Acknowledgments
This book took root as a doctoral thesis at the University of Aberdeen. I remain indebted to the long line of people who supported me on the path to and through my studies, in addition to those who cheer-led me on the way to publication.
My supervisor Brian Brock and the cache of brilliant, playful, and faithful people who comprised my community in the Granite City—including my ecclesial family at Trinity Church—not only made invaluable contributions to what lies on these pages, but sustained and inspired me with their winsome lives of discipleship. You know who you are.
My parents Nancy and Rick Erickson, sister and brother-in-law Katelyn and Nathan Richards, niece and nephew Adaline and Jake Richards, and twin brother Reed Erickson have guided and grounded me over the years of this project (and the decades preceding).
My aunt and uncle Carol and Richard Phillips have twice afforded space for me to hone this work in a venue of quiet retreat and abundant supply, where I sit now with an inviting lakeside view of the Northwoods.
My housemates Amber, Matthew, and Zeke Ayers, Kevin Dove, and John Mark Lohner nourished me with weekly dinners, morning prayer, late night chats, and bedtime high-fives during my own season of waiting. And good friends old and new—Annie Aeschbacher, Lydia Lockhart, and Jennay Wilson—continue to uplift me with their thoughtful conversation, questions, and prayer.
God has blessed me with a wealth of teachers, mentors and encouragers over the years—especially through my childhood church Covenant Presbyterian, Austin, Tex., home church First Presbyterian, Colorado Springs and undergraduate alma mater Whitworth University—who helped shape me and therefore this work, among them Amber Ayers, Bob Cash, Jan DeVos, Jim Edwards, Katie Fowler, Junior McGarrahan, Dottie and Roger Mohrlang, and Jerry Sittser.
John Mark Lohner provided the artistry and photography for the cover, and four saints at First Presbyterian Colorado Springs—Dorothy Alvarez, John Conway, Nancy Erickson, and Kate Fugate—graciously and valiantly rallied to my desperate cry for last-minute proof-reading. Their generous labor has not only improved and illustrated mine, but reminded me of the gift of belonging to Christ’s body. All remaining errors, of course, are my own.
The team at Brill, particularly Assistant Editor Ingrid Heijckers-Velt and Series Editors Jim Fodor and Susannah Ticciati, patiently sifted the chaff of my writing to help me find my voice. My gratitude also goes to Margaret Whibley, who is indeed a word winnower.
And last, Ephraim Radner has proved a scholar worthy not only of study, but of emulation. I hope my scholarship proves to share his goal. Namely, “to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Eph 3:20–21, ESV).