• Baylor & Christianity Today partner to discuss Christian leadership amidst crisis

    Screenshot of the Zoom conversation featuring Dr. Livingstone

    Since the start of the COVID-19 public health crisis, Baylor leadership — from President Livingstone on down — has worked hard to keep the Baylor Family informed and educated about how the university is responding to the pandemic. In everything from emails to recorded videos to Facebook Live Q&As, Dr. Livingstone has provided frequent updates and explanations regarding the university’s actions.

    Last week, a much broader audience got to hear from President Livingstone, as she joined Christianity Today president and CEO Timothy Dalrymple as a featured guest in a public, online conversation about “Christian Leadership in a Time of Crisis” that was featured on both the Baylor and Christianity Today Facebook pages.

    The event stemmed from a partnership between Christianity Today, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and the Baylor in Washington program. Drs. Livingstone and Dalrymple answered questions presented by Dr. John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, about the challenges and opportunities leaders of Christian organizations are facing right now.

    “We’re learning how to care for people in different ways,” said Livingstone. “In Christian community, we often think about being physically together, whether that’s at our church, Bible study or school communities. We’re having to learn how to do community when we’re physically distant from one another, and how to care for people when we can’t be with them. I think it will make us much better at caring for those that we’re not as close to all the time.”

    President Livingstone also touched on how our current situation affects leaders as individuals, and how that in turn affects their leadership.

    “When we’re in these difficult times, as a Christian, a person of faith, you do re-ground yourself in the foundations of that faith, and it gives you strength and a foundation with which to deal with these challenges,” she said. “It gives us an opportunity to re-ground ourselves in our values, in the Biblical principles that are critical to us as we lead and work.”

    The webinar highlighted the role of the Baylor in Washington program, which brings BU students to the nation’s capital each year to build leadership, civic virtue and a commitment to moral action through student opportunities like a semester in D.C. program and summer internships, as well as strategic partnerships and programs like last week’s event.

    You can view the conversation in its entirety on Baylor’s YouTube channel:

    Sic ’em, President Livingstone!