How did you decide to become a biblical scholar? With the aim of becoming better equipped to serve the Church, my husband and I left our established careers to attend seminary. When we entered seminary, I assumed that my husband would become a pastor and I would work alongside him as a pastor’s wife. After only a short time of studying, however, my husband began to note how I thrived in a setting where the Bible was studied at the academic level. As I continued to study, and as my husband continued to encourage me, my love for the discipline grew. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I could use my intellectual abilities to serve the Church effectively. After seminary, I entered a doctoral program and now teach New Testament at the same seminary where I first learned to study the biblical text. Tell us about your work (past and current). What are you most excited about right now? What do you hope your work will contribute? My publications thus far have circled around the question of how interpretation of the Jewish scriptures shaped the identity of early Christ-believers. My work in this area includes a monograph entitled, Scriptural Interpretation and Community Self-Definition in Luke-Acts and the Writings of Justin Martyr (NovTSup 139; Leiden: Brill, 2011). More UP CLOSE AND CANDID with Susan Wendel 12