The subject line said, “Christian Comedy.” I didn’t know the sender, but she had my interest. I opened the email and read, “Teena, please check out my new website for Women’s Christian Comedy. Thanks, Kathy.”
Seven Kathys stared at me from the banner of her website. With little more than a wig and accessories, Kathy created a cornucopia of characters with distinct personalities. I contacted Kathy, who became more than a subject to write about. She developed Rozlyn Cartwright, ace reporter, to interview people for the faith blog. We had great fun as the loopy Rozlyn suddenly babbled about unrelated subjects during the interview. The expressions on the interviewees’ faces were priceless. When Beth Moore came to New Orleans, Kathy created Beth Moreso, who thought she was everything Beth Moore is and “moreso.” We spent a very long day filming Rozlyn interviewing the wannabe Beth Moore to promote the Living Proof Live conference. Kathy is one of the most talented women I am privileged to know. She told me her story at a local café.
At the tender age of nine, a concerned Christian asked Kathy if she wanted to go to hell. She immediately replied, “No!” Kathy was marched into the presence of the pastor’s wife. She looked up at the formidable woman who looked down at her and said, “Do you want to go to hell?” Terrified, Kathy reaffirmed that she did not want to “go to hell.” The pastor’s wife led Kathy in a prayer, and the following Sunday the pastor baptized her. She emerged from the baptismal tank thinking she had met God’s demands to receive salvation.
Kathy knew the terror of God but remained unaware of his great love for her. Four years later, she heard friends in her youth group talk about a God who gave them peace. They rarely spoke about hell but had much to say about a personal relationship with God. Deeply convicted by the love radiating from her friends, Kathy became painfully aware of the deficiency in her own relationship with God.
For several years, God tugged at Kathy’s heart to make a sincere commitment to him. She came to a breaking point at a church camp. Kathy sat on the top bunk wrestling with God when her camp counselor asked, “Is something wrong?” Her first inclination was to lie. Weary of her struggle, Kathy blurted out the truth: “I need to know how to be a Christian.”
God had already prepared the counselor to meet Kathy’s need. The previous day, the counselor had discussed with a friend how to lead the children at camp to salvation and highlighted the scriptures she needed. The counselor showed her Romans 3:23 to prove that everyone has broken God’s laws, then turned the pages to Romans 6:23 and showed her the result of sin is separation from God. Kathy understood from John 3:16 that Christ died for the whole world and then saw in Romans 10:9–10 that she could have a restored relationship with God. Kathy believed the scriptures she read with her counselor and made a decision to accept a loving Christ.
I’ve often reflected on Kathy’s salvation experience. We can’t deny the existence of hell. The Bible is clear about a place of eternal damnation. We can question the tactic of using hell to force people into heaven. When well‑intentioned Christians pointed to the terror of hell, she only went through the motions of salvation that left her distant and disconnected. God’s lovingkindness led her to true repentance.
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