Bob Morley (left) and Abbey Daniels (right) take a photo with podcast guest and former BYU-I president, Kim B. Clark (middle). Photo provided by Abbey Daniels.
It was a hot June day in Texas, and BYU Idaho Professor Bob Morley was acting without a plan, on an empty college campus that wasn’t his own.
The professor knew who he was looking for, he just didn’t know how to find him. At that moment, he found himself on the empty campus by living the principles he teaches in his classes: Prayerfully asking what Christ would have him do and then following through on the inspiration he received.
For his Faculty Leave Fellowship in the spring of 2024, Brigham Young University-Idaho Morley traveled to several states to research his chosen topic: Strengthening Learning and Teaching of Disciple Leadership.
As part of his FLF, Brother Morley was assisted by Abbey Daniels, a recent alumna of the University, and worked with the BYU-Idaho radio station to produce a 10-episode podcast named Everyday Disciple Leaders.
The business professor, who worked for renowned companies such as FranklinCovey and The Arbinger Institute before becoming a business professor at BYU-Idaho six years ago, would describe this as his “favorite topic in the world.”
The University's mission is to “develop disciples of Jesus Christ who lead in their homes, the Church, and communities.”
Brother Morley feels responsible for this mission, especially in teaching classes such as Organizational Leadership, which was recently redesigned to be more focused on the Savior and leading like Him.
When it came time to propose his project for his Faculty Leave Fellowship, Brother Morley realized, “I want to do more with that.”
According to Brother Morley, a disciple leader is “someone who tries their best to make all their decisions based on what they think the Savior would have them do.”
That’s why he arrived on the empty campus of Baylor University in the middle of June without an appointment. Brother Morley had acted in faith by driving down to Texas. Staying at his parents’ home, he had tried over the course of several days to contact the school with no success.
“And so I was prayerfully thinking and asking What do I need to do?” recalled Brother Morley. “And I get this feeling. Go to Baylor. Just go get it done. And so, I went.”
He was on a mission to find Perry Glanzer, a professor at Baylor University’s School of Educational Leadership.
With the help of two master’s students who crossed his path, Brother Morley was able to find Glanzer and eventually made a podcast episode interviewing him about his perspective on what it means to be a disciple leader.
Other episodes of the podcast feature interviews with everyday disciple leaders such as Kim B. Clark, a former President of BYU-Idaho. It also includes recognizable figures like Nate Mitchell, who portrayed Peter in the Church’s Bible videos and currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University, and Terry Warner, one of the founders of the Arbinger Institute.
The professor-turned-podcast-host also spoke with both the CEO and the Director of Training at The Other Side Village, a non-profit dedicated to providing high-quality, permanent housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, often due to medical challenges.
But Brother Morley wasn’t just focused on discussing theory. He actively demonstrated the principles of disciple leadership explored on the podcast.
This included collaborating with a colleague and The Other Side Village to design short training courses. These classes aim to equip individuals transitioning out of homelessness with the skills and confidence they need to succeed in their new homes.
The principles of disciple leadership also led to an unplanned visit to Baylor University’s campus, prompted purely by inspiration.
Ultimately, the projects and research Brother Morley conducted during his Faculty Leave Fellowship are helping shape the classes he teaches, ensuring that students are not only learning about disciple leadership but are also inspired to live it.
And for anybody who doesn’t have the opportunity to attend BYU-Idaho or take a class from Brother Morley, the University will soon release the ten podcast episodes of Everyday Disciple Leaders available for all to listen.