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The familiar yellow-and-black "For Dummies" instructional books were born from a universal truth: tech manuals are punishing reads. It all started in the late '80s, when Dan Gookin wrote DOS For Dummies in plain, easy-to-understand language. His manuscript was intergalactically rejected until IDG Books released the first version in November 1991. HR responded with mandatory drug testing. They needn't have worried. DOS for Dummies was a bestseller, as millions discovered they

SITREP So here you are: the Holy Spirit urging you to Pay it Forward, and newly aware that everyone has one or more Spiritual Gifts. You’ve even begun to suspect what your own Spiritual Gifts might be, but you'd like some external validation before diving headfirst into volunteering. Look at you, getting all social-scientific! Insert my bad Bob the Tomato impression: "Have we got a quiz for you." You know who's cool? Bob the Tomato. You know who's even cooler? Bob the Tomato

SITREP So there you were, broken and keenly aware of your failures and spiritual poverty. And yet, something (spoiler: it's the Holy Spirit) compelled you to find a church that provided the help, hope, and healing you sorely needed. And now you suspect the Holy Spirit is at it again, prompting you to Pay it Forward. But... you ? Really ? You've never attended seminary or grown up in the church. You can't quote Bible verses like Dallas Cowboys trivia. What can you offer, othe

For the last twenty years, numerous well-intentioned programs have emerged focused on preventing sex abuse within churches. While prevention is undoubtedly important, these programs often overlook a crucial group: those who have already been victimized before joining the church. What about them? Where do they turn for help? Too often, they find themselves looking for help, hope, and healing outside the church. Can't we -and shouldn't we- do better? The Fearless Series for Wo

An anagram for "Alec Guinness" is "Genuine Class". That tracks. This uber-late blog explores no longer fitting. Not because that...

Don't pay the ransom, I escaped. For my patient reader (note the singular), I had a hernia operation and was laid off in June. I've been...

Does your preferred Bible translation identify the Star Wars character you are most like? Don't doubt me on this; it comes from an Internet meme, so you know it's true. After all those persecution blogs, we need a palate cleanser. Rankings stolen and refined with permission from King David’s Treasury of Memes for Israelite Teens and Facebook's Christian Outlaw, City on a Hill's resident Meme King. A long time ago, in a blog far, far away... Let's start by determining what y

There are still places where Christians are persecuted, dispossessed, tortured, or killed for their faith. Here are the four last...

Christianity is the world’s largest religion, but there are still places where Christians are persecuted, dispossessed, tortured, or...

Please allow me to steal from some 2011 dude a bit (plagiarism is so in style these days). Sadly, I can steal almost verbatim from List...

The following is a recap of the problems with the devotional, Jesus Calling, and some suggestions for an alternative. (Originally...

Biblical literacy lets you have more in common with other believers. This common knowledge helps Christians communicate, work, play, and...

"This too, shall pass". - My Best Friend's Wedding, 1997. "You SHALL NOT PASS!" - Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring, 200l. - My pre-Cal professor, 1985. "This too shall pass" certainly sounds Biblical, but like my Pre-Cal answers and Best Friend's Wedding, sounding true doesn't make something true, much less Biblical. "This too shall pass" likely came from useful but non-divine Jewish folklore. My non-true Pre-Cal answers were only useful for fertilizer. Which is why Bibli

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in...

"My Mom's boyfriend says Christmas is when Frosty the Snowman fights the Devil." - Unaccompanied Minors, 2006. As the #1 Bestseller in...

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson Relax. Almost no churches punch you in the mouth. The quote is instructive because catching hands with Iron Mike is a fearful undertaking. But his opponents bolstered their confidence with a good plan and stepped into the ring. Some even won. For us introverts, social interaction is fatiguing and sometimes a little scary. To avoid these feelings, we often isolate ourselves and contribute greatly to today

The following article was written without the aid of Artificial Intelligence. It was written with barely any intelligence at all. It's been a minute, hasn't it? Well, as we discussed before, we introverts like our alone time, which applies to blogging as well as face-to-face interaction. I don't have a source for that, but I'm going with it because conflicting data would ruin my deadline excuse. When we last spoke, your homework was to surf a few church websites and watch a f

"When I was young, I was shy, and I thought shyness was the most terrible thing in the world. Then I moved to New York City. And having seen the alternative..." - Garrison Keillor "Hell is other people." -Nietzsche No, introversion and shyness are not synonymous. But Garrison's talking about the myriad of exhausting social interactions he endured every day in New York. And Nietzsche... is just being Nietzche; he's always good for a dramatic quote. Introvert energy levels de

In these inflationary times, we can either charge more for the same amount of blogs or charge the same amount and offer less ( e.g., the...

The Christian Church is the living, communal exercise of our obedience and praise to the Lord. It covers most of the globe in one form or another, and while not perfect, the fellowship brings us closer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we do it well. But, humanity being humanity, things get weird. Submitted for your approval are ten Christian churches that in one way or another are a unique form of our place of worship. 10. Most Perilous Church Ethiopians go hard in t