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Continue reading →: Going Home, Looking Forward
By Joe LaGuardia Since moving to Florida over a year ago, I have been reflecting on some aspects of my past: high school, college, my calling, friends with whom I’ve lost contact, and other nostalgic reminiscing. With each memory I seek to “take every thought captive for Christ,” assessing what…
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Continue reading →: Debating the Bible is Good for the Soul
By Joe LaGuardia In a sermon on Genesis, the Reverend Lillian Daniel told of an Israeli program that required rabbis to study the Torah in groups and learn how to debate its meaning. Debate was not something to avoid, but significant because, as the theory goes, sacred scripture is too…
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Continue reading →: Ministry for the Sake of Christ and the World
By Joe LaGuardia I had a conversation with a Navy veteran yesterday who served as a flight-deck officer for nearly 25 years. I thanked him for his service and was grateful that he had sacrificed his safety in order to protect our freedom. He reminded me of the time I…
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Continue reading →: Working with Refugees in Uganda
This week includes World Refugees Day. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida and CBF Global support the work of Karen Alford, a CBF missionary (field personnel) and member of Bayshore Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida. Karen works with women’s health in Uganda, which includes refugees and others who are impoverished…
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Continue reading →: Moving On: An Ascension Sunday Reflection
By Joe LaGuardia I once watched my father knock his brother half-way across a boxing ring with a single right cross. I saw it on one of those old black and white films, homemade from some ancient camera and later transferred to a DVD. There they were, sparring: My dad,…
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Continue reading →: 4 Easy Ways to Support Your Church Staff
By Joe LaGuardia In the mid-1990s, G. Lloyd Rediger published Clergy Killers, which argued that some churches are so destructive and dysfunctional that they have actually persuaded some staff to give up ministry altogether. Churches not adept in conflict management or basic communication skills run the risk of abusing staff…
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Continue reading →: Politics, Bluegrass, and Punishment: A Longing for Lent (again)
By Joe LaGuardia I came off of a very productive Lent this past season. My Lent involved fasting from politics–from listening, watching, reading, and, well, reading anything having to do with politics (and, in many cases, religion). That was a good exercise. Before Lent, I was up too late watching…
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Continue reading →: Holding Hands
By Joe LaGuardia In our professionalized American culture, we do not often hold hands. Holding hands is reserved for couples in love or, in a brief welcome of mutual greeting, in the shaking of hands of a colleague. Sometimes you don’t even get that — the “fist bump” is quickly…
Engaging Heart, Mind, and Soul
Rev. Dr. Joe LaGuardia
Rev. Dr. Joe LaGuardia is a pastor, writer, and chaplain residing in Florida. He is author of three books and regular contributor to Smyth & Helwys’ Formations Series. His articles have appeared in USA Today, Baptist News Global, Christian Ethics Today, TCPalm, and Rockdale Citizen.
Baptist Spirituality explores the intersection of faith and culture incorporating biblical scholarship, culture and the arts, politics, science, and theology.
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