The Word “Christian”

This weekend, my family and I are going to a Mumford & Sons concert. I have talked about my fandom for the British band multiple times on this blog. I think their music is reflective of a great insight into the human condition. More than one of their songs has struck a chord with my own struggles as I walk through the messiness of life.

Recently, there was an interesting debate going on at RelevantMagazine.com. They published an article written about Marcus Mumford’s decision to sidestep the label of “Christian”. The author raised quite a few interesting points about whether or not you could really be a follower of Christ without calling yourself a Christian.

The article is focused on a recent interview between Marcus Mumford and Rolling Stone Magazine. In the article Mumford shies away from calling himself a Christian, saying simply that he has his own ideas about who Christ is and that he wouldn’t call himself a Christian. The debate which was boiled up at Relevant concerns whether someone can choose to follow Christ without giving themselves over to this name.

Some of the debaters say we need to hold onto this name in order to bring it back from the depths of craziness which it has fallen into. In many ways I agree with this. There needs to be a movement which separates followers of Christ from the crazies who burn Korans and preach a gospel of hate, which in reality is no gospel at all.

However, I relate to Mumford’s desire to shy away from the labels of Christianity. He is right in saying there is a lot of baggage which comes with the term Christian. Nothing will shut a conversation down faster than spouting off the phrase “I’m a Christian”. Most often I experience this happening for two reasons. Either the person who I am having a conversation with immediately places me in the field of the ‘feeble’ minded who believes a fictional faith (even though Christ and His teachings are very factual). Or I am labeled a bigot who wouldn’t be open minded to their approach to life, so they refuse to go further in the conversation. Neither of which helps me in communicating or building a relationship.

And that really is the most important thing, isn’t it? Building relationships and giving those who don’t know Jesus a glimpse of what life with Him looks like? A life filled with adventure, faith, growth, successes and failures. A life kinda like a Mumford & Sons song.

    Continuing the adventure,

    Jess