Bible and Ministry Students Compete as Research Paper Finalists Bible and Ministry Students Compete as Research Paper Finalists Bible and Ministry Students Compete as Research Paper Finalists Apr 15, 2026 On April 10 and 11, Bible and Ministry majors Eliza Rohda (Waverly, Neb.) and Bethany Wright (Canberra, Australia) were invited to present their research papers at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference as finalists in the conference’s undergraduate student paper competition. Since 2001, the Stone-Campbell Journal has brought scholars from the Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ and Independent Christian Churches together each year to learn from one another in both research and fellowship. Competition organizers called this year’s submission field one of the strongest they had seen, with record numbers of high-quality student papers being evaluated. All papers were sent to a panel of three to four judges, with identifying information such as student names and institutional locations removed. Judges ranked the papers based on their overall strength, and the top three were invited to present at the conference held at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tenn. Following each paper’s presentation, a panel of judges questioned the finalists on the details of their papers and the application of their research. In order to prepare Rohda and Wright for their presentations, the Department of Bible and Ministry organized an Academic Showcase on York University’s campus prior to the conference. Faculty, staff and students were invited to listen and ask questions as Rohda and Wright presented their papers. Rohda’s paper, entitled “ Paul as Anti-Imperialist? A Status Quaestionis of Interpretations of Romans 13:1–7 ” and Wright’s paper, entitled “ Mouths, Arms, and Stomachs: Assessing Proposed Parallels of Paul’s Metaphor of the Body in 1 Corinthians 12 Through the Lens of Archaeology and Ancient Rhetoric ” were originally written as projects for Dr. Garrett Best’s Advanced Biblical Research class in the fall. Encouraged by Best to submit their papers to the competition, Rohda and Wright spent their Christmas breaks editing their papers before submitting them to judges in January. “This is a wonderful accomplishment for Bethany and Eliza, and we are very proud of them,” Best said. “Their papers were well-researched and well-organized, demonstrating advanced academic skills. This achievement speaks to the quality of students we have at York.” As finalists in the competition, Rohda and Wright received copies of this year’s Stone-Campbell Journal, a year’s subscription to the journal and free entrance to next year’s conference.