Can CRU be Saved? Woke Group Purged From Organization
One of the driving forces between an acceptance of CRT and strife within CRU (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) has announced that they are leaving the organization, citing the climate with CRU as having become “cautious, unclear and in some places toxic.”
The Lenses Institute, in announcing their departure, note that “there are elements within CRU who feel Lenses is misaligned with the CRU vision and is engaged in a drift from Cru’s central mission” resulting in a “climate of suspicion, mischaracterization, and in some cases direct intimidation” and consequently will be folding up shop.
Well, Bye.
In a must-read piece by the Capstone Report, they unpack a 174-page report prepared months ago by 350 members and handed to senior leadership that details the extent that wokeness and CRT has infiltrated and affected the organization, leading to infighting, mission drift, broken relationships, loss of membership, and loss of personal and financial support. Capstone noted:
Of particular concern is Cru’s Cultural Training called the Lenses Institute. Lenses was an in-depth “cultural competency training for Cru staff. However, it functioned as an ideological re-education camp where Christian unity was replaced by the primacy of ethnic identity.
The Lenses Institute is also one of Cru’s most closely guarded secrets. According to the report, “Staff are required to disclose nothing about the teaching content outside of the training. Independent thinking is discouraged. Most authors and scholars recommended by Lenses are proponents of CRT.”
And as information on the trainings leak, it becomes abundantly clear, why there was a gag order on discussion of Lenses trainings.
At a Lenses training on September 23, 2020, a speaker was heard to say, “Identity in Christ cannot be elevated above our ethnic identity.”
At this point, it is not known if it was a self-purge and leaving on their own accord, if the remaining conservative faction forcibly removed them, or it’s a case where senior leadership, not willing to bleed funding and support, removed Lenses to appease the conservatives as being the most visible sign of disunity, while still affirming the thrust of Lenses’ messaging.
At the very least we know Cru is better for them leaving; demonstrated by the fact that Kyle J, Howard, Jemar Tisby, and Curtis Yee are shook over it and are lamenting their loss
We pray that Cru can repent and recover, but given how deeply this messaging has been embedded, we are pessimistic that they can be saved.
About Author
I believe that there may have been a place for para-church organizations right after WW2 when the churches in the US were much in need of a corrective to their mission. They needed to return to their original commission of evangelism and discipleship. Instead, they (the SBC would be a huge example) headed toward enlargement of their organizations and equated that movement with gospel outreach . That dragged churches closer to cultural identity than to Christ. Now these organizations/churches are swinging left. They are doctrinally weak, more influenced by music, culture, and technology than the Bible. Churches are even further from their true mission. The work of the churches must be returned to the local churches themselves, not parachurch organizations who have little or no doctrinal accounting or executive committees caught up in appearances and far removed from local churches. Pastors must return to the Bible and teach the Word to their congregations. Churches must become more concerned with growing up believers, not church growth methodologies. The Lord will take care of growing the membership if we do our part. Teach the Word. Spread the gospel. Train believers in a straightforward manner so that they can repeat what has been done for them to proclaim the gospel and teach others. I believe that most churches are on the decline because God doesn’t want to enlarge what is in the churches these days. . . . . . . . . We need to get serious about preparing for the days ahead. We could learn a lot from the house churches and house seminaries in China.
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” – Galatians 3:26-29
Our “identity” is Christ Jesus. That’s who we are. That’s what we are.
Many if not most churches, para-church organizations, and seminaries start with a solid foundation: Evangelism, building up believers, and training believers for ministry. In time as they grow, the organization itself becomes focus. They must feed the monster, so to speak. So they compromise an inch at a time until nothing of the original purpose is recognizable.
One of top reasons, if not the chief reason for the leftism in CRU is their heavy promotion of Tim Keller and his writings. The daughter of a very good friend made a hard turn left after joining/working for CRU. He believes the main culprit was her readings of Keller’s leftism.
Interesting thought. I had not put this together but your friend may be on to something. Husband and I tried to be a part of a PCA church plant for the last 10 years (loved the teaching tried to overlook the bias toward non PCAers). Always struggled with the tight perspective on the Westminster Confession and the role of women, old egalitarians are we. At the same time that the theology was buttoned up, Tim Keller, David French, with fairly liberal social/political views, e.g. your ethnic and economic identity was more important than your identity in Christ reigned.
Here is my testimony about Cru, the Lenses Institute, and CRT (link below). There is also a great podcast from Jon Harris as he provides the context and backstory prior to delving into my video.
Please pray for Cru. That is what I am doing.
https://youtu.be/I0Q9xkXOz6Q