For Christ

I know a woman who, late in life, decided to change her name.  For all who know her, this was a radical and confusing move.  It wasn't like changing from "Kathy" to "Katherine", "Beth" to "Beth Anne," or "Betty" to "Betty Blake" - though these are real examples of friends who have expanded their names in order to better reflect something about them or remind them of a connection to their roots.  No, this woman went from being called "Meg Johnson" to "Sally Ray." (I changed the names to protect her anonymity, but you get the idea.)

Why would she do this?  I don't presume to know, but I get the feeling that she had come to a point where she wanted a fresh start, a clean slate.  She was not content with living out the storyline she had been inhabiting up until that point.  She wanted a do-over.  

This week the organization that I work for announced a name change.  Since 1951 we have been known as "Campus Crusade for Christ."  Our founders, Bill and Vonette Bright, chose this name because it clearly communicated the purpose of our mission in that day.  It was started on the campus of UCLA and Bill had a vision for spreading on all the college campuses throughout the USA and, eventually, the world.  "Crusade" was a term that brought to mind a movement of people who, with a love for God, encouraged others to join and be transformed by His love, grace and mercy, as well.  

Since 1951 our organization works in many areas of society.  We are still on college campuses around the world, but we also have staff & volunteers who serve more broadly in the cities - the marketplace and the inner city, we are working among athletes, serving families, bringing hope to orphans..... the list goes on and on.

If you say the word 'crusade' outside of a history classroom these days, most people around the world start feel an unsettling in the core of their soul.  If they are followers of Christ, they grieve the pain and suffering that is attributed to "Christians" who embarked on a war rampage, killing thousands in the name of "Christ."  If they are not numbered in that category, they relate to the pain and suffering that many "innocent" people - maybe even their ancestors suffered hundreds of years ago in these wars.  

Like my friends Katherine, Beth Anne and Betty Blake, we as an organization decided it was time to make a shift in our name so that it better reflected our identity - who we are.  We are for Christ, but we are no longer only on the campus and we do not share the conviction of those who fought in the crusades that we read about in history.  Why wouldn't we change our name?

I want to make it really clear that we haven't changed in our heart, mission, conviction, and passion to see everyone around the world encounter the God who made them as well as their culture and died so that they might have life and hope.  In fact, most everyone that I know in our organization from the top down are experiencing a renewed passion and commitment to this end.  They are making sacrifices, radical changes, and working hard out of love for God and others to see this become a reality.  

You can look back in history at other organizations that are no longer living out the original purpose for which they were created.  Case in point, the YMCA, Young Men's Christian Organization, is now no longer a clearly "Christian" organization.  Though they haven't changed their name, their purpose is no longer the same.  They have drifted.

By taking "Christ" out of our name, we are not taking "Christ" out of our mission.  We are striving to be razor-focused on Him.  I encourage you to keep us accountable to that.  We welcome your loving correction and exhortation to that end.  It is the Body of Christ acting in love and truth as the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit filling us as we serve alongside one another that will keep us on track.  That is something that a name simply cannot do.