Dear family and friends:

“Contextualization” is a technical missions term, meaning communicating so a culture understands in their own context. It’s been controversial for the entire history of modern missions, from the time a young William Carey was rebuffed with a “Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine.” Carey’s answer was the 1792 essay, “An Enquiry Into The Obligations Of Christians, To Use Means For The Conversion Of The Heathens.”

By the use of “means,” Carey simply meant doing something about it. He made the case that Christians of his day really were obligated to the Great Commission. He explained how the gospel spread from the 1st Century. Then he began an honest look at his world and suggested some of those means. I wonder what Carey would think of “www.joshuaproject.net” and its incredible detail on the composition and gospel progress in every country, or of Wycliffe Bible Translators’ catalog of every language.

It’s true contextualization has at times been taken too far. There’s the Inuit Bible translation which refers to Jesus as “the baby seal of God.” Some outreach to Muslims has dared to call our Lord a “jihadist.” Yet, we can’t forget that in some sense, the Scriptures themselves are a contextualization. Our God far transcends human language. (1 Corinthians 13:8) Just as Christ condescended to become man, God has revealed Himself using the medium of human language in the Scriptures, and so provided to us the means of salvation.

Carey noted that, in his day, missionaries like the Moravian Brethren had less trouble with so-called “savages” than commercial traders had. Carey and the later Hudson Taylor alike strove to straddle cultural barriers for their missions work in India and China.

Carey’s legacy lives on in countless ways today - the missionary society he helped to found, “Baptist Missionary Society” is now “BMS World Mission,” while Taylor’s “China Inland Mission” is now known as “OMF International.”

And as you may have heard by now, Campus Crusade for Christ, at their 60th anniversary National Staff Conference last month, opted to change the name in 2012 to “Cru.” As North American staff members, we were required to be present for this meeting and had mixed emotions about the name change. We were also unprepared for the reaction. One editorial, a little optimistically, says, “Happily, it’s abstruse enough not to offend anyone.” More thoughtfully, pastor and (“Let the Nations Be Glad”) author John Piper points out that the earliest known name for Christianity was the inoffensive “The Way” (Acts 9:2), adding his opinion that, “Campus Crusade seems to be more doctrinally awake and sound today than in decades gone by.”

That soundness is reflected in an unswerving commitment to Christ’s Great Commission, which remains our mission statement. You and I might personally prefer a different name. But I suspect the new one reflects an awakening to a serious shift in our own culture’s context over the last 60 years. It may at least help us keep from inadvertently conveying a hindrance to the fulfillment of that mission.
The new name is only for North American ministries. Globally, we’re still “Campus Crusade for Christ, International.” And, as I shared last year, I am “seconded,” or assigned on-loan, to what is now a separate ministry, Global Media Outreach.

Please pray for us and for other CCCI staffmembers, that God will turn what the present world system and its ruler mean for hurt into our good. This was no surprise to Him.

That’s not all our recent Staff Conference was about: Speakers like Francis Chan and David Platt urged us not to rest on our ministry’s heritage, but re-examine our personal call and responsibility to “the King, the LORD of Hosts.” (Isa. 6:5) Dan Allender instructed us in transparently crafting our own personal story as a way of communicating Christ to our own rapidly de-Christianizing culture. Matt Mikalatos challenged us not to shortcut to simple answers, but honestly wrestle with Scripture’s answers to difficult questions.

Like our missions predecessors, we are “not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16). Opposition is implied in this passage as it is all over the New Testament. It’s to be expected when you make a commitment to be awake and sound, like Carey did. Your partnership in this ministry continues to help us meet that opposition. Through your generosity, we were able to attend this historic meeting without having to ask for special gifts. But some of you gave them anyway! Thank you for being sensitive to His unseen guidance! We’re so grateful for your prayerful commitment to us and our work!

Love, in Christ,

P.S. Please see our latest photos!

Mike and Cindy Skinner

“One Day Closer!.” (Romans 13:11)