Diana R. Garland School of Social Work

Guidara writes, “’Black and white’ means you’re doing your job with competence and efficiency; ‘color’ means you make people feel great about the job you’re doing for them. Getting the right plate to the right person at the right table is service. But genuinely engaging with the person you’re serving, so you can make an authentic connection—that’s hospitality.” Guidara tells story after story of making such a connection with his guests, celebrating life’s ups and downs, and learning to see people with greater intentionality, empathy and authenticity.

The Bridges to Belonging project is equipping congregations across Central Texas to more fully welcome youth and young adults (ages 13–25) facing disabilities, mental health challenges, and chronic illnesses. In its first year, the project has begun sparking dialogue and fostering new relationships among local churches, all aimed at making congregations more accessible, inclusive, and truly representative of the body of Christ.

Baylor University is well-represented on a prestigious list compiling the top 2% most-cited researchers in the world. In a database compiled by Stanford University, 43 current or retired Baylor faculty members and postdoctoral researchers appear among the top 2% of the most-cited researchers across into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields according to the standard Science-Metrix classification.

“We don’t want those people at our church.”

When people from the community began to walk through the doors on Sunday morning, I heard this grumbling from church members who had just participated in outreach to them...

“Those people” were my friends, my community and as Jesus refers to them, my neighbors. Sadly, these grumblings continue in many churches.