Zen Hess

BA, Religion, Huntington University
MTS magna cum laude, Duke Divinity School
PhD, Religion, Baylor University

Experience

Zen Hess joined Baylor University Press as an acquisitions editor in April 2026. He completed a doctorate in Religion, researching economic practices in Paul’s letters, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Greco-Roman associations. He helped found the podcast “Currents in Religion,” which he hosted and produced. Prior to graduate studies, Zen served as the pastor for a small congregation in Indiana.

Select Memberships & Publications

• Member of Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church, Waco
• Society of Biblical Literature
• Regular contributor at Covenant: The Living Church’s Online Journal
• Forthcoming with Bruce W. Longenecker. “Through a Glass Darkly: Pedagogical Potentials in the 2024 Survey of Pauline Studies.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament.
• 2025    “Becoming Christ’s Body.” Pathways to Belonging. Edited by Dustin D. Benac, Erin Weber-Johnson, and Glen Bell. Eugene, OR: Cascade: 98–108.
• 2024   “Characters in Conflict: Reconsidering Mark’s Characterization of Demons.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 46: 534–55.
• 2023    “Reimagining the Silver Casket of San Nazaro.” Early Christians and Their Art. Edited by Mikeal C. Parsons and Robin M. Jensen. Emory Studies in Early Christianity 27. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2023: 203–232.