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Continue reading →: What Mary teaches us about Advent
In one of the holiest places in Rockdale County–the crypt chapel at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit–hangs a lone icon of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. In the silence of that little room, these two striking figures give visitors a serene look filled with the quiet fortitude required…
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Continue reading →: Advent is a time to expect the unexpected
If I made a dime for every time someone said that our government should be Bible-based, I could open up a full college fund for my children. This kind of rhetoric always makes me wonder: If we were to govern with the Bible in mind, which part of the Bible…
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Continue reading →: Give hope to a family this Christmas
Give hope to a family in need this Christmas by donating a toy to the Rockdale Coalition, this year’s sponsor of the Christmas Hope project. Every year, Christmas Hope offers free toy gifts to nearly 500 impoverished families in our county. This year’s event will be from Dec. 17th to…
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Continue reading →: Book review: “Designing Contemporary Congregations,” by Laurene Beth Bowers
Laurene Beth Bowers, Designing Contemporary Congregations: Strategies to Attract Those Under Fifty, Pilgrim Press, 2008. 128 pages. Available at Amazon. Occasionally, I come across such a great book that I must review it for our readers here at Baptist Spirituality. Abstract: In her second book on healthy church growth, Laurene…
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Continue reading →: The Sluggish Journey of Christian Formation
Mid-term elections have come and gone and, despite apocalyptic campaign adds, the world did not end after all. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The rotation of the earth still takes a full 24 hours, and New Year’s Eve will fall on the 365th day as scheduled. In the…
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Continue reading →: Knowing the names of your parishioners is the first step in becoming their pastor
Now, folks, you know me. I am not one to judge. Mostly. I am, however, a bit harsher on the Church and clergy than on people in the world. After all, we can’t expect sinners unsaved to know all of the rules, right? So providing some friendly commentary on the…
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Continue reading →: What good is a cold, distant and useless God?
The most recent film from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan is based on a folktale in which the devil roams the earth in order to collect the souls of sinners unsaved. The movie, “Devil,” is a thriller about five individuals (one of whom is the devil incarnate) stuck on…
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Continue reading →: “Slow reading” is rooted in Lectio Divina
Everyone who knows me knows that I am an avid reader. I used to knock out a book every week or so, sometimes two books if I had to read for classes. When I had children, reading became a rare recreational activity. Now that my children are older,…
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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