire a pastor firmly opposed to the leadership of women.
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My perhaps-naïve assumption is that the editor’s introduction is the least-read part of any journal. As a result, I should briefly reiterate my first introduction from the autumn 2014 issue—in case you missed it. My name is Jeff Miller. My wife Dana and I live, work, and minister in the mountains of eastern Tennessee. I have become increasingly involved with CBE since attending their 2007 conference in Bangalore, India. My predecessor Bill Spencer and his editorial team of Aída Besançon Spencer and Deb Beatty Mel deserve sincere thanks for their decade of exemplary service. “Tertius” at the top of this page refers to Romans 16:22, where Paul’s amanuensis says, “I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord” (NIV). I feel an affinity with Tertius; the work that associate editor Theresa Garbe and I do for Priscilla Papers is not terribly unlike the work Tertius did for Paul.
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The Christmas season is upon us, and this year I’m grateful that Mutuality has guided my thoughts to an unusual Christmas text: Genesis 1–3, the creation account. This is, after all, where everything begins—history, life, and even Christmas.
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Near the end of Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome, we gain a rare glimpse of a behind-the-scenes participant in Paul’s letter-writing ministry. Romans 16:22 says, “I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord” (NRSV). Tertius was Paul’s amanuensis, the person who penned the letter which Paul spoke aloud. His job was to prepare Paul’s words to be read and heard.
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“Your epidermis is showing!” my friends gasped, struggling to keep straight faces. Noticing the mischief in their eyes, I rolled my own with feigned confidence and hoped nothing embarrassing was actually happening. Still, I felt uneasy until I learned that “epidermis” was just a fancy word for skin. Their teasing capitalized on the distress we feel when we learn that something we thought was hidden (or didn’t know existed) is on public display.
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Several months ago, my wife and I attended an event where a panel of experts spoke about sex trafficking prevention. When asked what we, as regular people, can do to prevent sex trafficking, a Minneapolis police officer who works with both victims and perpetrators on a daily basis had only one response: “We need to reinvent what it means to be a man in our society.”
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