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Continue reading →: Post-COVID Trauma and Violence: How will the Church Respond?
Reports are emerging that 2021 is proving to be one of the deadliest years in history, noting a 66% rise in gun sales and record-breaking statistics regarding gun violence. As we seek ways to “return to normalcy” post COVID-19, how should we respond to trauma and the consequences of isolation,…
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Continue reading →: Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other Nonsense
My opinion is worth a hill of beans, but since people are asking for it, I’ll give it. Several people have asked me about Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the past week. They are concerned about what they perceive to be a socialist or “liberal” agenda in education and culture.…
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Continue reading →: The Pastor’s 2021 Reading List
It’s that time again. Every year, I collate the library of books I read. Unlike other lists, which merely serve as wish-lists for what we want to read, I only list what we read. Sometimes I don’t finish the whole book, but that’s not the point. What is the point?…
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Continue reading →: A Celebration of Life: Deacon Marti Catron
My name is Joe LaGuardia, and I served at Marti’s and Nina’s church, Trinity Baptist Church, in Georgia, from 2004 – 2016. Marti was and will always be “my Deacon.” The first time I got to know Marti well was when we were painting one of the Trinity preschool rooms…
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Continue reading →: In Remembrance of Dr. Doug Watterson, Jr.
By Joe LaGuardia We pastors realize the gravity of preaching every Sunday morning. When we enter a pulpit, we do not enter it alone. We stand upon the shoulders of great pastors, preachers, mentors, friends and heroes that have preceded us in declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are…
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Continue reading →: Four Tips for Interfaith Ministry
God calls us to be Christ’s Church together and not neglect the fellowship of believers. Meeting as a church is fairly easy, but the real challenge is following God into a world full of diverse beliefs, opinions, and views. For over a decade, I have worked with people of other…
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Continue reading →: How do you Measure Church Growth during COVID?
For the last three decades, people “doing church” have been trying to measure growth in a post-Christian age. It is true: for every generation of people that pass, fewer attend church. Measuring a church’s growth by using the old methods do not work anymore. The old methods of measuring growth…
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Continue reading →: Review of “God and the Pandemic”, by N. T. Wright
I always appreciate the writings of N. T. Wright. I first read him in college, when I was investing in historical Jesus studies. Wright’s work, captured in the tomes that are his “Israel and the People of God” series, is captivating, comprehensive, and life-changing. Since then, Wright made it a…
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Continue reading →: Lessons from Election Day
It is noon the day after the election, and we still are unsure as to who will lead our country for the next four years. Pollsters and prognosticators tried to avoid uncertainty; graphs and charts showed us all the various ways people vote and possible outcomes. But people–and the science…
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Continue reading →: Jesus and Caesar: God’s Love in the Context of Roman Imperialism
Some time ago the writings of theologian David Ray Griffin crossed my desk. Griffin sets Jesus’ ministry squarely in opposition to Roman imperialism in the first century. He quotes Richard Horsely as saying, “Trying to understand Jesus without knowing how Roman imperialism” worked is like “trying to understand Martin Luther…
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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