Emily-Reina Kerkhof is currently an adjunct instructor and PhD Candidate in New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. She grew up surrounded by Mennonites, but participated in Pentecostal, Baptist, and Methodist traditions. After leaving a high control religious environment she began deconstructing and found a place to reconstruct in a small Anabaptist homechurch collective. After stripping away nearly all her faith, she rested in the resurrection of Jesus and found new hope and direction in her faith and research. Her research areas are philosophical hermeneutics and storied interpretations of the Kingdom Parables. She is passionate about the power of story and sharing of human experience to bring healing and peace in areas of religious conflict. On her Sabbath she bakes bread from fresh-milled grains and cultivates food in a community garden for her community.