Introduction

Christianity By Checklist
By: Dustin L. Taylor

I want to begin this introduction by thanking you for taking the interest in myself and the mission to which God has called me. This study was designed to merge my love of teaching and leading with my calling to reach out and spread a personal relationship with Christ to those who know him merely superficially. I have titled the study Christianity by Checklist, because that is sadly what Christianity has become to many people. They believe that as long as you meet a certain standard of behavior (going to church, giving to charity, and overall doing well in life) they can call themselves Christians and be OK. I intend to continually update the exercises found in this guide as I learn what works best, what can be improved on, and what students need to hear the most. (When I refer to students, I am referring to not only students that are enrolled in an education program. I recognize that college is not the best choice or even an available choice for every person, and that God has a purpose for each of us. Instead, I am referring to students of the bible, for that is what each of us truly is.) It is designed to be used solely as a guide for conducting a bible study, not a crutch. If you have any alterations, feel free to use them. If you find that they work, please email me and tell me about them so that I may incorporate them into future editions. The only thing that I ask when using this study guide is that you keep the main message the same by promoting a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Christianity by Checklist is a bible study targeted to students in the high school to college age range that have held misconceived notions about church and Christianity in general. Instead of promoting any certain religion or system of beliefs, Christianity By Checklist strives to have its students develop a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For too long, students have felt exposed to what I like to call “Thou Shall Nots” and hypocritical Christians who condemn with their words and partake in their actions. The result of this exposure is a generation who views Christianity as a “buzz killer” and a weak religion whose followers believe in Christ with as much certainty as they would purchase car insurance. It is a good idea to have it in case something happens, but if you drive safe and do the right things, you should be ok. This couldn’t possibly be any farther from the truth. When you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you discover a friend and brother that cannot be matched on Earth. Your actions are aimed to please him, much in the way that you would cook dinner or do a special favor for someone that you cared about deeply.
I have organized this study in the following manner. Each chapter deals with an important issue facing high school and college aged students and one to many studies and exercises designed to stimulate conversation around that issue and the scripture that addresses it. The ultimate goal of each study is exactly that, to stimulate conversation and have each student formulate their own opinion based on what the scripture speaks in their heart. I warn you, Christianity by Checklist is not politically correct. It does not tell us that it is OK to practice sexual immorality, be greedy, or any other practices which are commonly “swept under the rug,” simply because you go to church on Sunday. Nor is it designed to answer any of these difficult questions that students of today face. For most of these challenges, there is no simple answer. Instead, I have designed this study to provide a starting point. I have found a few pieces of scripture that addresses many of the challenges that students face day in and day out. It has been amazing to me to view the timeliness of the bible as I realize that God has given His children help for their every day struggles.