
I give this piece of advice to every aspiring minister I meet: Do not make promises you can’t keep.
I once worked with a minister who tried to appease everyone. He made promises and failed to write down half of what he promised. After a year of ministry, his inability to be judicious about his commitments caught up with him. His integrity waned under the stress of too many broken promises. Jesus said, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’” (Matt. 5:37).
Promises are important in ministry, and they are important in life. A broken promise can affect a person more than we could imagine, and a promise kept can transform a life in an instant. You never know who is watching you and keeping track of the promises you make, keep, or break.
God’s very nature is characterized by the covenants He keeps. God made a promise to Adam and Eve to care for them. God made a promise to Noah and his ancestors (marked by a rainbow) never to flood the earth again. God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah, that they will become a great nation and be a blessing to all the other nations of the earth. God’s promise to David was to raise up a messiah, a Savior, from David’s throne and make God’s people a holy, royal priesthood. God made a promise to Israel that there will be a New Covenant whereupon God’s law will be etched into our hearts.
Advent is a time when we reflect on all the promises God makes in the Bible, and Christmas is the celebration of God’s promise coming true in the person of Jesus Christ. Upon Jesus all of the promises of Israel rest. Some scholars say that Jesus fulfilled nearly 300 prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament.
God keeps promises and never fails us; how will we keep our promises to God? How will we live out the Christmas spirit in a way that brings glory to God and bears witness to Christ’s love in our community?
We Baptists answer those questions in all sorts of ways, and each of us is responsible to live out God’s promises in our life. For some, it means resisting unethical business practices or cutting corners to save a buck. For others, it means being a faithful caregiver to a loved one or following through on a contractual obligation otherwise inconvenient. As a parent and husband, I have to keep my promise every day to Kristina and my children that I will provide for them, protect them, and serve them as Christ served the church. What about you?
As you observe Advent and celebrate Christmas , give thanks to the Great Promise-Keeper who has given all we need in Christ Jesus. And when you hear that holy Infant break the Christmas morning silence with his divine cry, praise God for the greatest promise ever kept.
by Joe LaGuardia

This small margin–and the divide of electoral politics in our county–shows us the value and deeply held conviction of not getting partisan in the pulpit. Christ’s church doesn’t choose sides, it always chooses Christ because He is our sole Lord and Savior to whom we give ALL allegiance.

by Joe LaGuardia

by Joe LaGuardia
by Joe LaGuarda
Now, after several weeks back into worship, I fear they might be correct: Our institutions and events have been irrevocably interrupted and, with a spike in numbers in Indian River County the last three weeks, we don’t know what the future holds for the rest of the year in case of closures, hospitalizations, and ministry in our community.
- We co-hosted an online Caregiver Support Group on Zoom last month. We had about a dozen people participate from both Georgia and Vero Beach.
- We have maintained our relationship with the interfaith leadership in our county, participating in online interfaith dialogues by way of Zoom. (Our next dialogue is June 29th at 7:00 PM, so if you’re interested in joining us, please email me to get on the invite list.)
- We have been networking with friends in our community. Bryce has been keeping up with FCA, Youth for Christ, and SafIR Indian River County. I have been supporting my peers (and they have been supporting us) in conversations with the Treasure Coast Baptist Association and other clergy in the area, such as Derrick West and Roger Ball.
- Rabbi Michael Birnholtz and I had the honor of being guests on Ralph Oko’s “Veteran’s Radio” to prerecord a show scheduled for June 20 and 21 (10:00 AM, on 101.7), on how faith communities are working together for community outreach and support.
- We are nurturing a partnership with Pillar Community Church and Pastor Biz Gainey. Pillar is on-campus, using the gym for Sunday worship since their host elementary school is closed for the summer. Pillar is a like-minded church, and Biz and I have a lot in common in terms of our theology and liturgical preferences. We are joining other pastors in a small, monthly “lunch and learn”, (beginning next week) about improving or engaging in healthy race relations in our county.
- On campus, we have been burning the candles at both ends with the installation of our new Narthex doors, the building of the new roof on the music building, and outreach in our community. One Sunday School class provided much-needed diapers, wipes, and clothes to a pregnant family in need. Our ladies’ group continue to make 100 blankets a month for the maternity unit at Cleveland Clinic IR Hospital. Our staff has reached out to home-bound and grieving families. A Boy Scout, JT Sorrell, chose First Baptist Church to bless us with new benches for our prayer garden for his Eagle Scout project.
- We have been doing a little professional development–Dr. Carter has been reading up on new music arrangements and liturgy, and I’m currently engrossed in a book on facilitating meaningful funerals. I just finished a book on speaking, teaching, and preaching in times of national unrest, protest, and conflict. Pastor Bryce has been networking with missionaries who are furloughed in Vero Beach. Pat Smith can probably pass the Florida Bar by now because of all the copyright, human resources, and lending laws she’s been reading.
- Masks are required for everyone 12 years and older, primarily in-doors. Please, for everyone’s safety, wear a mask. This cuts down the transference of any infections by 75%. We will have a few masks at the welcome center if you forget it at home or need one.
- Please practice physical distancing–at least 6 feet from other families, and wave hello. Every other pew will be closed off for your safety. There is plenty of room in the sanctuary to spread out!
- The worship service will be abbreviated by a few minutes to reduce exposure. We will not collect offerings by hand, but will have offering boxes near the doors for you to drop off your tithes and offerings.
- We will have directional arrows to provide “entrance” and “exit” aisles in the sanctuary. Doors will be propped open to limit hands-on contact. We will have a staggered approach to dismissal.
- Children’s Church will be held outside in the playground.
- We are having a rotation of singers for the choir. If you are interested in going on a rotation to sing, please contact Dr. Carter.
- This is a NO JUDGMENT ZONE! Please come only as you feel safe to do so–there is no pressure to attend. Remember that you are wearing masks for OTHERS not necessarily for you! Others will show you neighborly love by wearing THEIR masks.



In light of the recent events uncovering systemic injustice, human trafficking, and sexual assault in our community, we double down in seeking to provide a sacred and holy space in our neighborhood that fosters liberation for the oppressed and justice and due process for oppressors.
We stand in solidarity with our city and our neighbors in decrying the oppression and shame this has brought upon our county, and we hope that our advocacy and prayers will help bring healing and comfort to those in sorrow. We will remain vigilant in being accessible–of nurturing a safe haven–to those who are in need and have been affected by human trafficking–to the families of both the victims and the accused. And we hope that our belief and convictions born from the Gospel of Christ will be transformative for renewal and redemption.
We also join our local partners in ministry and other non-profits in collaborating together for the sake of healing. Together we seek a deeper call for social justice that corrects the most heinous situations of exploitation in our midst. We pray that there exists a balm in Gilead and spiritual nourishment for a dry and weary land.








- The Worshiping Church: First Baptist values the worship of God in spirit and in truth, engaging people through ancient traditions, liturgical rhythms, the Christian calendar, and contemporary creative arts.
- The Discipling Church: First Baptist values the discipleship of all people–men, women and children–who long to obey God, grow in Christ, and live by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- The Teaching Church: First Baptist values passing on the legacy of Baptist community by fostering the gifts of the Spirit, mentoring believers along the journey of faith, and including both men and women in leadership.
- The Missional Church: First Baptist values participating in God’s mission to the world, being the presence of Christ by advocating for the impoverished, and standing in solidarity with those who seek justice and reconciliation.


- Paul says we are to be “in agreement.” I prefer the King James Version here: “We are to speak the same language.” That does not mean that we all have to speak the same things or even believe everything the same way, but it does mean nurturing the habit of speaking out of shared values that unite our church. Sure we may differ on various theological views, but as a church family, we hold several core values in common–its what makes us First Baptist Church!
- Paul says we are to be of the same mind. Again, that does not mean you have to think like I think, or that we have to fight trying to change each other’s minds. Rather, we are to seek the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). It means coming to a place where we seek to understand one another, but move beyond our own limited insights to seek the deeper things of the Holy Spirit.
- Paul says we are to be of the same purpose. The worst question anyone can ask at church is, “How do I get my way!” Jesus did not intend for His church to be the sum of any one person’s agenda. Rather, Jesus establishes each church to fulfill a specific mission. This mission transcends any one person, group, or generation–it lasts for the life of the church. We have a mission at First Baptist that is sound and worth uniting behind:
Our mission is the worship of God. In obedience to Him, worship includes reaching out and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, equipping our members for discipleship, and demonstrating Christ’s love through ministry and fellowship.


We delivered donuts to law offices in our surrounding area, the first step in connecting with our backyard mission field.
One Sunday morning during the collection of tithes at First Baptist Church of Vero Beach, Florida, Randy (not his real name) reached in, dug deep, and padded all of his pockets in order to find money to put into the offering plate. His pants, too big for his lean body and too old to wear anywhere else, hung loosely and flapped about him as he struggled to find his treasure. The plate passed by, and Randy was disheartened, unable to contribute.
Just four months ago Randy was someone who often asked for an offering. As one of many marginalized and displaced persons in quaint Vero Beach, Randy is well known in these parts for hanging around churches, borrowing a few bucks to get McDonald’s cheeseburgers, and getting in deep with the wrong people related to his on-again, off-again drug addiction.
Randy was one of the first people I met last May when I began as senior pastor to First Baptist. We sat and talked a while in my office, about the area, his trouble with holding a job and getting along with family.
I got to know him well, as well as some two-dozen other displaced individuals we serve every Wednesday with hot supper at the church. This ministry is called “Wednesday Without Walls” (WWW). In addition to a meal, there is a clothes closet, seasonal items like bug repellent and blankets available, and a time for a sermon or devotion by guest speakers from around town… [Read more at the Patheos Blog].
