Special to ASSIST News Service
LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA (ANS) -- A lot of people have been asking that very question. Some were angry, some sad, some are okay with it. I'm okay with it. But when they first began the process, I wasn't.
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Logo for new name |
There is a lot that has been written about this change. There have been surveys, with staff, ministry partners, and other control groups. Then, once a name had been chosen, a lot of negative and positive press about Campus Crusade for Christ taking Christ out of their name began to crop up in the media.
More than 600 names were thrown into the hat over the years, and from what I understand, "Cru" was added at the last minute. The advisors told the group in charge they needed at least five names to get an accurate decision. "Cru" was put in with the advice that they doubted it would even fly even though this term has been used by Campus Ministries for years. But God has a sense of humor, and "Cru" was overwhelmingly the all-out favorite. Who'da thunk?
As we heard the announcement, I was doodling on the logo and wrote "sade" at the end of "Cru" Then in the cross, I wrote after what looks like "Ls" back to back: love, lost, love, lost. To the comment, "What does it mean?", one of my colleagues said, "it doesn't have to mean anything. Google doesn't mean anything, and look how famous it has become?" I don't know, maybe I'm weird, but I wanted it to mean something!
Today, July 28, 2011, we got an e-mail forwarded to us from the Master Studio Director of The JESUS Film ProjectŽ, Kary Hagen. I guess he agrees with me that it should mean something. Here is what he said:
"I wondered what 'Cru' might mean in various languages, concerned it might have negative or derogatory meaning in other languages. Using Google Translator I checked 63 languages using 'Cru' as the source and English as the result. Here's what I found: In 57 languages it means nothing; however.In Afrikaans: rough; Dutch & Catalan: crude; Portuguese: raw; Latin: cruel; Irish: horseshoe (smile).
"I was informed that in astronomy, that 'Cru' was an abbreviation for 'crux' as in the Southern Cross. Crux is Latin for 'cross'. Then I got to thinking, the root word for 'Crusade' is 'cross' as 'cruz' is also Spanish for cross. The cross was rough, crude, raw and cruel. The cross is part of our new logo. It's a central part of our identity as a movement. It's the perfect new name for us."
And guess what? I love it! I agree with Kary that this is definitely a perfect new name for us. You've heard the expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Well, the truth is, it (their name) was broke. It had lost effectiveness here in the United States. People didn't want to be involved with the name. But be encouraged: Christ may no longer be a part of our public name, Campus Crusade for Christ, but know that Campus Crusade for Christ, Intl. will always be our legal name. "Cru" will not become our official name until 2012 but will be introduced gradually over the next several months. Even if this is not approved by our ministry, but is our opinion. Who knows, maybe they'll adopt it!
When you see our new name, think about what Kary has come up with because I think it will help you feel really good about our name. Christ will NEVER be taken out of our ministries (we have numerous ministries under the umbrella that do NOT have "Christ" in their name. For instance: The JESUS Film ProjectŽ, Athletes In Action, Campus Ministries, Military Ministries, The Peoples Connection, Josh McDowell Ministries, and on and on. All of them have Christ in their center, even if not in their name.
If you have comments you can go to our new LinkedIN page under Groups for Campus Crusade for Christ and The JESUS Film Ministry Partners and share your heart. In the meantime, keep us in prayer that God will honor the name He chose for us. And thank you so much for your concerns and your prayers.
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