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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…
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Continue reading →: 3 Reasons why the Christian Calendar is Meaningful for today’s Church
By Joe LaGuardia Our church, First Baptist of Vero, is hosting a short-term study on the Christian calendar during the season of Lent. Although the sacred calendar has always been a part of First Baptist’s 101-year history, the church has often made an effort to educate the congregation on the…
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Continue reading →: A Hunger for Bible Literacy, Part 2
By Matt Sapp This is the second post in a series designed to encourage more of us to read the Bible more often. In part one, we talked about developing a basic understanding of what the Bible is and where the Bible comes from. When was it written? Who are…
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Continue reading →: A Hunger for Bible Literacy, Part 1
By Matt Sapp Wanna know a secret? No one reads the Bible anymore. Can you name the last time you opened your Bible at home? If you can’t, know that you’re not alone. Whatever your background with church—whether you haven’t missed a Sunday since you were a child or you’re just…
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Continue reading →: Proclaiming Truth in a Post-Truth World
By Matt Sapp 2016 wasn’t a great year for truth, and the first days of 2017 don’t appear to have offered any improvement. When Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness” in 2005 everyone laughed. Few are laughing now. Colbert used the word to mean something we understand to be true…
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Continue reading →: A Thousand Little Things Make the Difference
By Joe LaGuardia After church last Sunday, I was crazy enough to do my exercise walk on the beach in 55-degree, windy weather. The waves were breaking as far as the eye could see, almost perpendicular to the coast, and the wind was so strong the seagulls were flying backwards…
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Continue reading →: Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards all?
By Joe LaGuardia In a recent article for USA Today, Robert Parham noted the oddity and the timeliness of God’s message of “peace on earth” to Mary and Joseph during the Christmas season. He stated that peace was a ridiculous notion back then as it is now, a notion hard-pressed…
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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