But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. - Galatians 4:26
Until believers understand that Scripture teaches the Church is our mother; and that, as Cyprian and Calvin put it, the man who won't have the Church as his mother may not have God as his Father; until then, parachurch religious organizations like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Navigators, and Campus Crusade for Christ International will continue to hold pride of position in college and university communities, devouring the lion's share of mission giving and prayer flowing to those communities from congregations around the country. And this is tragic...
Campus Crusade for Christ International doesn't brag about being the largest mission in the world for nothing.
Yet our Lord gave the Great Commission to officers of His Church--not staff workers who do spiritual things with souls outside the Church. This is why you should work to take InterVarsity and Campus Crusade for Christ International out of your missions budget and replace them with men called to the ministry who preach, baptize, administer the Lord's Supper, teach, and discipline souls who are baptized and added to the number of a local church.
When I say or write this, inevitably some respond, "But I came to know Christ because of the work of Campus Crusade for Christ International!"
Yes, of course; and I grew up attending InterVarsity summer camps where Dad was the speaker and I've spoken a number of times at the Fall Conference and group meetings of our local Indiana University chapters of InterVarsity and Campus Crusade. Which is to say we all have personal history and tenderness toward things that should be reformed. That's why reform is always unpopular.
Then again, there are many who have grown in their knowledge of Jesus Christ by reading gender-neutered Bibles, also. Which is to say, neither the marginalization of the Church on the part of parachurch organizations like Campus Crusade for Christ International nor the deletion of God's words by gender-neutered versions of Scripture are legitimated by the good fruit they have been used to produce. Many, many bad things and people and organizations have been used by the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit without anyone concluding that discernment is outdated and each man should do that which is most effective in his own eyes.
So again, I exhort you to take your money and prayers away from parachurch organizations that refuse to preach and discipline and administer the Sacraments within the bounds of Christ's Bride. Give them instead to works integrally related and under the authority of officers of Christ's Church.
This short exhortation was prompted by this e-mail I received a couple days ago from Campus Crusade for Christ International's chief executive officer, Steve Douglass. "Crusade" and "Christ" are out, "Cru" is in.
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Dear Tim,
I write you today with a deep sense of gratitude for your partnership in the gospel. As a friend of the ministry, I want you to be among the first to hear that Campus Crusade for Christ here in the USA will be changing its name to Cru in early 2012.
This change is being made in order to be even more effective in sharing the gospel and to see many more people come to faith in Christ. This decision has been in process for almost 2 years and has involved our staff, our ministry partners, many volunteers and even people we seek to reach with the gospel. We have come to this decision with a deep sense of dependence on God and much prayer.
You may wonder why we believe God is leading us to change our name to Cru at this time. There are a number of compelling reasons but those require more space than a brief email allows. You will be receiving a letter from me in the next couple of days with more information. Also, I would like to invite you to visit www.ccci.org/cru. There we hope you will find answers to your questions. This site includes a brief video as well as graphics and answers to the most frequently asked questions.
You can be sure that our calling and mission have not changed. Our heart remains the same—to reach people for Christ and see lives transformed by Him.
Thank you again for your partnership in this ministry. Please pray with us that many more people will come to Christ as we take this step of faith together.
Yours in Christ,
Steve Douglass
President, Campus Crusade for Christ
