For years, Baylor has identified as an evangelical Christian university while maintaining its Baptist heritage. However, a shift in recruitment strategy has shifted the student body away from its Baptist roots, and now, fewer students than ever identify as Baptist.
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Students, faculty and staff manned a prayer tent around the clock during FM72 for attendees to pray and worship anytime. Additionally, students of all denominations gathered each night for a special time of worship and a message, according to Director of Operations Anna Webb.
A great opportunity to serve is within a church community. In 1 Peter 4:10, Christians are called to “serve others.” But if a church says “no, you cannot serve because you have to take part in a believer’s baptism,” then some may lose a chance to carry out the very thing they are called to do.
Protestants have become deeply influenced by a musical theology that promotes informal, emotional, expressive worship led by soft-rock bands and popular music. Where does that idea come from?
“When we lift these stories up, we bear witness to the truth of the Gospel and invite others to do the same,” said Dr. Erik W. Carter, executive director of the Center for Disability and Flourishing. “When we tell these stories together, we invite the whole body to live more faithfully, receiving the gifts of God and helping the Church live more fully.”
Everyone has a moment in time, even if brief, where they struggle spiritually. The best any of us can do is to mend our relationship with God with the least amount of regrets, even when it’s hard to understand what His plans are for us. I know one of the few regrets I will have leaving college is that I didn’t find my spiritual happiness (again) with him sooner.
“My hope is that this program will equip, enable and empower participants to be more thoughtful, faithful and fruitful in serving the Lord and those with whom they are privileged to serve,” Still said.
In the haze of a cultural battlefield, the church is struggling to decide whether to speak louder or love deeper. In a world that perceives complicated issues only in black and white, churches often mirror that mindset, choosing one calling and neglecting the other.
“The best vision of it would be to think about a house in Hogwarts,” Aughtry said. “It is a way of designating students who are studying at a multi-denominational seminary such as Truett, but who belong to a particular denomination or tradition, such as Methodism, or in this case, broadly Anglicanism.”
According to Parallel’s application to the Waco Plan Commission, the complex will be 85 feet tall, and the inside will include amenities like a double-height lobby, a fitness center with a sauna, a market, an outdoor terrace and study areas. The application also lists some more unique fixings, like a “Sky Lounge” and an “influencer room.”
“We want to create opportunities, experiences and [an] atmosphere where you can ask where you are in your faith journey,” Ramsey said. “We want you to ask the big questions and to explore faith [and] move at your own pace, but you can’t do it alone. You’re going to [need] community; It’s vital for your journey.”
Tapestry of Care, a new $1.76 million initiative, aims to bridge the gap between faith communities and mental health support, helping churches better address crises and connect congregations with vital resources.
Dr. Malcolm Foley, special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement and pastor of Mosaic Church Waco, defined a church home as “a space where people are loved and cared for materially, spiritually and emotionally.”
“We should be proud of our cultural and ethnic identities, but that pride should never, of course, make us feel better than other people,” Van Gorder said. “We should use our cultural heritages as resources, not only to share who we are, but to learn and listen and validate other people.”
Released at the end of March, the book is a major contribution to gospel music scholarship, based on over 150 interviews with Crouch’s collaborators, friends and family members. The project blends musical analysis with personal stories, tracing how Crouch’s groundbreaking songs, like “Through It All,” “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” and “Soon and Very Soon,” became foundational in modern worship across denominations.
“That’s the most fundamental category with which we ought to interact with one another,” Foley said. “You are a person created in the image of God, and therefore worthy of my love.”
The Toliver Chapel Student Showcase, which will shed light on the volume of topics found in the study of African American history, seeks to expose presenting undergraduates and attendees alike to the kind of work commonly found in the academic world.
Maxwell said that while this is a season of mourning for the Catholic community, it can dually function as a season of remembrance and gratitude for the dedication Pope Francis showed the church.
I was depressed and anxious. Utterly lost. And then I saw a vision of the throne room of heaven. Nothing was ever the same.
FM72 is an annual tradition where members of the Baylor community and beyond gather on Fountain Mall for 72 hours of prayer, worship, scripture readings and more. Beginning in 2018, FM72 has seen a nationwide impact, helping develop ministries such as Passion and the Journeyman Mission Program.
In 1844, the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Texas Congress to charter a Baptist university. 180 years later, Baptists are slowly becoming a minority at Baylor.
Kurt Kaiser’s legacy lives on not just within the walls of Seventh and James Baptist Church, but in generations of Christian music.
On Sunday, senior pastor Jimmy Dorrell welcomed almost two full rows of college students to the service. Despite the church’s majority population of homeless adults, Dorrell said the church would never have existed without the inclusion and dedication of students.
On Feb. 4, Moody Library will host the third meeting of its Meet the Author series. This time, the event will feature Dr. Terry York, a retired Baylor music professor, who will discuss his book, “Kurt Kaiser: Icon and Conscience of Contemporary Christian Music,” which dives into the composer’s story. During the discussion, York will be interviewed by Robert Darden, a former journalism professor, about Kaiser’s lasting impact on church music.
Operation Christmas Child is a service project through Samaritan’s Purse, which collects shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items.
“We just want to take care of the family in that moment and then remove ourselves, so the family can grieve,” Discreet Clean owner and Baylor alumna Lance Summey said. “We don’t necessarily need people to see what we see on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis. That’s not why we do what we do.”
“The only reason I am still here is is because God used the community of believers to support me in my healing,” Barnard said. “It wasn’t me going to church but the church coming to me.”
“Get out your clay or your chainsaw. Make an herb garden of someone you believe should be tributed. My book is my tribute to these women,” Wiesner Hanks said.
The government’s role should be to protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of their religious or philosophical beliefs. This will let each person follow their conscience freely, whether that leads them to embrace the Christian faith, another religion or no religion at all. Enforcing religious beliefs through law undermines the freedom of conscience that is essential to our faith.
“I don’t think churches were as healthy as they are now,” Wallace said. “There are more churches that are healthier right now in Waco than I think ever before.”
