As Waco temperatures finally start to cool down and Halloween celebrations wrap up, the semester work for faculty, staff, and students gathers momentum until Thanksgiving break. In the midst of so much busyness, it’s easy to think of November as a time to get work done. However, at IFL, in a season of Thanksgiving, we are pausing to take stock and give thanks. Last week and this week, we are celebrating the recent book releases of two professors, Rebecca Poe Hays (Reading Resilience in the Psalms) and Perry Glanzer (Unleashing the Image of God) who have served for years with IFL – providing numerous faculty and students with the opportunity to learn from their wisdom. Rebecca and Perry are among numerous faculty and staff who consistently serve with IFL – contributing beyond their regular job descriptions out of their commitment to Baylor’s mission. We look forward to sharing some more unfolding faculty partnerships in the next few months!
We also are giving thanks for partners in the work. On October 28, we held a dinner in Dallas, attended by financial supporters, prayer partners, and those seeking to learn more about IFL. The dinner featured a number of leaders from partner institutes at Baylor: Spiritual Life, Faith and Sports Institute, and the Human Flourishing Institute. In a lively panel discussion, we shared about initiatives across Baylor helping students learn how to use AI as a tool in line with human flourishing and Baylor’s commitments. The discussion and dinner remind all the IFL team how grateful we are for those who help make our work at Baylor possible through their partnership: whether through financial resources, prayers, or shared labor.
Finally, as our programming slows down a little for the semester before we start to gear up for the Symposium on Christian stewardship in the spring, I am reminded how grateful I am for the entire IFL team: whether those at the Provost’s office who support our mission or the IFL staff who make possible all our on-the-ground programming. It’s a joy to work with such supportive teammates who share commitment to Baylor’s mission as an R1 Christian research university.
With gratitude,
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Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture 2027 Registration
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| Launch of Perry Glanzer's Unleashing the Image of God
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| Miya Shimada Guest Column
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Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture 2027 |
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Launch of Perry Glanzer's Unleashing the Image of God |
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Miya Shimada, Crane Scholar, Senior Cohort |
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This summer, I got to road trip around the country researching human flourishing in the context of disability integration in collaboration with The Global Flourishing Study, L'Arche USA, and Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University.
L'Arche is a network of nonprofit communities across the globe that cultivate shared life between people with and without disabilities. After spending last summer (2025) in Washington DC as a Baylor Religion and Social Life Fellow working at L'Arche, I realized that the people at L'Arche have important, counter-cultural things to say about what it means to live a good life.
Upon returning to Baylor, I proposed a case study of L'Arche to the Institute for Global Human Flourishing at Baylor, which partners with Harvard, Gallup, and the Center for Open Science to conduct the 5-year, 200,000-participant Global Flourishing Study. After getting approval from the Institute for Global Human Flourishing and funding from the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor, I began to coordinate community visits with L'Arche USA.
As a result, over the span of 10 weeks this summer, I drove 10,000+ miles across 30 states. I was welcomed into 32 different houses, 11 of which were L'Arche homes. I also got the opportunity to attend two Regional Gatherings of four to seven L'Arche communities each, giving me the chance to spend time with 17 of the 24 L'Arche communities in the US! I also visited 15 fellow Crane Scholars and many other family members and friends along the way.
During the visits, I was warmly welcomed into the lives of L'Arche members, giving me the chance to observe the rhythms of their community and survey or interview my new friends using the Global Flourishing Study's domain-based questions.
While many of my observations and conversations taught me invaluable things about what it means to flourish as a human, I want to share one story in particular:
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| Miya Shimada
Senior Crane Scholar
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Update from John Barton, Associate Director of Vocational Development at IFL
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Discussions about “faith and learning” in Christian higher education are closely related to questions about vocation. John Barton, IFL’s Associate Director of Vocational Development, is not only helping IFL expand its own vocational efforts at Baylor, but he also plays a leadership role at NetVUE (the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education), a Lilly-supported effort of the Council of Independent Colleges, in which he helps oversee programs at diverse institutions across the nation that focus on the vocational development of students, faculty, and staff. This fall, John is overseeing NetVUE’s "Campus Visit" program, which enables peer mentoring across institutions to address issues such as Vocation in the Core Curriculum, Vocation and First Year Experience, Vocation and Business, and Vocation and AI. John is also the co-host of NetVUE’s podcast "Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well-Lived" recent episodes of which have featured the public intellectual David Brooks and the Duke theologian Norman Wirzba, who will also be one of the plenary speakers at IFL’s upcoming Symposium on Faith and Culture, “Entrusted: The Vocation of Christian Stewardship."
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IFL Hosts Dallas Dinner Panel |
Crane Scholars Welcomes New Cohort |
We were delighted to welcome our newest sophomore cohort into the Crane Scholars Program at our annual Initiation Dinner! This special evening marked the beginning of their three-year journey of exploring the intersections of faith, learning, vocation, and Christian community. We are excited about this wonderful group of students and look forward to the friendships, conversations, and opportunities for growth that lie ahead. We can't wait to see how they will contribute to and be shaped by the Crane Scholars community in the years to come!
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We welcome you to join Staff Missio for Baylor University staff or Online Missio for Baylor's online faculty and staff where participants will explore the relationship between Christian faith, vocation, and their work at the university.
Junior Faculty Missio will be coming Spring 2027.
Email ifl@baylor.edu if you are interested in joining these Missio opportunities.
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Faith and Science Colloquium |
The Faith and Science Colloquium is Baylor’s venue for discussing the intersection of science and religion. The weekly meetings include sharing current research or teaching interests, and it is an interdisciplinary group that seeks enriching conversation with colleagues across campus.
The meetings occur most Fridays during the semester from 12 to 1 pm at the Baylor Science Building, although it meets at alternative locations sometimes.
If you're interested in joining, contact Eric_Martin@baylor.edu.
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Christian Scholars Fellowship |
The Christian Scholars Fellowship, which is open to Baylor graduate students and early-career faculty in all programs and subject areas, meets biweekly over lunch. The aim is to foster discussion about Christian scholarship and help new academics think through the implications of teaching and researching as Christians.
For full details, click here.
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Faith and Learning Around Baylor Campus |
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Faith and Learning Beyond Baylor |
NetVUE Big Read Webinar: On November 4th at 4 pm EST, NetVUE will be hosting a webinar on Norman Wirzba's Love's Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis, featuring Mari Elise Ewing and Justin Klassen.
NetVUE Religion/Theology/Vocation Seminar and NetVUE Life and Health Science/Vocation Seminar: The first seminar is open to full-time theology and/or religious studies faculty members and the second to full-time science faculty members of all ranks working at CIC institutions. The seminars will take place on August 2–6, 2027, at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis, MN, and applications are due on January 22, 2027.
Executive Director Opening: The Saint Benedict Institute at Hope College is seeking a full-time Executive Director to lead its mission of Catholic intellectual engagement and spiritual formation. The Institute is entering a new phase of growth and is looking for a faithful, experienced leader to guide its future.
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Gifts to our Excellence Fund fuel opportunities for faculty and staff growth and development.
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Are you hosting an event or working on a project related to faith and learning? We'd love to hear about it! Click the link below, share your information, and we'll follow up with you directly.
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Institute for Faith and Learning
One Bear Place #97270
Waco, Texas 76798
(254) 710-4805
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One Bear Place #97026 | Waco, TX 76798 US
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