You know what's coming don't you? Can you hear that sound? Listen.
It's the sound of dozens of isolationist, fundamentalist bloggers and website commenters pounding out angry screeds on their computer keyboards about "Campus Crusade bowing to Islamist pressure," "kowtowing to liberal agendas" and "being ashamed of Christ."
Sure. That or they were dropping both "Campus" and "Crusade" from their name for legitimate reasons and didn't exactly want to be blasphemous by calling themselves simply "Christ."
So, why exactly did Campus Crusade for Christ decide to officially become Cru? And why can't angry fundamentalist find something else to do like, oh, I don't know, tell a lost person about Jesus?
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| Wait. Is that a cross I see in the logo? But, but, but, I thought they were denying Jesus now?!? |
1. They have outgrown the "Campus" label. CCC has long since expanded past the borders of the college campus. They have athletic ministries, a family radio program, an apologetic ministry and a church planting focus.
When the missions team I was on worked with Campus Crusade in Bolivia this year, we were involved in two different, but connected ministries. We went to the university and spent time developing relationships and sharing the Gospel with college students there. We also helped numerous church plants with whom Campus Crusade has partnered.
2. The term "Crusade" does not convey the message they want to portray. In American culture the word no longer is associated with evangelistic meetings as it was 60 years ago. Not to mention the fact that, the term serves as a hinderance to preaching the Gospel to many Muslim background individuals.
When an Islamic individual hears the word "crusade" it immediately brings to mind, rightly or wrongly, Christian military actions against Muslims. The person is automatically predisposed to be hostile toward anyone connected with an organization with "crusade" in the name.
My main concern: I wonder how well the new name will communicate the message of who the organization is - Cru is empty and vague, whereas Campus Crusade for Christ was descriptive of the original design of the ministry. You knew what they were about by their name.
I was discussing this with someone on Twitter yesterday. We both said the same thing. We understood why the name change was needed, but Cru seems to lack identity. It lacks definition for an organization that has been defined by its name for 60 years.
However, Cru has been used as a nickname for the organization on college campuses since the 1990's. In their FAQ about the name change, CCC also point to other organizations that have abstract names, like Google and Starbucks, that have become household, universally recognized brands.
I spoke with a Campus Crusade leader who said the change will take some getting used to, but that it will be worth it in the long run. He said, "Cru will gradually assume the meaning in the marketplace that God lets us give it."
He also shared some of their research which found that 20% of people surveyed wouldn't even enter into a spiritual conversation with someone if they knew they were from Campus Crusade for Christ. This is an attempt to communicate Christ faithfully, but contextually around the globe.
It is not a matter of succumbing to political correctness, as some would charge, but rather a recognition that Christ and Christ crucified should be the only stumbling block, not an organization's name.
Undue criticisms: But none of this slows down the drive-by criticizers. The same ones who spend hours complaining about the 10 Commandments not being placed on court rooms (while not knowing all 10). The same ones who deride X-mas as "taking Christ out of Christmas" (while ignoring the historical meaning behind the term). The same ones ... OK, you get my point.
You may disagree with the name change. Go for it. Voice your opinion in a respectful, biblical manner. We can agree to disagree about this in a loving, Christ-like manner. My only request is that you do so after being informed about what it is you are critiquing. However, it is most often the most uninformed who are the loudest critics.
Are the uniformed critics demanding that every Christian organization have Christ or Jesus in the name? If they do, I hope you don't belong to any of the following groups or denominations: Southern Baptist, Independent Baptist, United Methodist, Presbyterian Church USA, the Catholic Church, Pentecostal, Lutheran, a non-denominational church without Jesus in the name, etc., etc., etc. Besides, can anyone tell me where I can find "Christ" in the word "Church"?
Campus Crusade for Christ is still reaching around the world and telling people the good news of the Gospel. Even with the name Cru, they will still reach people with Jesus. Name change or no name change, they will continue to be active in accomplishing Kingdom work.
The better question is how many of the angry bloggers will step away from their computers long enough to tell someone about Christ? Or maybe leaving hypocritical comments on websites about fellow Christians and their motives is the only way to show the world that you "really aren't ashamed of Jesus."
19 comments:
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Great blog! Very well written...however I keep wondering...will Campus Crusade and their marketing continue to reach people or will Christ? I understand why they changed their name & I definitely agree with the need to remove a charged word like "Crusade" but the motive for the name change concerns me a little. I cannot imagine that God felt hindered by the name...
interesting how the comment generated last night around 10 pm is now gone.
I have a grad degree in communications and knowing how media works, I am just surprised leadership and it's PR department didn't expect this from the press. Even most parents who choose a baby name think through potentially bad nicknames they'll be called, etc... I like the name Cru - it's being used anyway but I would have tied it to the verse that says, "I am crucified with Christ" instead so it maintains that link to Christ and Crusade both. To merely change because you want to avoid the word Crusade doesn't seem like enough of a reason. My alma mater, Wheaton College did this with their mascot - Crusader - years ago and changed it to Thunder which doesn't evoke Christianity at all and the some of the teaching has since gone increasingly more liberal than I would like. This generation may not dilute the meaning of Cru, but it's succeeding generations that may choose to. I pray not.
Excellent, excellent analysis. Well written. Your concerns were exactly the same as mine, and as long as they realize that, I believe the staff of Cru will be able to create an identify that will glorify Christ ultimately by what they do.
You really call people who disagree a lot of names...Maybe not the most effective way to get your point across?
The real problem here is the public's perception of Cru. What they read and hear on the news is that a Christian organization just took Christ out of it's name. Is that the reality of Cru as an organization? Probably not. But it is what people now think of when they hear Cru mentioned. I can see the rationale behind taking away "crusade" but they should have known this would happen when they took out "Christ." This was a horrifyingly bad PR move, and they really should have thought about the consequences of their actions. The comparison to other denominations is undue, as they did not get into the news recently for dropping Christ from their name. Cru did. You see, once again, this isn't about what the organization actually stands for; it is about how the public perceives the new name. I find it strange that in order to bring more people to Christ they would remove the name of Christ as to not have such an "overtly Christian" name. What's so bad about being "overtly Christian?" A minority of non-believers doesn't like the name? So 80% do like it? Those are some pretty good odds in my opinion. Changing the name because 20% of unbelievers in a random survey seems a bit extreme. If I have a conversation about Christ and 80% of the people I talk to are willing to engage me, that's a great day!
So before you go around calling people who disagree with you hypocritical, isolationist, fundamentalist, uninformed, angry, drive-by-criticizing bloggers, take a second and see where they might be coming from. You make numerous assertions about the people who disagree with you...Maybe they just want to engage in a conversation or voice an opinion? Disagreement isn't always bad, so before you paint those who are not fans of the new name as foaming at the mouth lunatics with your own blog, maybe look at the actual story here. And as the previous commentor said, was the name really hindering the power of God?
I would call a day where you talk with 80% of people about Jesus but are unable to talk to the 20% you COULD have a sad, sad day.
For starters, I have not deleted or edited any comments left here. If they "disappeared" it was done by the person who left it.
Secondly, if you read what I said carefully, you will see that I am not calling people who disagree with me names. I'm calling people who disagree with me in a certain manner names.
In order to make this abundantly clear, I even went back and adding an additional paragraph, which begins:
"You may disagree with the name change. Go for it. Voice your opinion in a respectful, biblical manner. We can agree to disagree about this in a loving, Christ-like manner."
Not everyone who disagrees with the name change fits all those stereotypes I used and yes they are stereotypes that I used to make a point.
My thinking is as follows, until Campus Crusade for Christ or Cru or whatever begins to act differently - ie not sharing the whole Gospel repeatedly and effectively, I will defer to their judgement. They researched it. They prayed about it. They came to a decision.
Now, we can agree to disagree about the entire thing, but my post was directed toward the angry people who spend their time criticizing the name change without investigating the other side. If you have researched why they changed to Cru and you disagree with it, then you and I have no real disagreement.
Would there be some wisdom in CCCI reviewing the comments and adding Christ into Cru as an acronym? I don't believe an apology is in order if their process was purely motivated; however, I believe that a statement of refining the new name to mean something Christ-oriented could actually retrieve supporters walking away from them and to draw in others who have determined to keep their distance. One stream of comments online had a variety of suggestions as to what Cru could represent and, in my mind, I don't have a clear suggestion to make. I do remember one saying "Christ Redeems Us". This kind of idea may appear trite, but I think it would help calm some nerves. If leadership develops a tough-skin, don't criticize our process attitude, I think it would create an unnecessary division in the Body of Christ and create ill-will.
One benefit of all of the ranker, both pro & con, is that CCCI can understand that there are a lot of people, supporters and non-supporters, vocal & non-vocal, who are aware of their work and have/had an appreciation for them. I think a lot of good will could be restored and created by acknowledging an oversight and including a description by-line that includes the name Christ, in some fashion. The critics would be silenced.
My first reaction upon hearing the name for the first time was "What? Please say that again? Who are you talking about. The group in Orlando? Not possible." When repeated, I had difficulty conceiving how a name like that would be selected. I have no background in the work of CCCI, so Cru had no significance to me. When I heard that it was derived from the nickname used on campuses, it made better sense. But, when I heard that it was an abbreviation of a word they were trying to avoid using, then I became confused again. As with Aaron Brandt, it appears to me that this is a bad PR judgment. Reality, in the long run, may prove us wrong; however, I think another name, whatever that may be, would have served them better. If they would add a Christ-centered by-line, they could restore a lot of confidence in believers and eliminate the time they will waste in the upcoming months defending the choice of Cru.
On another note, I have heard that a revision of The Jesus Film is being considered. What name will they give it?
Thank you for your blog. Our prayers are with CCCI.
They already have at least two revisions of the Jesus Film now. One is the Jesus film for kids and one is told through the perspective of Mary Magdalene. I have seen them both (in Spanish) and can tell you that they do not leave anything out and are essentially the same film with different scenes added or shortened (as is the case with the kids version).
The whole negative assumption by many that they are "taking Christ out" of their work, just strikes me as alternatingly funny and maddening, having just gotten back from working with their ministry for the first time in Bolivia. All we did was evangelistic and Christ-focused.
If you want to give the name some Christian connotation, could Crux or Crucifixion not work. I'm sure they have thought of those connections and may use them somehow in the future.
Again, I am just assuming the best from an organization which I observed first hand being centered entirely around Christ and His Gospel.
I, too, am familiar with the work of this ministry. They are a highly evangelistic organization and non-apologetic regarding Jesus and the gospel. I'm not sure how I feel about the name they've chosen to go by, but I am confident that they made their decision prayerfully. While I'm not surprised by the reaction of the media, I am disappointed by the assumption they have made that this was done to be more politically correct. I feel that if they knew anything about this organization and its heart, they would not make this assumption. As you suggested in your post, there are many other solid, Christian organizations that go by names that do not have 'Christ' in them. Young Life, Navigators, World Vision, and Compassion International are just a few that come to mind. I'm sure this will all blow over eventually and expect that the work of Campus Crusade (or Cru) will go forward as it has the past 60 years. It just saddens me to see an organization with such a stellar history of exalting Christ maligned in such a way. Ultimately, God is sovereign and my prayer is that Christ will continue to be glorified as many people come to know Jesus as their Savior through the work of this ministry!
I wonder, do people who are sad/upset/confused that CCC took Christ out of their name, go around and introducing themselves as, "Hi, I'm John - a Christ follower." Or, "I'm Sandy 'I love Jesus' Johnson. No, they don't. Why? Because it doesn't really help. In fact, it would probably make people feel uncomfortable and turned-off in a non-useful way. This isn't about not making people feel uncomfortable - sharing the gospel is plenty uncomfortable and and even confrontative. But, it's not having something in our name be unnecessarily a hindrance.
It's also amazing that many of the negative responses are from Christians... I wonder if they choose who to fellowship with or give to based on the organization's name, instead of the organization/church's fruitfulness, mission, vision, and values.
The name change wasn't to make all the Christians happy - it was to help us be seen and attractive to non-believers... Which is why we've use the name Cru on college campus for years - of which no one has ever complained or questioned. Family Life, Here's Life Inner City are ministries so many love and people have never asked them to add Christ into the name. Why in Europe, our name is Agape and not Campus Crusade for Christ - which everyone realizes is a no-brainer. In fact, we've been encouraged from within and from outside the org to change our name for years.
In reality, this name change is behind what we were already doing. Understandably, it's hard for donors and people with long history with CCC. But, if Vonette Bright thinks it's time, then I'm good with that.
I'd like the think the church would pray more and ask for God's blessing in another one of His ministries, as opposed to picking apart a name.
cru for Christ
However what you did do Aaron is generalize and lump everyone into the same group. I don't like the name change and guess what - I have worked with CCC in the past. I have and do share Christ. You make an argument of dismissal by implying that those who critique this do not and are not involved in evangelism. You can't just throw every blogger critique in a drive by criticizer bag as your piece very much does.
Theres a cultural context that cannot be ignored her. we live in a time when people are shying away in public from identifying straight up with Christ. We have churches that read poetry more than anything biblical in order to be more palatable. it sends a wrong message to our teenagers and children. If the name of Christ has taken on a bad connotation then affecting our culture means combating that connotation not trying to hide the name.
You are entirely correct. I did use generalizations to make an exaggerated point. It is a literary device that I chose to use in this case, but I was also specific that my comments were not directed at everyone who disagreed with the name change.
My criticisms were directed at those who were ill-informed and merely assumed that because CCC was changing their name (with it no longer have Christ in it) that it automatically meant they were denying Jesus, etc.
You are correct that there is a cultural context for today. That is part of CCC/Cru's point. Their old name does not function in the same way that it did 50 years ago because of the changing cultural context.
If I make an argument of dismissal, you are a making a false analogy by comparing the name change to churches leaving Scripture out of their services in favor of non-offensive poetry.
My main point has been and will continue to be giving Cru a chance. They maintain that they are not shying away from the things they have been doing since their inception. They say that the name change is merely a way for them to better reach people with the same Gospel, they have been preaching since the beginning.
If that is the case, then I think the outrage (much of uninformed, though again, not all) is much ado about nothing. If it turns out that Cru changes their focus and starts having poetry readings instead of Jesus fil showings then I will be the first to criticize. But until then, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Re: "the name change" I hope this will have the same effect as Coke did, when they began selling
New Coke! The company 'name' (Coca Cola) NEVER was changed, just the marketing was changed.
There was such an outcry from customers that they stopped selling 'New Coke' and returned to 'Classic Coke.' I hope the lesson learned by CCCI will be this: It's okay for "insiders" to call it Cru, (just as Coca Cola is called Coke), but in this world of 'political correctness' we admit this: If you take the word 'Christ out of your official name, many may choose to take Cru off their list of organizations to which they send money! Keep Cru, if you wish but, like Coca Cola, listen to the voice of your 'givers' and find a way to include Christ's name somewhere in your official title. Just as (Christ's birth) is
"the reason for the season" so Romans chapter 5 (KJV) 'hope makes us not ashamed...spreading the love of Christ abroad) is the reason for our support of yours or any other ministry.
Perhaps, Fellowship of Christian Athletes could use my CCCI support! That is, until the name changes to FOA !!
If you wish to base your definition of "political correctness" entirely on a name and not at all based on actions, I would advise you to look at the Gospels where Jesus consistently challenges His Jewish listeners and His disciples to go beyond surface appearances to the heart. Paul spoke about the real circumcision being a circumcision of the heart. Sure, names are important, but not as important as living a life (or being a ministry) that is concerned with taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are far from Him.
I also hope you would never want a Christian organization to be driven by donations and dollars. May that never be the case! CCCI should be beholden only to the leadership of Christ and a desire to see people come to know Him.
You could half understand CCCI taking the Campus for Christ out of their name thinking Cru is a fluke because it is a "nickname" but I believe It might stop being a fluke when CCCI is taking the "Christ" out of their Navy Ministry replacing "Sailors for Christ" with "Military Connection" which might only sound to me more like a dating group
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