MK, Are You a Christian?
Yesterday, an audience member asked me if I’m a Christian. They did this after watching a video I posted critiquing the holiday culture wars. I guess my message of "putting the Christ back in Christian" was enough to ruffle a few feathers. And that is okay. I am used to it. People often ask me to label myself when it comes to my faith, and while part of me wants to emphatically reply, “OF COURSE I AM!”—the truth is, these days the answer isn’t as straightforward as it might seem.
You would think it’s very simple—that being a Christian means following Jesus’s teachings. But what I’ve learned is that when it comes to American evangelicalism, there are often secret and unspoken rules.
And those rules usually rule me out.
People want to know if I believe in hell, if I think LGBTQ+ people are wrong, or if I align with their politics. Faith, which should be a source of connection, often ends up being challenged or questioned by theology.
The people who ask this question often seem to have it all figured out. They carry a secret guest list of who goes where in the afterlife. But the strange thing is, the one thing they don’t seem to have figured out is the one thing Jesus said was most important: Love (Matthew 22:34-40).
For me, faith isn’t about following every rule someone else has written. It’s about love. It’s about the radical, unconditional love that Jesus taught and embodied—a love that reaches the outcasts, comforts the hurting, and challenges the status quo. My faith has been profoundly shaped by big questions, by wrestling with difficult truths, and by learning to live in the confidence grace instead of the reactive arrogance of fear.
So, when you ask me if I’m a Christian, I want to ask you this: What does that mean to you?
If it means following the words of the Rabbi Jesus, who said love is at the center of it all, well, that is a faith I can get down with.
Because my banner is love.
I work hard to care for my neighbor. I love deeply and imperfectly, but with my whole heart. To me, that’s what faith is supposed to be about. To me, that is what Jesus taught.
But truthfully, I couldn’t care less about a label.
Jesus never said we needed one.
Also…why would I voluntarily wear a label, in some circles, strikes fear into people’s hearts and, in others, offers immense comfort.
The word “Christian” is not universally understood or consistently received.
At the heart of it all, this is what matters most to me: I would much rather people recognize my love and wonder if I’m a Christian than know I claim to be a Christian and wonder why I don’t love.
Dear friends,
It means everything to me that you’re here. Writing is not only my work—it’s my way of connecting with you, and I’m deeply grateful for that. I’ll always keep my words open and accessible because encouragement should never come with a price tag.
For those of you who choose to support this work financially, thank you for keeping the lights on.
With love and gratitude,
Mary Katherine
Wholehearted agreement. My dad has been an ordained minister for as long as I can remember, and I lived much of my childhood abroad as a missionary's kid. As an adult, I've spent the past few years deconstructing as a direct result of watching those who "claim the name" trample all over their neighbors and anybody else that doesn't agree with them 10000%. I have not lost my faith but the letters in red are what I mostly align myself with these days. The only infallible Word of God is Jesus Himself as far as I am concerned and what He said goes. Seeing folks claim to be "Christian" while hating entire groups of people reminds me of that line from The Princess Bride- "You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.". I suspect these are the same folks that will puff themselves up on judgment day and say "Lord, Lord look at what we did in your name!" right before Jesus gives them the boot. Jesus didn't give us a lot of commands: Love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as you love yourself and oh! your neighbor is defined as anyone and everyone you meet every moment of every day. Full stop.
I believe in Love! I also believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The Bible existed for over 2,000 years before it was retranslated to then speak against man lying with men. Prior to that it had spoken against man lying with boy(child) which is how it was originally intended to read. For almost 2,000 years it spoke against pedophilia. It wasn’t until someone reinterpreted in 1946AD, over 2,000 years after originally written that it was reworded to be against homosexuality. So for me, I follow the teachings as they existed for over 2,000 years before man used his own bias to reword it. If Jesus had intended for it to be anything other than, those who lived during his time would have written it that way in the first place or corrected the writing over two thousand years ago. I find it appalling that someone 2000 years later felt the entitlement to use their personal bias to reword the teachings of Jesus Christ. It’s even sadder that people swallowed & embraced the new edition without question even though it goes against the originally intended teachings of Christ.