New Year, New BU

by Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley

As the new year begins, it is a great opportunity to critically assess your habits, both personally and managerially. 2026 can be an opportunity to continue to build just and equitable teams but such progress does not happen by accident. Rather it happens through intentional rhythms.

But, you may ask, what would make that different at Baylor from what one might experience at another university? Here, those rhythms can be intentionally suffused with the power of the Holy Spirit. Our commitment to one another’s flourishing has specific content: we want ourselves and all those we lead to have lives that overflow with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is what success looks like and this is what we ought to pursue!

So what rhythms in your life and your work cultivate that fruit? Will 2026 be a year where your work and your management is described as joyful because it is an opportunity to steward gifts of God’s grace? Will it be a year where your work and your management is described as kind and gentle because you treat your direct reports with grace and mercy without sacrificing accountability? Will it be a year where your work and your management is described as self-controlled because even in the midst of chaos and regularly shifting contexts, you, by the Spirit, can maintain an even demeanor? Let this year be a year of the growing fruit of the Spirit!

Sic ‘em, Bears!