Hi jbridgesdesign,
Given you known how to design web pages, you’re in just the right place to start working with ExpressionEngine.
Instead of overlaying themes, EE allows you to use any web page design, in principle. You then make your chosen elements of the page design active, using EE tags. For example, let’s say you have an area for weblog postings. Instead of static text, you would use an EE tag like <body>, for the body text. Just that simple—almost.
To make <body> have a value, you enclose it in an EE entries tag, something like this.
{exp:channel:entries channel="webentries" orderby="date" sort="desc" limit="5"}
<div class="your_entry_format">
{body}
</div>
{/exp:channel:entries}
You’ll have defined a channel named webentries, and you’ll publish new entries into that, from the EE Control Panel. Up to 5 of those entries will show on your page, in calendar order.
That’s the basis. The rest is in the details, such as pagination to show as many pages of entries as actually exist, or comments, or the many advanced things EE can do. That’s where EE ‘themes’ often can be useful, to give examples. The record company example that comes with EE is unfortunately a bit advanced and also more than a little messy, as it was trying to illustrate some very new concepts at the time it was done.
You actually have available to you a wide range of tutorials. I might suggest Mike Boyink’s Train-EE site as being particularly good and particularly approachable—also, he tends to be very accurate and complete about details. His site is here: Train-EE.
ExpressionEngine used to have a range of free templates available, a number of which were pretty basic, and therefore quite useful for purposes like yours. I don’t see those any more, as they seem to be one of the essential things that have gotten lost as EE has been converting itself to a ‘corporate’ and supplier arrangement perhaps too much. But you will find on Mike Boyink’s site a set of free church templates, and free tutorials to go with them.
Hoping it helps, and regards,
Clive