• Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.

    You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

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HammerStone

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First Off: Welcome!

I know that it might be slightly condescending to provide a newbie guide to our newbies, but I also know that the excitement of joining the community combined with the uncertainty of new buttons to press is like a kid hitting Chuck E. Cheese’s for the first time!

So, we got together and came up with this little guide to help you get started off on the right foot. If you listen to it, we can all but guarantee your experience here will be better. Of course, we don’t truly guarantee anything other than we’re a bunch of people desperately in need of a Savior, but that’s another discussion topic.

There are a couple things that matter to you (and us):

You have a profile, please use it responsibly. I know filling out anything is hazardous these days (unless of course it’s a Facebook status which is secure and not shared with anyone else when you rant), but we would really like to get you know a little about you on your profile! I like to know if I am talking to a Ma’am or a Sir, for example. Others do, too.

Just fill out the couple pieces of information not so we can check out your house on Google maps, but rather just so we can know a little bit about who we are talking to. (Your address is not a field.) If you’re feeling really dangerous, use a 10-15 year old picture when you had fewer wrinkles, more hair, or played high school sports that involved that nasty thing called running.

Once you’re done with that, head over to the Community Welcome Center and say hello in your very first thread!

We are friends here. I admit it, there are a couple crazy people here, but I still love ‘em. There are also a ton of people here who I think are more in the wrong than an orange-wearing Clemson fan. Yet I remind myself that these are people and generally they’re pretty nice. If I disagree with them on an issue, chances are we can agree on things like the divinity of Jesus or other unifying beliefs. Plus, I am southern, and bless their hearts!

We are a Christian forum. Note the absence of such descriptors as Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Anglican, Holiness, Pentecostal, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox or any other -ist. Did you see that? We are not here to cater to any one denomination, nor will we cater to non-denominations. So, if you only take communion the Baptist way or only sprinkle the Methodist way, that’s wonderful, but chances are not everyone here does. It’s fine to belong to a denomination, it’s not fine to insist everyone else join yours or agree with yours. We are Protestant in origin, but again we share in discussion with our Catholic and Eastern Orthodox friends.

Be mindful about your purpose here. No, not that purpose, though we hope and pray you’ve come to believe that purpose is in Jesus. That said, please examine your motives for your purpose here. If you’re here only to win nasty arguments for fun or fill up all forums with your denomination’s beliefs, your website’s link, or anything else that tends to stifle discussion, go ahead and drop me a PM and I’ll provide you with a free simple ban gift.

Furthermore, if you like to complain, please don’t. We don’t have a complaints department. We generally don’t listen to complaints. We don’t have enough time. What we do try very hard to do is provide the best environment for everyone. Our team is manned (and womanned) by volunteers, and I am personally very grateful for their time just to help us out!

Lastly, that’s not God on your speed dial. It’s likely bad pizza or a large ego. We believe that God manifests in dreams and visions, but that sort of thing will not reveal anything new or rewrite Holy Scripture. If you feel the slightest urge to rebuke us in KJV-style language with a curse that sounds remarkably like something out of the Old Testament, go ahead and watch some paint dry instead or try suppressing the urge and start your own forum.

Relax. Have fun. Make friends. Use a stress ball if necessary. If you feel that feeling where you’re in an intense discussion and your blood feels all hot and at a boil, flip the screen down or turn it off. Get up, walk, and do something fun and relaxing. Avoid shooting from the hip.

Protect yourself and your data. I completely recommend not giving out any personal information. We are not asking for anything truly personal. Avoid any home address, social security number, and other sensitive information. There are bad people masquerading as good people on good sites. If you share an email, make sure you have a reason to trust the person. We are required to verify underage users to prevent them giving us illegal information, so we will ask for your birthday, but we don’t share it unless you enable it in your profile area.

Spammer? We will pray for you, bless your heart.

So, with that said, welcome Mrs./Ms./Mr. newbie to the forums! Happy posting and try and make some friends! You never know what the God of this universe has setup, even on a little forum like ours.
 
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