Hey folks, I have some exciting news!

If you have been visiting our website lately, you’ve probably noticed there has not been much new content or activity going on.  Well, this is about to change.  A LOT is about to change!

Late last year the board of Christus Victor Ministries (CVM) teamed up with some enthusiastic supporters to strategize how we might fulfill our vision more effectively.  The place to start, we agreed, would be a massive transformation of our website.  This new website would not only serve as the foundation to propel the vision of CVM, but also enable us to speak more powerfully and efficiently to a much larger audience.

We also agreed that, although “Christus Victor Ministries” means something to a Christian academic audience, it doesn’t resonate well with a larger audience.  (I’ve seriously been asked by people, “Who is this Victor guy?”) So in addition to making plans for a new website, we decided to rename CVM.  I’ll come back to that in a moment.

To give you some context as to where we are in the 12-year story of CVM, we feel strongly that our message is needed now more than ever.  The Good News of Jesus Christ continues to be crowded out by religion, politics, apathy, fundamentalism and theological determinism.  We remain passionately called to promote:

• the incomparable beauty of God as revealed in Jesus Christ

• the awesomeness of divine sovereignty that is not threatened by human freedom

• the intellectual integrity of a biblically informed faith, unafraid of hard questions, uncertainty, or thinking outside the box

•  the unique attractiveness of a humble, self-sacrificial Kingdom that has not been co-opted by worldly agendas.

To give you a brief sketch of our plans, we are launching a new website that will serve as a social hub and central repository of information, interaction, and inspiration for the many hungry searchers out there:

• thinkers with legitimate questions that modern Christianity is failing to answer

• believers increasingly uneasy with the inconsistencies in contemporary theology

• Jesus-followers alienated from a church that is overly focused on politics and power

• broken souls wondering where God is in the midst of their suffering.

In addition to being a repository of sermons, essays and research notes, we plan to eventually provide access to broader resources like rapid-response to current events, tours / conferences, even live-stream seminars and Q&A sessions. Also, in partnership with the growing number of other like-minded ministries who share our vision, we want to help fund writing and research projects that communicate our vision to both academic and lay audiences.

You see, I started this ministry because, at various times in my life I have fit into all four of the above mentioned searcher categories.  To one degree or another, I always struggled with my faith – even giving up on it completely at one point in my life.  I’ve also felt completely alienated from much of mainstream Christianity with its addiction to politics, power, and certainty.  And I know what it is to suffer while being handed shallow clichés like “God is in control,” “Everything happens for a reason,” and “It’s not for us to question why.”

In fact, these struggles are why I’ve dedicated my life to answering these problems head-on.  And if you have supported and/or followed this ministry, you no doubt share this dedication with me.

Yet, I’m reminded that Jesus himself asked his followers, “Who do you say that I am?”  He knew that as beautiful as his message was, it would not easily pierce the fog of human brokenness. In his day as well as our own, people wanted him to be a political savior, a nationalistic savior, a military savior and a religious savior.  Yet he was – and still is – so much bigger and better than that!

The goal of this ministry has always been to help people know God through Jesus. We want to help people see that, behind all the co-opted versions of God that humans use to control each other, there is an unfiltered Gospel of love, goodness, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, healing and hope that sets us free.

Our message is simple: “Welcome to Jesus – all over again.  Look again.  Think again.  Get to know him as if for the first time.  Renew your picture of God.”

And now I can finally give you a peek at our new name:

Hats off to my group of enthusiastic supporters for coming up with this!  I can’t wait to unleash this vision!

Now, as many of you know, I’m terrible at raising money.  Terrible.  Which is why, for the most part, I resist asking for it – which isn’t exactly smart when you’re trying to grow a non-profit ministry.  Despite my deficiency, however, I am thrilled to report that the above-mentioned enthusiastic supporters have offered a $20,000 match towards our effort to relaunch CVM as ReKnew! This has given our renewed vision a great jump-start, but we now need to raise a matching $20,000.  In addition, we are looking to raise support for the on-going operation and expansion of this vision. This is where you can play a huge part.

If this ministry has personally impacted you and you wish to see the message and vision of this ministry impact others, I’m asking you to prayerfully consider making a one time gift and/or to become a regular contributor. Our conviction is that with a little investment from our many like-minded supporters, we will together have a far greater impact for the Kingdom.

Will you consider partnering with us to achieve the goals of this ministry?  No gift is too small and (in case you were wondering) no gift is too big!  CVM is a registered non-profit ministry, so all donations are tax-deductible. We promise to make every penny count for the Kingdom.  Click here to join in our effort.I am truly grateful for your help.

Let’s work together to further the Kingdom and “ReKnew” people’s picture of God to look like Jesus!

Your friend and co-worker for the King,

Greg