“You Did it to Me”: Christ’s Presence in the “Least of These”

Interview with Johnny Galloway by Dr. Tim Westbrook

This past week I (Dr. Tim Westbrook) had the opportunity to meet with Harding student Johnny Galloway. Johnny is a Finance major with a second major in Leadership and Ministry. When he was taking a Christology class, his professor, Dr. Scott Adair, was impressed by a research paper he wrote and suggested that he submit it to the Stone Campbell Journal Conference (2023) student paper competition, which Johnny did. Then, earlier this semester Johnny found out that his paper was selected as one of the finalist papers for undergraduate presentations, and this week he will be presenting his research at the conference. Johnny is only the second undergraduate student from Harding to be selected as a finalist at the Stone Campbell Journal Conference student paper competition.

We thought this story was one to celebrate and share with our readers. Below is the interview summary as well as a link to the video.

Question: Tell us about yourself,  your major, and where you’re from. 

Answer: I’m a senior from Columbus Ohio, and I have two majors. My first major is Finance, and then I also have a major in Leadership and Ministry.

Question: Tell us about your research topic. What is your topic, and how did you get interested in it? 

Answer: My topic is in Matthew 25 where Jesus gives the story of the final judgment with the sheep and the goats and how he’s going to separate them. Jesus says that whatever was done to the least of these—the hungry, the sick, the thirsty—was done to him or was left undone for him. So my topic explores that passage and the christological implications of it.

Question: What are some key points or takeaways? 

Answer: One of the biggest takeaways would be that Jesus in his crucifixion actually goes through the different privations that the least of these go through. Jesus with the passion and his incarnation goes through hunger, thirst, sickness, imprisonment, becoming a stranger, and nakedness. Those are all the things that are listed in that passage, and so Jesus was going through those in his own life and death. This means that he was able to say that what was done to the least of these was done to him.

Question: You’re presenting at the Stone Campbell Journal Conference, which is a conference largely for biblical and theological research among scholars in the American Restoration Movement. Walk us through the process of submitting your paper to this conference. How did you know about it, and what was it like? 

Answer: I wrote this paper last semester. I was going to class with Scott Adair. After the semester he later let me know about this Stone Campbell Journal competition. Submitting to it was pretty simple. I just needed to email a certain faculty sponsor at one of the colleges associated with it. With Dr. Adair’s encouragement, I submitted the paper. Now I’ll be presenting it at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Question: How are you preparing for the paper read or for the presentation?

Answer: I have had a few other presentations leading up to this one. The Bible faculty invited me to present to them at their weekly luncheon a few weeks ago. They asked me some questions, which helped prepare me for this presentation. I’m also presenting at the National Conference for Alpha Chi which is a Collegiate Honor Society. The format will be a little different there, but that gives me another chance to present. 

Question: How does it feel to be a finalist for this undergraduate paper competition? 

Answer: It’s a great honor, and it’s all pretty new. I haven’t read a paper like this before or had any forays into scholarship of any kind. So it’s new, and it’s exciting.

Question: What is the prize if you win?

Answer:  The prize is a scholarship to divinity school for a number of institutions. 

Thank you Johnny for sharing your story with EquipwithHarding4ministry.com. We are proud of you, and we wish you the best, not only in this competition but also in your future research and opportunities.