All Music Guide
Just as the movie industry has IMDb.com, so the music biz has an Internet encyclopedia of its own. Spanning nearly every genre, AMG offers bios, discographies, and even reviews searchable by artist, album, song, or classical work. The site's design doesn't allow easy cross-referencing, but AMG nonetheless offers seemingly limitless information at your fingertips.

Billboard
The standard for insider news, exclusive interviews, and the hallowed charts by which industry success is gauged. It costs $300 a year for a magazine subscription or for full access to the site, but free limited access still gets you most news stories, and I, for one, can settle for the week's Top 100 albums over the full list of 200.

Entertainment Weekly
Want to know what's hot and buzz-worthy in music without having to keep up on everything? EW does a great job of reviewing only what you need to know with writing that is concise, astute, and sometimes humorous. Plus, its writers provide plenty of news tidbits, download suggestions, and the occasional interview.

Paste Magazine
For those who prefer to immerse themselves in the new, Paste is the magazine for music lovers. The magazine excels at keeping up with all manner of artists, including independent, underground, and classical. Every issue comes with a sampler CD, and the website has plenty to complement the publication. While Paste has a number of Christians among its staff and contributors, the magazine is not a "Christian magazine" as such.

CCM Magazine, CM Central, Christian Music Planet
Most of the Christian music sites and publications are now owned and operated by Salem Communications. Their acquisitions have been positioned to specialize in rock (CCM), pop (CM Central), and adult contemporary (CMP), offering a variety of articles, blogs, and boards, depending on the site

An associate professor of church history at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and senior editor of Christian History & Biography, Armstrong chooses his favorite websites about church history.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL)
This is the mother lode of church-history-related books by some of the most brilliant and inspiring of our foreparents. In a wide array of digital formats, you'll find G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and Augustine's Confessions; volumes of the church fathers; an archive of hymn tunes; and much more.

Christian History & Biography
At this site, you'll find articles from current and past issues of the CT sister publication, a slew of online-only newsletters, and such goodies as This Week in Christian History, Person of the Week, and Quote of the Week. Also, I hear that its editors are working on some major improvements for the site that are coming soon, so stay tuned!

Early Church Online Encyclopedia
Though no longer maintained, ECOLE is a worthy archive. The glossary provides short definitions of early Christian people, groups, events, and ideas from Abelard to Zosimus. The longer articles address such topics as "Sadducees," "Stoicism," and "the Arian Controversy." The accompanying chronology pulls it all together.

Internet Medieval Sourcebook
This chronologically organized trove of primary documents is accompanied by pithy explanations of some of the important interpretive themes and arguments in medieval studies today. Check out, for instance, the material on feudalism: you think you know what this term means, but scholars today are changing their minds about it!

Met Museum: Timeline of Art History
This site links timelines to maps, providing a synoptic view of world art and architecture through history. The resources after A.D. 1, especially in the West, include a rich mine of material related to the history of Christianity. For example, see the essay on "Private Devotion in Medieval Christianity," linked in the timeline at "1400?1500, Europe."

Entertainment Weekly
Informative, investigative, and intelligently written, EW is the standard bearer of entertainment magazines. If you want all of the inside scoop, go to Variety, but if you just want most of it, presented in a fun way without being gossipy or "fanboy," EW has the write stuff - especially now with the sharp-witted Diablo Cody, Oscar winner for Juno's script, as a back-page columnist.

MovieWeb, ComingSoon
Want to know what's coming down the pike - not just in the next few months, but even a couple years from now? I rely on these two sites to keep me informed on upcoming releases - when they're due, who's directing, who's starring, what's the latest news on each, images, trailers, and so on.

IMDb
The Internet Movie Database has just about everything you could possibly want to know about any movie ever made. Want to know if 1961's The Guns of Navarone won any Oscars? (It did: Best Special Effects.) Or who played Juror No. 11 in 1957's 12 Angry Men? (It was George Voskovec.) It's all here.

Looking Closer
Jeffrey Overstreet was the first critic on the CT Movies team when we launched in 2004 (he'd been writing Film Forum for CT for a while), and I've always appreciated his insights into the movies. I've learned more about how to watch a movie from Jeffrey than from anyone. His Looking Closer blog keeps me abreast of what's happening in film, music, and more, and his thoughtful commentary goes the extra mile.

FilmChat
If I only went to one website a day to find out what I had to know that would be relevant to CT readers, Peter T. Chattaway's FilmChat blog would be that one-stop shop. It's comprehensive, but especially zeroes in on films, themes, and news relevant to a Christian audience. Bookmark it.

Ship of Fools
This U.K.-based "magazine of Christian unrest" eschews cynicism in favor of gentler prodding from an orthodox vantage. Popular features include Signs and Blunders, Fruitcake Zone, and Mystery Worshipper, in which anonymous reviewers attend services around the world, reporting on sermon length, pew comfort, and coffee temperature.

Geez
Lives up to its billing as "holy mischief in an age of fast faith." Both subversive and edifying, this Canada-based site offers voices from opposing beliefs to keep it fresh and unpredictable. They recently held a sermons-you'll-never-hear-in-church contest, calling for "words that are too hot, too happy, too whatever for the church to handle - yet still need to be said."

The Revealer
A smart review of religion in the news that winks as it scolds the press for getting religion wrong. Demands better coverage of faith - sharper thinking, thicker description. Mantra: "Belief matters, whether or not you believe." Editor Jeff Sharlet writes that he was "raised in as many churches, synagogues, and ashrams as his Christian/Jewish parents had friends."

Busted Halo
Paulist Young Adult Ministries - a Catholic organization - sponsors this hip online mag for 20- and 30-something seekers. Features balanced and though-provoking articles (with titles like "Oxymoron No Longer: On Being Black and Catholic in America"), reviews, and interviews. Cool video and audio clips, too.

Heeb
This satirical Jewish "zine for the plugged-in and preached-out" is so funny and topical that only the most dour of goys could visit it without breaking a smile. Its mission encompasses the prophetic ("a plague on modern-day pharaohs") and the fun ("a Carnival cruise to the Garden of Eden"). Covers arts, culture, and politics.

Youth Ministry Exchange
By youth workers and for youth workers, YMX is the place to discuss all things youth ministry, with thousands of threads on every imaginable subject. Some sections are free, but a $5 annual pass gets you access to the whole thing - and it's totally worth it.

The Source for Youth Ministry
Jonathan McKee started this site (formerly Jonathan's Resources) as a labor of love for youth workers. Chock full of free resources and ideas (the game section alone is amazing).

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding
This website, from CPYU founder Walt Mueller, is really for parents, but youth workers find it extremely helpful. It's loaded with blogs, articles, links to relevant stories, and more resources than you can imagine to help you learn about youth culture. And the free, weekly e-mail updates are a must.

YouthMinistry.Com
When Group Publishing partnered with Doug Fields's Simply Youth Ministry, they resurrected this long-dormant domain to create a new site, distinct from their two other sites. They're just beginning to move from a commerce-only site to a content-and-commerce site.

Especialidades Juveniles
Youth Specialties' Spanish division has its own website, completely separate in location, content, and maintenance from the English-language YS site. Based on traffic stats, it's the most popular youth-ministry site in the world. Of course, it's all in Spanish.

Youth Specialties
Okay, it's a bit self-promotional, but it truly is my favorite for all things concerning youth ministry, with thousands of pages of articles, ideas, and free stuff - plus the most comprehensive youth-ministry job bank anywhere (with over 700 listings at any time).

The Resurgence Greek Project
Free
Look no further if you need only to scan the Greek text, double-check parsing, or look up a quick definition. Zack Hubert’s program has only recently been linked up with Mark Driscoll’s Resurgence movement, and exposes this Internet-only resource to church planters and lay leaders who might not otherwise have the time to learn the biblical languages. (More at Zhubert.com)

Logos Bible Software 3
$629.95 for Scholar’s Library
This standard package puts an entire library at your fingertips. The passage and exegetical guides employ a host of resources to dissect Bible verses and help you discern the meaning of original-language texts. Charts and graphs help visual learners. Entire commentary sets can be added for additional cost. (More at Logos.com/scholars)

BibleWorks 7
$349
The popular BibleWorks program focuses more tightly on powerful exegesis tools. New to this version, a three-window interface fills the computer screen with a bounty of information. Sentence diagrams for the Greek New Testament will help advanced users visualize an author’s inspired intent. (More at BibleWorks.com)

Zondervan’s Greek & Hebrew Library 6.0
$149.99
If you want digital access to many indispensable Zondervan resources, you'll want to stick with this software. This publisher has not made some resources available to Logos and Bibleworks. This library doesn’t boast all the powerful tools featured in other programs, but that makes it easier to master in less time. (More at Zondervan.com/software)

Accordance
$249 for Scholar’s Collection
Mac users swear by this program, available for Windows only with an emulator. Accordance runs quickly and presents a clear interface. Offered for separate purchase, customizable 3-D Bible maps take you into Scripture’s stories. (More at AccordanceBible.com)

The favorite C. S. Lewis websites of Louis Markos, author of The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis, Lewis Agonistes, and, most recently, From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics (InterVarsity Press).

The C. S. Lewis Foundation
The foundation exists to promote the works of C. S. Lewis to the larger public and in the halls of academia. In addition to offering information on the many conferences sponsored by the foundation, this website provides a full list of books by and about Lewis, along with links to all the major Lewis websites.

Into the Wardrobe
Perhaps the best one-stop educational site for information on C. S. Lewis. It not only includes an annotated bibliography but also pictures, audio files, forums, and the full text of several dozen scholarly papers.

C. S. Lewis Society of California
There are many C. S. Lewis societies out there, most of which have good websites. This one offers the fullest and most varied resources, including links to interviews and audio/video resources.

Marion E. Wade Center
The best research museum of C. S. Lewis is housed not in England but at Wheaton College, Illinois. The center also features the books and papers of six writers who profoundly influenced Lewis: Owen Barfield, G. K. Chesterton, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.

Narnia Web
With the film versions of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader due out in May 2008 and May 2010, respectively, this is the single best news source on present and future Narnia movies.

Wolfe is the editor of Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion, and author of Malcolm Muggeridge: A Biography.

Arts & Faith
The largest and most dynamic online bulletin board on the subject of the intersection between art and faith, this site covers all art forms, but its literary section alone contains over 500 illuminating discussions of every sort of writing.

Image
In nearly two decades of publication, Image has become one of America's leading quarterlies, featuring original fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, along with interviews, book reviews, and essays on other art forms. Contributors include Annie Dillard, Kathleen Norris, Bret Lott, and Mary Oliver. Its website offers exclusive features, an online forum, and blog.

The Master's Artist
This site is an excellent example of a group blog, a true community of like-minded but highly individual writers. As they put it, they are "united by the blood of Christ and a love for language." Topics range from the state of Christian publishing to craft issues to lyrical meditations on writing as a spiritual discipline.

Nimble Spirit Review
Nimble Spirit Review is the lengthened shadow of Michael Wilt, who has spent many years working in the publishing business. A voracious reader, Wilt has posted dozens of short, graceful reviews of classic and contemporary books in all literary genres, including children's literature. On the site you can also find poems, essays, and interviews by a number of other writers, including Luci Shaw.

Stonework
Based at Houghton College and edited by poet John Leax, Stonework is an online literary magazine that publishes semiannually. Stonework has become a gathering place for such distinguished poets, essayists, and storywriters as Diane Glancy, Robert Siegel, and Julia Kasdorf.

The favorite evangelistic websites of evangelist Luis Palau, president of the Luis Palau Association and coauthor of A Friendly Dialogue Between an Atheist and a Christian (Zondervan, 2008).

Need Him
Answers common questions about faith for people in every walk of life. Those who want to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, or who are interested in learning more, can connect with someone online or through a 24-hour call-in service.

Jesus Central
Credible, powerful, and educational. This impressive website helps people from all cultural and spiritual backgrounds study Jesus of Nazareth, the person. It offers relevant learning for people of all ages, as well as a place to connect and dialogue with others about Jesus.

God Speaks
Presents the Good News of Jesus Christ through stories, testimonies, audio messages, and clearly answered questions about faith. Simple, lucid, and relevant.

Lee Strobel
This website is packed with helpful material, including hundreds of great videos and newsletters. Find answers to your faith questions from more than a dozen top Christian speakers, authors, evangelists, and professors.

The Good News
It’s not flashy, but it’s powerful. This simple website, created in partnership between the Luis Palau Association and Campus Crusade for Christ, uses the Four Spiritual Laws to walk its visitors through the Good News. Best of all, each person who indicates a decision for Jesus Christ is connected via e-mail with a well-trained counselor, who leads him or her through the discipleship process.

Compass Direct
A news service that provides reports, interviews, and analyses of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith.

Dictionary Of African Christian Biography
An ever-growing collection of African Christians' biographies, written largely by African Christians. Many people profiled here whom you won't find in print.

Lausanne
Site of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Includes the Lausanne Covenant and Manila Manifesto, the Lausanne Occasional Papers, newsletters, conference materials, Lausanne World Pulse, among other resources.

Mission Atlas Project
Interactive site with up-to-date information, maps, tabular data sets, and more. Will help you assess the current status of missions throughout the world.

MisLinks
This directory of links, which I helped create, is like a bibliography of bibliographies. Provides links to several thousand missions sites arranged by topic (including short-term missions, people groups, member care, and so on).

Mission Network News
A news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical missions activity around the world.

Strategic Network
Over 17,000 articles on missions in a "knowledge base," as well as support for professors who want to use any of those articles for reserve readings.

World Christian Database
Provides comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations, and people groups. Full use requires subscription.

Men's Fraternity
If I were to start leading a men's ministry, this would be my first stop. And I would order the video series The Quest for Authentic Manhood, by Robert Lewis. My library would eventually include all of the resources found here.

Man in the Mirror
Imagine finding some of the best books on issues at the hearts of men for only $1! Pat Morley offers a number of his materials, including Bible studies, leadership training, and his popular No Man Left Behind seminars.

Men of Integrity
This site helps men get spiritually grounded with thought-provoking devotionals and articles, as well as Todd Wilson's columns of "dad" advice (even my wife loves his writing). Links and forums are also available, along with a solid list of recommended books.

MensministryConnection.com
Guys need to stay connected, and an e-mail newsletter can help make it happen. This site explains how. What kinds of events attract men? Find answers here.

Promise Keepers
Can't make it to a Promise Keepers event near you? Not to worry. Get it right here with webcasts and PK on Demand. Some of the classic PK event messages are at your fingertips.

Crosswalk.com
Crosswalk is a superb daily-discipleship resource for both men and women. Its site for men offers discussion topics, movie reviews, and a resource storehouse.

Apologetics.Com
Features a variety of solid apologetic resources, including several related to the Gospels. Check the "Articles" link.

Apologetics Index
Indexes a vast number of apologetics websites of varying worth. Using the index on the homepage, one can look for specific articles. See "Jesus," for example.

Bible.Org
One of the top Bible websites. The bibliology section (under "Theology: Articles and Studies") has ample resources for Bible study, including some fine pieces on canon and textual criticism.

The Moorings
An apologetics site run by Ed Rickard. While not flinching from taking controversial doctrinal positions, this free site offers well-researched sections devoted to the reliability of the Gospels.

N. T. Wright
This unofficial site contains much more than apologetics, though several articles are relevant, such as "Five Gospels But No Gospel: Jesus and the Seminar" and "Jesus' Resurrection and Christian Origins."

Ben Witherington
Includes writings on many topics by a top New Testament scholar. Often rebuts current attacks on Jesus and the Gospels (for example, an excellent series on the supposed tomb of Jesus). Lacks an index, so use the "Search Blog" function at the top.

Probe Ministries
Filled with apologetics resources. Check the "Reasons to Believe" section for well-researched articles on the Gospels, or use the search function with "Gospels."

Lee Strobel
Features apologetic video clips. "Investigating Jesus" section includes helpful materials on the Gospels.

(This originally appeared on p.109 of the October 2007 issue of Christianity Today)

I'm in San Antonio for the Religion Newswriters Association conference, talking about "Working with Bloggers" with Religion and Ethics Newsweekly's Kim Lawton and Whispers in the Loggia's Rocco Palmo. The question is asked: What blogs do I regularly read? Here's an importable OPML file to use in Google Reader or a similar program. I've excluded my World Music links, media news, and other unrelated sites. And do keep in mind that these aren't necessarily the links I use to compile the CT Weblog -- that's done mostly by checking Google News, WorldNews.com, AllAfrica.com, and individual newspaper sites. And I should note that these aren't the only blogs I check. But this will get you started.

One observation that you'll probably make is that most of the religion news bloggers I read are professional journalists and members of the Religion Newswriters Association. The RNA has its own helpful blog aggregator.

Speaking of Faith
speakingoffaith.publicradio.org
Among religion journalists, Krista Tippett is the equivalent of Terry Gross on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air. Tippett, a graduate of Yale Divinity School, skews leftward and defines faith so broadly that she’ll discuss the history of disbelief, but she also asks outstanding questions.

The Religion Report
abc.net.au/rn/religionreport
Stephen Crittenden of the Australian Broadcasting Corp. welcomes many American guests. His interviews with Archbishop Peter Jensen of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney are illuminating. A recent show featured an interview with a theologian from the Catholic University of America who gave historical perspective on the Vatican’s rethinking of limbo. Crittenden makes it cool to be a religion geek.

Saturdays With Mark and Tony
marklowry.com
The playful comedian and singer Mark Lowry is Tony Campolo’s best dialogue partner since theologian Steve Brown of the cable TV show Hashing It Out. Campolo is at his best when he has someone to keep him on his toes. If Steve Taylor was once the court jester of evangelicalism, as Newsweek called him, Lowry is its effusive Southern fabulist.

The Kindlings Muse
thekindlings.com
Dick Staub mixes relaxed interviews with occasional efforts at Inklings-style discussions. His one-on-one interviews work better than the roundtable discussions, in which Christians strive mightily to challenge the main guest, who is usually a scholar or admirer of C. S. Lewis.

Holy Trinity Brompton
www.htb.org.uk/
For veterans of the Alpha Course who can’t get enough of HTB’s vicar, Nicky Gumbel, this weekly sermon is a fine pacifier. It’s not a one-man show, so listeners hear a wide variety of clergy and lay voices from one of the most important congregations in the Anglican Communion.

(This originally appeared on p.103 of the September 2007 issue of Christianity Today)

Common Errors in English
wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
Am I pouring over a manuscript or poring over it? Did I effect a change or affect it? Am I further from my point or farther? The correct choice (and why) is likely here.
One Across
http://www.oneacross.com/
For word lovers, here are more crosswords and anagrams and cryptograms than one could hope for.
Urban Legends Reference Pages
snopes.com
Tired of mass broadcasts of stories that are just too good to be true? Like Julie Andrews making up new words for "My Favorite Things" and singing them at Radio City Music Hall when she turned 69? Go to Snopes.com and enter "Julie Andrews" for the sad truth. The lyrics are funny, but the story is false.
Plain Language Association International
plainlanguagenetwork.org
For those who resonate with simple, clear language, these people share the wealth. Their resources include lists of their members' sites, other plain-language sites, and general writing sites. If you can't find it here, you likely don't need it.
Verbivore
verbivore.com
Richard Lederer's been having fun with the language for decades, and his columns and books are everywhere. He's as zany on stage as in print and so entertaining and educational that next February he'll become the first "outsider" to speak at my Christian Writers Guild "Writing for the Soul" conference.
Allen Wyatt's Word Tips
wordtips.vitalnews.com
I've been grateful ever since someone put me onto this most helpful site. Anyone who uses Microsoft Word for a living will find these tips invaluable.
(This originally appeared on p. 59 of the August 2007 issue of Christianity Today.)

The Christian Century
Wasn't CT founded as an evangelical alternative to the Century? Yes, but while differences remain, the dividing lines have grown blurrier. For example, senior editor Richard Kauffman, who presides over the Century's excellent books coverage, was formerly at CT. See the May 1 issue - the spring books issue - for a good sampling, starting with Bill Placher on the concluding volume of Gary Dorrien's The Making of American Liberal Theology. You'll find enough that's familiar to make the reading congenial and enough that's different to keep it interesting. Because the Century is published biweekly, you will also encounter a lot more reviews. Value added: The magazine regularly features poetry, selected by poetry editor Jill Pel?ez Baumgaertner.

First Things
Catholic at its core, ecumenically orthodox in its scope, with friendly visitors from the Jewish community (David Novak, for example), First Things routinely features substantial essay reviews as well as shorter pieces and a handful of mini-reviews. Richard John Neuhaus's back of-the-book feature "The Public Square," where most readers turn first, often comments on books and their authors, always with wit and penetration, occasionally with withering scorn. And like the Century, First Things has poetry in every issue.

The Atlantic
This was already the best general-interest magazine on the market. Several years ago, its books section was beefed up and otherwise improved to match the rest of the menu. I miss the hand of longtime editor Cullen Murphy, who left when the magazine moved to Washington, D.C., forsaking its ancestral home in Boston. But the coverage of books remains superb. Literary editor Benjamin Schwarz leads off every section with a delightfully unpredictable "Editor's Choice" column (the June issue focuses on books that show "how a revolution in American domestic architecture put women in command"). Another regular is Christopher Hitchens, an atheist who's often provocative and never boring.

(This originally appeared on p. 59 of the July 2007 issue of Christianity Today.)