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Continue reading →: Is Honesty the Best Preaching Policy?
By Joe LaGuardia They say that, in writing, honesty is the best policy. Stephen King advises in On Writing that writing is best when it tells the truth. In Right to Write, Julia Cameron has an entire chapter on honesty and its merits in writing. Creative writing coaches will tell you, if it…
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Continue reading →: Do Pastors Need Monologues?
By Joe LaGuardia This past week, I’ve been addicted to a new channel on XM Radio devoted to old Tonight show episodes with Johnny Carson. I get a kick out of his monologues. What is most intriguing is the humor and relevance that make monologues so timeless. The talkshow host…
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Continue reading →: Faith and Film (prt. 3): Rocky
By Joe LaGuardia Watching Rocky was a family affair growing up in the LaGuardia household. Not only did we watch every Rocky movie as a family, we literally saw our family in the series reflected back to us. There was Rocky, a metaphoric character for my father. He, like Rocky,…
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Continue reading →: Faith and Film (prt. 2): The Mission
By Joe LaGuardia When I was in high school, my sister Gina and brother-in-law Frank invited me to join them for dinner in Manhattan with one of Frank’s clients. Frank was a personal trainer and this client had meant a great deal to him; the client, a Jesuit priest whose…
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Continue reading →: Faith and Film (prt. 1): House
By Joe LaGuardia I took a course on faith and film years ago in college. The conundrum is this: does film reflect society, or does film shape society? Same can be said of faith: How much does media, whether film or otherwise, shape or inform our faith? This series intends…
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Continue reading →: A Reading Life (prt. 18): Ditching Books
By Joe LaGuardia This is the final article of an 18-part series exploring the life of reading, writing, and vocational ministry. We Christians just finished the season of Lent. Although Lent means different things to different people, it boils down to practicing the spirituality of subtraction. We remove something from…
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Continue reading →: The Outdoors is for the Birds
By Joe LaGuardia St. Francis of Assisi is not my patron saint. You remember St. Francis? He was the 13th-century monk who preached to all of nature, including animals. He spoke of creation in moving prayers and poetry. He celebrated God’s care over all creation, including Brother Sun and Sister…
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Continue reading →: A Reading Life (prt. 17): Old Words with New Hope
By Joe LaGuardia I started collecting vintage religious books some time ago. These books, primarily on preaching or prayer, have become treasures and sources of encouragement. They have also become a way to go “treasure hunting” in used book and thrift stores. (Its exciting to have a niche collection.) There…
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Continue reading →: Don’t Get Ahead of Christ!
By Joe LaGuardia We are but a few weeks away from Holy Week. It is around this time that I am reminded of “watersheds” in the gospels, those little verses in which Jesus turns from local ministry in the northern country and begins his journey to the cross. Sometimes a…
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Continue reading →: CBF’s Baxley issues statement following New Zealand mosque shootings
CBFblog March 15, 2019 By CBF Communications Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley released the following statement after the death of 49 Muslim worshipers in a terrorist attack during Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. While details are still unfolding about this tragic event, we have…
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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