For example, at the end of Romans, Paul greets twenty-eight people by name. He thanks Prisca and Aquila, who “risked their necks for my life” (16:3); he calls Phoebe a servant (v. 1), Mary and Persis hard workers (vv. 6, 12), and Apelles approved in Christ (v. 10); he calls four of them “beloved.” What’s with all the public affirmation? Oxygen.
