Posted on May 21, 2008 | by Norman Jameson RALEIGH, N.C. (BP)–

A church is “foolish” not to conduct background checks on employees and children’s workers, an investigator and former police officer says.

Roger Self, 53, who has been in church for 30 years and in law enforcement for longer, said there is “more criminal activity in the church” than ever before.

With sex crimes surfacing almost weekly in schools and churches not immune, Self, a member of Hardin Baptist Church in Dallas, N.C., said churches and schools must do everything they can to protect themselves.

“The days when nobody would sue a church are over,” Self said.
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When you join an online dating service, you are looking for a girl that you can like…or better yet… even come to love. That girl is looking for a guy that SHE can like or even love.

What you are not looking for is a girl who would like to be your best friend or your idea of what the perfect guy looks like or talks like or thinks like. So, in order to find the right girl for you… (She IS out there…) you need to be completely honest with yourself about yourself when writing the online profile, during the dating process and beyond.

The best way to begin writing your profile is to carefully examine your past relationship (s). What was right? What was wrong? What really made you like the last girl? Which didn’t you like? Don’t assume that just because you disliked the fact that your last girl friend was so totally self-absorbed that she couldn’t see anything else, you’ll be able to overlook that quality this time.

You won’t.

* If you aren’t 6’1” with a six-pack to be proud of, don’t claim to be.
* If you are a bar tender, don’t claim to be a lawyer with a six figure income.
* If you are 40 going on 50, don’t pretend to be 30 something.

Remember, the idea is to find a girl who will like you exactly like you are. If you have lied in your profile, the first face-to-face meeting will remove all her doubt that you are a liar…and probably a cheat, as well.

Finally, once you have found a girl that you believe can be the one for you, for by all means, cancel your membership to your other online dating service.

After all, you know and she knows that online dating services are intended for those who are looking…not those who have found or been found.

Online dating can be enjoyable. But don’t ignore safety and common sense when you try to hook up with a friend. At a minimum, be carefulness in the following areas.

Protect Your Computer

Take care of your equipment and systems before you head out into the Internet sphere. You need to have a firewall and anti-virus protection for your email and for when you search websites and interact online. At the bare minimum, you may want these two solutions that are offered at no charge to home computer users (i.e. not for commercial use):

Free Firewall Download: ZoneAlarm www.zonelabs.com

Free Anti-Virus Download: AVG Anti-Virus www.grisoft.com

Protect Yourself

Take care of yourself, too, by choosing appropriate dating sites. Seek and choose a reputable online dating service. How? Begin by asking around with friends, neighbors, co-workers and others you may know who have tried online dating, and see which places they recommend. In addition, search “online dating services” and keep a notebook of their URLs or website links, the fees, rules and regulations, complete contact information of each and any other useful information that spikes your interest. Then compare each place. Try only those places where you feel safe. Avoid the others.

So take care. Arm your computer – and yourself- with the correct tools and knowledge!