From 'Crusade' to 'Agape,' the message remains the same

By David Gorrell     8/28/08 7:00pm

Campus Crusade for Christ at Rice is now known as Agape Christian Ministries. Below is an explanation of this change and how our new name reflects what we do.To some, the word "crusade" is an offensive term associated with the horrific religious wars of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Last semester we began to consider the effect our name had on how people viewed our organization. In an effort to see how the campus viewed the word "crusade" in our name, we did a campus-wide survey. We found that 50 percent of students entering Rice had a mildly or strongly negative view of the name Campus Crusade for Christ and many said they would view a name change positively. In light of these considerations, we voted for a name change. We are still part of Campus Crusade for Christ International; However, at Rice we will be known as Agape Christian Ministries. Several other branches across the nation have made a similar name change.

One may ask why Campus Crusade for Christ has this name in the first place. Campus Crusade began in 1951, just two years after the first Billy Graham crusade, when "crusade" meant something very different to the American public. Back then it meant "a vigorous concerted movement for a cause or against an abuse," which is still what we are about today. However, the word has come to be viewed primarily in light of the historical crusades and to many people it now means "to fight a holy war."

So how does our new name better express our purpose? The word Agape is the Greek word for unconditional love which Jesus called us to practice in John 15:12. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." And how did Jesus love us? He died to take on himself the penalty for our sins, when we did not deserve it; The ultimate form of unconditional love. In verse 13 Jesus continues, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." True love can be tough. It is not just a warm feeling of affection, but much more as we can see from the Apostle Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians.

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"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Agape reflects what we are trying to accomplish, to love God and others to the best of our abilities. It is our mission to model this kind of love in our Christian Ministries. It is the motivation behind the service projects we have done, like gutting houses in New Orleans or working for Habitat for Humanity. It is our ultimate goal to love God and others through our meetings, socials, Bible studies, etc. This is our goal, but we are certainly not perfect at loving. We can only rely on our savior Jesus Christ for this perfect example of love and do our best to share his love at Rice and beyond.

David Gorrell is a Brown College junior.

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