FrostD makes a good point.

There are some standard textbooks that you might look into (with the accompanying knowledge that they will carry textbook-like price tags). I've found them more useful than websites, mostly because I had a lot of trouble finding any websites that did a broad overview of stage lighting.

Shelley's A Practical Guide to Lighting the Stage is a pretty well known one.

Personally, I learned a lot from Gillette's Designing with Light. But I also encountered it after I'd had some experience with the actual lighting instruments. So I remember it as a great introduction to "how do I design," but I can't remember if it covers any of the "this is a fresnel, this is a par" things.

If you want to learn how to program cues, I'd look into tutorials (or at least manuals) relating to whichever board you are likely to work with. If you don't know which board you're most likely to work with, there's a decent chance you'll end up behind an ETC Express [citation needed].

While I'm recommending texts, if you want to figure out how to draft a light plot (likely a further-down-the-line thing in your education), Hillmar's Light Plot Deconstructed is a pretty good way of learning how to make a plot in Vectorworks.

But really, the best way to learn is to do, or at least to be around people who do. If you're going to school, check out if the theatre program (if it exists) would like an extra set of hands on the next load-in/strike. Or if they need a board op (which was one of my favorite ways to pick up on lighting design without needing a lot of prior knowledge or experience).

If you're not going to school atm, see if there are theatres nearby who might want help. Often, even small places (high schools, churches, restaurants that host live acts) will have their normal "lighting guy/gal" they could put you in touch with. Most should be willing to at least point you in the right direction, even if they don't end up wanting/needing a hand with things.

This isn't by any stretch a complete guide, but hopefully it's enough to get you started in some direction or other.

First things first, different areas are going to call different things different names. Never be ashamed about asking what people mean by a term, as clear communication is critical in this industry.

Next, three books that will help you.

1. Backstage Handbook while a little outdated, this is the stagehands bible.
   
   
2. Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician and Technician this is a good reference for how electricity works. Less of a what things are and more of a how things are. Good book regardless.
   
   
3. A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting also more of a how things are, this details more of the design and communication side of lighting. Also a very good read, as it details out paperwork for shows.
   
   As far as what equipment and systems you should be familiar with? ETC EOS family is a good starting point. It’ll get your mind familiar with how to program lights and is a pretty universal starting point. ETC Sensor Racks are also fairly standard for dimming. For moving lights, that’s really going to depend on what you’re able to get your hands on. If there’s a production shop nearby to you, call them up and see if they’re willing to take you on as an intern so you can learn things, or just ask them to spend a couple days showing you how everything works. Or see if there’s an IATSE chapter that’s nearby to you, they’ll also be able to help point you in the right direction.

I found that The Perfect Stage Crew is a great book for introducing basic terms and concepts. It covers a bunch of topics in theater, but the lighting chapter is pretty good as an introduction for you. I don't know what your church is like, but the sound chapter might be of use as well.

It all depends on what kind of design you want to get into? Concert/music design is totally different than theatrical, even within theatre musicals and plays often have different design principals.
I'd check out Steve Shelly's book https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Stage-Lighting-Third/dp/0415812003/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0415812003&pd_rd_r=QMEV3MMX5JMSDAZPBNNT&pd_rd_w=uh8vJ&pd_rd_wg=jKgB8&psc=1&refRID=QMEV3MMX5JMSDAZPBNNT
as well as this one. https://www.amazon.com/Stage-Lighting-Handbook-Francis-Reid/dp/087830147X/ref=pd_sim_14_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=087830147X&pd_rd_r=YG5RCJMEPDWJ7E98CBCZ&pd_rd_w=QJmxz&pd_rd_wg=ZQ1Dr&psc=1&refRID=YG5RCJMEPDWJ7E98CBCZ

My biggest suggestion for someone who's just getting started is to not buy any equipment. Equipment is mostly cheap to rent, a PAR can is $3 or $4 a unit, and it's someone else's problem to fix it and buy lamps for it. You're not going to be able to afford quality gear, so you'll end up with cheap Chinese crap that's just going to disappoint you. The other thing to remember is that intelligent lighting is relatively new to lighting, lots of fantastic shows were lit without anything fancy. It's far better to master your color and angle work then get in to using movers than it is to just start throwing strobes everywhere and pray that it works. Learning to make choices and which choices are stronger than others will get you a lot further in life than being able to spit out flash and trash like everyone else can.

• Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light in Theatre, Live Performance, and Entertainment
  
  
• A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting Third Edition
  
  
• Stage Lighting Design: The Art, the Craft, the Life
  
  
• The Automated Lighting Programmer's Handbook
  
  
• Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art and Business
  
  
• Light Fantastic: The Art and Design of Stage Lighting (Great theatrical resource for history and theory, and beautiful photographs.)
  
  
• Bullet Proof ... I Wish I Was: The Lighting & Stage Design of Andi Watson (The text reads like an design student's pseudo-intellectual wet dream, but the pictures are great.)
  
  
• Photometrics Handbook
  
  
• Stage Design: Concerts, Events, Ceremonies and Theater

You might mean 'cube tap' instead of 'cub tap'. It's a small cube-like plug that allows you to make 1 Edison receptacle into 3.

I'd recommend picking up a copy of Set Lighting Technician's Handbook…), best $40 you can spend for this sort of info.

Separate three channel controllers is the way to go for a "touring" set. Then you can run DMX and 120V power however is convenient. Or a lot of decoders will have Ethernet ports that do DMX over Ethernet. And Cat5 is cheaper than DMX. You can either build or buy a DMX to Ethernet adapter.

For your power issue, most of those "decoders" come with a 120VAC > 12VDC power supply either built in or as a separate module. Them to the backside where the audience won't see, or even inside of the scenic piece had a frosted front and run your wires through a hole in the back.

I'll pull up a driver/PSU combo in a minute. I don't guarantee the PSU I linked will have the right plug to go into the Decoder, I'm searching fast.

EDIT:

But those 5m 5050 strips only need like 60W of power to run at full intensity, despite the Decoder being rated for more. Again, I'm doing fast math and dredging up old memories of my own projects. Make sure to buy extra of that flat 4 conductor wire to get back to your decoder from the tape.

Soldering that stuff sucks, I recommend getting some liquid E-tape to seal things up since you're putting four solder connections next to each other in like 1/2 an inch.

Decoder: Lixada DC 12V-24V 3 Channel DMX Decorder LED Controller for RGB 5050 3528 LED Strip Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B42M3RG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0UhLBbZ3NVFRP

PSU: LEDwholesalers 12V 20A 240W AC/DC Power Adapter with 5.5x2.5mm DC Plug and 2.1mm Adapter, Black, 3262-12V https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074GGMD5J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CYhLBb662YCTC

Edit_2:

You definitely don't want to try putting power down pins 4 and 5. DMX cable isn't made for it, it will end in cooked cables, which can be a fire hazard.

Also, you didn't say what these boxes are doing, are they scenic elements?

The Set Lighting Technician's Handbook is the more updated version (I'm assuming) of "The Gaffer's Handbook". Definitely a good read OP.

Check this out. Probably one of the best resources on the subject.

http://www.amazon.com/Media-Servers-Lighting-Programmers-Comprehensive/dp/041572189X

Show Networks & Control Systems was the biggest help for me. Its been awhile since I read it and it may be slightly dated but it was very well put together. I still put it on the "must read" list for our interns.

Stage rigging handbook by jay O,Glerum

It's more theatrical but it makes the math and load calculations easy to understand.

What console are you using? Generally in a situation like this you want a small unmanaged network switch so that your router isn’t a single point of failure for show data. Netgear 5 port gigabit switches are like $30-40 and worth it.

So your map would be a wheel with three spokes: console, router, and node, all directly connected to your network switch.

And though it isn’t a big deal with a small network like this, it’s good to limit the number of choke points in your system. If you’re running everything directly through your router, you have to count on it to successfully and quickly relay all of that show data, and it might not be very good at that, many routers only have 100/mb/s network ports. Also if someone unplugs the router, your show will go down.

NETGEAR 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch (GS105NA) - Desktop, and ProSAFE Lifetime Protection https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000BVYT3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yjV0CbKGVJ63Q

This book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/024081553X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1370445799&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

It covers the basics, and some good practices while programming.

Introduction to what, exactly? Stage lighting in general?

In my lighting design class in college, we used Lighting and the Design Idea by Linda Essig.

Steve Shelley is also well regarded.

This book is worth every penny if you’re an LD looking to hone your color mixing skills.

Disclaimer: I have no relation to the production or marketing of the book. I just think it’s good.

Color & Light: Navigating Color... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1935247190?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

> I've also had excellent luck with cheap amazon decoders from various Chinese manufacturers but that's with LED tape.

I recently purchased two of these (no, not the 20-pack, which is now all I can find on Amazon) and used them to drive a bunch of 20mA LED's. Nothing fancy. At least 4 channels on one of the units flicker REALLY badly when crossfading them with an ETC console... I'd go with Environmental Lights long before I'd ever try my hand at one of these generic ones in the future.

Here's a great book on color theory.

Here's the link.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138850896/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_d2C3BbGBHQWTT

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/8895315340/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1462944686&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=video+mapping&dpPl=1&dpID=51T2yui0AWL&ref=plSrch

This book isn't about matching your lights with video, but book has it all when it comes to projection mapping

The Stage Lighting Handbook

1 remote with multiple channels. 3 to 6 boxes plug in to the wall and they are controlled by one remote with multiple buttons.

Edit: This: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Appliance-Remote-Control-Switch/dp/B000V20N3G

but with more buttons

Read this book

It’s being down voted because almost all LED strips require a specific voltage to run on and any AC dimmer will only fuck up your transformer, or (if you plug the strip into the dimmer,) fry the strip.

Its way cheaper to buy a $20 driver:

Lixada DC 12V-24V 3 Channel DMX Decorder LED Controller for RGB 5050 3528 LED Strip Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B42M3RG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.DpGDbCRT3N3G

You are exactly wrong about that.

The max on that is 3010 lumens. I have that lamp, it sucks - cheap joints, it broke, two-step dimming is crap, lighting sucks. That lamp is in fact shown in the video on the bottom. Same as the halogen lamps they were allowed to sell in the 90s. Try it yourself - buy that lamp, and then buy a legal halogen lamp on amazon along with a 300w, 6000 lumen halogen bulb, and compare the legally provided bulb they provide (200w/3000lm) with the 300w/6000lm that you now have to buy separately. Not at all the same. No legal floor lamp goes above 3000 lumens today; this one goes above 6000 lumens.

My research is fine, thank you :)