Campus Crusade's Fall to Relativism

This morning I had K-LOVE on as I drove to the library to do some studying for Qualifiers when their newsbreak came on. They always try to sound cheerful, but I think the anchor was almost as incredulous as I was under her cheery demeanor at one of the items she had to report. Campus Crusade for Christ is changing the name of its organization in the United States to "Cru". The reasoning, the anchor explained, was because the word "Crusade" had such a negative connotation and that they wanted to sound less "overtly Christian".

Back up a second here, okay? A group who says their primary goal is to win souls for Jesus Christ said they want to sound less overtly Christian? Yep, apparently sounding as if you're a Christian is too offensive, and makes it hard to connect to the people they want to; and those aren't my words folks, that would be Cru's in the hyperlink there.

There was no inherent attempt to ostracize Christ, even though sounding like a follower of Christ was apparently too offensive to make contact with the people they want to. Indeed, Christ wasn't a hindrance, but according to Cru the words Campus and Crusade most definitely both were! Campus only describes an aspect of their ministry these days, while the word Crusade is apparently offensive to Christians, Muslims, and Atheists.

To read the Frequently Asked Questions on the new name, they begin by stressing they have not abandoned their belief in Christ. If only the rest of the question answers would show as much. Instead it reads exactly like any secular ad campaign would with such phrasing as:
1) We enlisted the help of consultants because we don’t have the expertise in brand survey methods and testing that they do

2) Extensive interviews were conducted with many staff at the outset of the branding / naming process.

3) A select team of 30 staff representing all organizational levels and a broad cross-section of ministries was involved throughout. They worked closely with outside survey and branding agencies.

4) Like, Google, Starbucks and other abstract names we expect to fill Cru with meaning as it embodies all that we are as we go to the world with the gospel.

5) Cru has been field tested since the mid-90’s without carrying any of the negative connotations of the word Crusade.

6) Lowercase letters are used in the logo to avoid confusion as an acronym or abbreviation. In sentences, the letter “C” will be capitalized.

7) We won’t officially adopt the new name until early 2012 when we are certain that Cru has high name recognition with our stakeholders. While we’re in the transition period we’ll communicate frequently with our stakeholders.

The first thing that comes to my mind as Cru sheds its first form of identity in favor of a "rebranding" is Mark 8:38 where the Christ speaks of those who turn their backs on Him. He says, "Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Similarly we hear in Luke 9:25-26, "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

Then of course there is also Matthew 10:33, "But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."

Cru claims that the word "Crusade" was the most offensive to those who they would engage with, yet it is the beginning of that very word that they have kept as a name. Christ has been rejected, perhaps unintentionally. A name may not define a person or a ministry, but it says a lot at a first glance about who you are and what you stand for.

Furthermore, the use of "Cru" is perhaps one of the most underhanded methods of evangelism in the modern world. It essentially lures people in to have a fun time doing some activity that might seem secular enough, only to drop the Gospel on them when they least expect it. This is how a number of fringe religion groups operate that are almost universally mocked by Christians, Atheists, and others alike. By utilizing this "bait and switch" approach, Cru is only damaging its reputation in the future, if this move has not already irreparably done so.

Yes, I know from this campus that Cru is the already common nickname for Campus Crusade for Christ at colleges. However if I was someone who was secular and did not realize that and I was introduced to a group called Cru? I wouldn't automatically assume a Christian orientation for them, which is precisely what Cru wants, and then when the Gospel was dropped in my lap I would feel as if I had been lied to, betrayed, and led to that point through dishonest means.

I can't help but wonder if Cru will now go the road of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)? I didn't even know it had begun as a Christian group until I was in my late teens, nor had I ever heard what the abrieviation stood for, or that it was an abrieviation at all! The only things I knew the "Y" for were the exercise activities it promoted and a song by a performing group who was created to reach out to disco fans.

Perhaps it is best that this organization has shown the true form of its nature. It seems to have forgotten that organizational gimmicks and brand names are not what leads a person to faith in Christ, but it is the Holy Spirit that does the actual work.

I can only pray for the leadership of this once proud ministry group that seems to have eaten of the Apple of Relativism and has sipped the Punch of Political Correctness. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek." Whether they have intentionally cast off Christ or not, it sure does seem that they are ashamed of Him and of the Gospels by ridding Him from the name.