Campus Crusade is mushrooming, and has begun to work in Great Britain. Every active Christian student at University is certain to meet up with this movement sooner or later, and it is only proper that he should know something about it as soon as possible.
The movement stems from the United States of America, and its founder, president and executive director is the 46-year-old Dr. William R. Bright. As a student leader at Northwestern State College in Oklahoma he passed his days of study as an agnostic, who was never faced by the claims of Christ. After graduating he entered business in Los Angeles, and eventually came to Christ by means of the young adult class taught by the late Miss Henrietta Mears in Hollywood’s First Presbyterian Church; it was here that his fiancee, Vonette Zachary, was also converted.
After marriage, Dr. Bright continued in business, but also attended classes at Fuller Theological Seminary. (He had already done some study at Princeton Seminary.) But the burden of reaching students for Christ lay heavy on his heart, and he left the classes, and spent a great deal of his time contacting local students. Luncheon sessions, personal conferences and other methods saw a number of these students won for Christ; including several prominent sportsmen and student body presidents. Campus Crusade is the extension and expansion of Dr. Bright’s original vision.
Basis and Aims
In a word, Campus Crusade is an unusually ambitious effort to evangelize students, both in North America and elsewhere. It takes a very conservative position with regard to the Scriptures and the Atonement, and its staff members sign a conservative statement of faith, though it de-emphasises the importance of creedal affirmations among students. However, because of its great emphasis on getting decisions, it has a rather negative attitude to anything other than direct evangelism. The stress is on evangelism; and the balance that should exist between evangelism and teaching is often upset. They are very keen to train their converts in their own methods of evangelism, often to the almost total neglect of other aspects of the Christian’s life.
Campus Crusade lays great emphasis on the use of certain methods in evangelism, and its staff are trained to use them. They believe that “the average person, if properly approached, is ready to commit his life to Christ.” And so the “proper approach” occupies a great deal of their thinking. They often talk of having “a philosophy and a technique” suitable to the particular needs of students. One often gets the impression that they regard method as more of a key to evangelistic fruit than the actual message. This impression remains even when they refute it by saying “the Spirit-filled man who had good methods would be more fruitful than the Spirit-filled man who had not.”
Rapid Growth
The movement was founded in 1951, but it was not until ten years later that it began the extraordinary rate of growth that characterises it at the present time. By 1965 it had a full-time staff of 451, and was working in twelve countries. Today its full-time staff numbers 1,200, working in thirty-seven countries. By 1976, Dr. Bright envisages that the staff will add up to 10,000, and that every country in the globe—including Communist China—will have Campus Crusade working in it.
Evangelism
Campus Crusade spends a lot of time in evangelism that stresses similarity with the world, and all the attractions of the Christian life, rather than the necessary repulsions that must also be preached. Whatever the world is clamouring for at the moment, this is what they seem to offer, with the proviso that the Christian product is better. The Gospel is a friendly pal, and its message is so geared to the trendy generation. There is a great deal of such talk as “Come and discover the thrill of Christian fellowship”; “Come and make your boast in the Lord”; “abundant life” etc. This is all very well, but the essence of the Gospel is the holiness of God; the heinous fact of his broken law; man’s corrupt and sinful nature; Jesus Christ as the propitiation for sin; the need for repentance and turning from sin to seek God in Christ; the New Birth, by which a depraved man is brought to faith through the power of the Holy Spirit; progress in sanctification; full assurance; etc., etc., etc. But where are these in the ordinary message propagated by the movement that we are surveying?
Basic Methodology
But their basic method or “approach,” in which all their stall are trained, is a technique of personal evangelism using a little booklet called “Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?,” which is basically a plan of salvation, supported by Scripture texts.
The basic idea is this. The worker sits alongside the student, and goes through the booklet step by step with him, seeking his agreement with each point, until he is intellectually convinced of the truth of the Christian faith. He is then urged to make a decision concerning this. This may seem most commendable, and we dare not doubt that considerable numbers of people have been converted as a result of these person-to-person conversations. But it is automatic to the point of being alarming. Agreement with the existence of God is not enough—one is to believe he is the rewarder of all them that diligently seek him. Agreement with the fact of sin is insufficient—it is conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit brings about. Conversion is not brought about because a man decides for Christ on the mere whim of his will. It is the result of repentance and faith, both of which are created in the heart by the will and free Grace of a Sovereign God, who sees that man, left to his own will, will surely perish. The apparent success of the method does not justify it, when such truths are given little prominence. There is evidence too that not a few who use the method consider it almost automatic in its results. To quote a Campus Crusade worker, commenting on this method recently—“While we find it takes an average 35 minutes to convert a student in the States, over here it take 2, or even 3 hours!”
Another Booklet
Having such a doctrine of how one enters the Christian life, it is not surprising that they have a second booklet, called “Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?” Having assumed that the human will is sovereign in getting a man saved, this booklet continues to stress the autonomy of the human will in the process of sanctification. Its aim is to encourage Christians to bear fruit in their lives -this fruit being variously defined as Christian graces of soul-winning success. For both the Spirit-Filled Life is needed and Christians are encouraged to receive the fulness of the Holy Spirit by a specific act of faith. But where, in the whole of God’s writ, is there a promise that we can claim such a fulness by such an act? There is also a lot of talk about “allowing” the Holy Spirit to do this and that -most of all to fill our life. But where in the Bible does it talk, even once, of “allowing” the Holy Spirit? Certainly we are to pray for his filling. But it must be a constant prayer as long as we live, and the answer comes by degrees in the course of this life, not immediately and all at once.
The theological undertones that underlie those booklets are the old presuppositions of Wesleyanism, Keswick, and the Higher Life Movement. The need for all is to study the Bible doctrine of Regeneration, and the continuing activity of the Spirit in the life of the believer, working through the various means of Grace—most prominently, the Word. This Bible teaching, wonderfully stressed in the Gospel of John and the Epistles, is the death-knell to all the “victorious life” concepts of the above schools. The lack of a really comprehensive knowledge of the book of Romans is one of the greatest causes of superficiality and confusion abounding even among well-meaning Evangelicals today.
Conclusion
In my considered opinion, Campus Crusade for Christ is a well-intentioned effort to reach students for Christ, staffed by sincere Christian people. Its zeal is commendable, and one must thank God for many who have been truly converted through its ministry.
Nevertheless I regard it as harmful to the Evangelical testimony amongst students in Britain today, and would not wish to help it on its way. Its message passes over the most prominent features of the revealed Gospel, and its methods are Scripturally questionable. Its teaching on the will of man is perverse, and its doctrine of the higher life erroneous. It can do nothing but add to the appalling superficiality already rampant on the British Christian scene, and not the least amongst students; and will be the cause of further confusion among us.
The duty of Christian students is to ascertain from the Scriptures what the essence of the Gospel is; to present that Gospel to all men, but only in ways that are consistent with its teachings; to commend it always by holy lives, through constant attendance on the revealed means of Grace; and at all times, and in all things, to seek to bring credit, praise and honour to Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Edited extracts from a personal letter written by Mr. Olyott to students in his congregation. Reprinted from THE BANNER OF TRUTH, with permission.
The movement stems from the United States of America, and its founder, president and executive director is the 46-year-old Dr. William R. Bright. As a student leader at Northwestern State College in Oklahoma he passed his days of study as an agnostic, who was never faced by the claims of Christ. After graduating he entered business in Los Angeles, and eventually came to Christ by means of the young adult class taught by the late Miss Henrietta Mears in Hollywood’s First Presbyterian Church; it was here that his fiancee, Vonette Zachary, was also converted.
After marriage, Dr. Bright continued in business, but also attended classes at Fuller Theological Seminary. (He had already done some study at Princeton Seminary.) But the burden of reaching students for Christ lay heavy on his heart, and he left the classes, and spent a great deal of his time contacting local students. Luncheon sessions, personal conferences and other methods saw a number of these students won for Christ; including several prominent sportsmen and student body presidents. Campus Crusade is the extension and expansion of Dr. Bright’s original vision.
Basis and Aims
In a word, Campus Crusade is an unusually ambitious effort to evangelize students, both in North America and elsewhere. It takes a very conservative position with regard to the Scriptures and the Atonement, and its staff members sign a conservative statement of faith, though it de-emphasises the importance of creedal affirmations among students. However, because of its great emphasis on getting decisions, it has a rather negative attitude to anything other than direct evangelism. The stress is on evangelism; and the balance that should exist between evangelism and teaching is often upset. They are very keen to train their converts in their own methods of evangelism, often to the almost total neglect of other aspects of the Christian’s life.
Campus Crusade lays great emphasis on the use of certain methods in evangelism, and its staff are trained to use them. They believe that “the average person, if properly approached, is ready to commit his life to Christ.” And so the “proper approach” occupies a great deal of their thinking. They often talk of having “a philosophy and a technique” suitable to the particular needs of students. One often gets the impression that they regard method as more of a key to evangelistic fruit than the actual message. This impression remains even when they refute it by saying “the Spirit-filled man who had good methods would be more fruitful than the Spirit-filled man who had not.”
Rapid Growth
The movement was founded in 1951, but it was not until ten years later that it began the extraordinary rate of growth that characterises it at the present time. By 1965 it had a full-time staff of 451, and was working in twelve countries. Today its full-time staff numbers 1,200, working in thirty-seven countries. By 1976, Dr. Bright envisages that the staff will add up to 10,000, and that every country in the globe—including Communist China—will have Campus Crusade working in it.
Evangelism
Campus Crusade spends a lot of time in evangelism that stresses similarity with the world, and all the attractions of the Christian life, rather than the necessary repulsions that must also be preached. Whatever the world is clamouring for at the moment, this is what they seem to offer, with the proviso that the Christian product is better. The Gospel is a friendly pal, and its message is so geared to the trendy generation. There is a great deal of such talk as “Come and discover the thrill of Christian fellowship”; “Come and make your boast in the Lord”; “abundant life” etc. This is all very well, but the essence of the Gospel is the holiness of God; the heinous fact of his broken law; man’s corrupt and sinful nature; Jesus Christ as the propitiation for sin; the need for repentance and turning from sin to seek God in Christ; the New Birth, by which a depraved man is brought to faith through the power of the Holy Spirit; progress in sanctification; full assurance; etc., etc., etc. But where are these in the ordinary message propagated by the movement that we are surveying?
Basic Methodology
But their basic method or “approach,” in which all their stall are trained, is a technique of personal evangelism using a little booklet called “Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?,” which is basically a plan of salvation, supported by Scripture texts.
The basic idea is this. The worker sits alongside the student, and goes through the booklet step by step with him, seeking his agreement with each point, until he is intellectually convinced of the truth of the Christian faith. He is then urged to make a decision concerning this. This may seem most commendable, and we dare not doubt that considerable numbers of people have been converted as a result of these person-to-person conversations. But it is automatic to the point of being alarming. Agreement with the existence of God is not enough—one is to believe he is the rewarder of all them that diligently seek him. Agreement with the fact of sin is insufficient—it is conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit brings about. Conversion is not brought about because a man decides for Christ on the mere whim of his will. It is the result of repentance and faith, both of which are created in the heart by the will and free Grace of a Sovereign God, who sees that man, left to his own will, will surely perish. The apparent success of the method does not justify it, when such truths are given little prominence. There is evidence too that not a few who use the method consider it almost automatic in its results. To quote a Campus Crusade worker, commenting on this method recently—“While we find it takes an average 35 minutes to convert a student in the States, over here it take 2, or even 3 hours!”
Another Booklet
Having such a doctrine of how one enters the Christian life, it is not surprising that they have a second booklet, called “Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?” Having assumed that the human will is sovereign in getting a man saved, this booklet continues to stress the autonomy of the human will in the process of sanctification. Its aim is to encourage Christians to bear fruit in their lives -this fruit being variously defined as Christian graces of soul-winning success. For both the Spirit-Filled Life is needed and Christians are encouraged to receive the fulness of the Holy Spirit by a specific act of faith. But where, in the whole of God’s writ, is there a promise that we can claim such a fulness by such an act? There is also a lot of talk about “allowing” the Holy Spirit to do this and that -most of all to fill our life. But where in the Bible does it talk, even once, of “allowing” the Holy Spirit? Certainly we are to pray for his filling. But it must be a constant prayer as long as we live, and the answer comes by degrees in the course of this life, not immediately and all at once.
The theological undertones that underlie those booklets are the old presuppositions of Wesleyanism, Keswick, and the Higher Life Movement. The need for all is to study the Bible doctrine of Regeneration, and the continuing activity of the Spirit in the life of the believer, working through the various means of Grace—most prominently, the Word. This Bible teaching, wonderfully stressed in the Gospel of John and the Epistles, is the death-knell to all the “victorious life” concepts of the above schools. The lack of a really comprehensive knowledge of the book of Romans is one of the greatest causes of superficiality and confusion abounding even among well-meaning Evangelicals today.
Conclusion
In my considered opinion, Campus Crusade for Christ is a well-intentioned effort to reach students for Christ, staffed by sincere Christian people. Its zeal is commendable, and one must thank God for many who have been truly converted through its ministry.
Nevertheless I regard it as harmful to the Evangelical testimony amongst students in Britain today, and would not wish to help it on its way. Its message passes over the most prominent features of the revealed Gospel, and its methods are Scripturally questionable. Its teaching on the will of man is perverse, and its doctrine of the higher life erroneous. It can do nothing but add to the appalling superficiality already rampant on the British Christian scene, and not the least amongst students; and will be the cause of further confusion among us.
The duty of Christian students is to ascertain from the Scriptures what the essence of the Gospel is; to present that Gospel to all men, but only in ways that are consistent with its teachings; to commend it always by holy lives, through constant attendance on the revealed means of Grace; and at all times, and in all things, to seek to bring credit, praise and honour to Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Edited extracts from a personal letter written by Mr. Olyott to students in his congregation. Reprinted from THE BANNER OF TRUTH, with permission.