Redone 'Craig' campaign regurgitates Christ, rekindles Milli Vanilli

By: Evan Reiser

Posted: 4/5/07

It has barnstormed through Penn State, UC Berkeley, the University of Florida and an indiscriminate amount of other campuses since its 1998 inception at Humboldt State in California, featuring the same slick, pre-packaged, assembly line sequence of events each time. It's every bit as unique as processed chicken parts in a McNugget.

The "I Agree With" campaign last week was not a personal and sincere work of a passionate individual and his friends, but a weird, premeditated and highly successful marketing formula spearheaded by Campus Crusade for Christ, an international college evangelist organization.

Not everyone agreed with the proselytizers, but most did agree that this highly creative entity named Cr__g (I have removed the vowels in Cr__g's name for fear this person may suffer a collapsed ego if the name is seen in print one more time on campus) succeeded in getting our otherwise secular campus talking about Jesus. All students I've talked to, whether God-hating opponents or pious proponents, were under the assumption that Syracuse was the first to experience Cr__g's humble, heartfelt message. And why shouldn't they? No one involved with the campaign hinted at how Milli Vanilli it really was.

Indeed my interest was piqued early on. Who was Cr__g? I hadn't been this excited about a publicity stunt since Tommy was revealed to be the White Ranger, but was arguably more disappointed when its intentions became known. I (as did Hendricks chaplain, Kelly Sprinkle, in his column yesterday) objected to the obfuscation of the radical evangelists' "beliefs" with all Christian beliefs, but I did, and still do, support their right to free speech.

But how exactly were Cr__g and all of his "I Agree With" counterparts chosen? Did a cabal form amidst the shadowy caverns of Hendricks Chapel and weigh their blood against one another to determine the purest, most divine soul?

Hell no, they didn't; this is the work of corporate America, not an underground society. The criteria and personal acumen demanded of a figurehead is even outlined in the I Agree With Campaign Information Packet, a comprehensive 44-page PDF (found on Campus Crusade for Christ's southwest division Web site at http://www.psw.org/Do_You_Agree/DYAresults.asp), detailing exactly how to run the campaign, the economics of purchasing and selling "I Agree With" T-shirts, textbook refutations on how to handle a skeptic, and general tips and advice.

For example:

"Practice evangelism of the heart. Most 'intellectual" objections to the gospel are a smokescreen to mask the true problem: A sinful heart."

I wonder myself if Gabriel could've broken the "your son is God" thing to Mary a little better if he had Internet access.

In each of the numerous "I Agree With" campaigns, the sequence of events, from the initial cryptic "Do you agree with?" fliers, to the school-paper ads, to the release of the figurehead's personal statement, are synchronized, sometimes to the exact day of the week. Traditionally bright orange T-shirts have been used to display the defiant "I Agree With" so-and-so insignia, but that obviously wouldn't stand out at Syracuse. So the Syracuse CCC made its biggest deviation from the blueprint and sold green shirts.

On the same site I stumbled upon testimonials from former campaign leaders nationwide.

"UCSB did 'I agree with Glenn' week the first week of March. Highlights included numerous newspaper opinion articles for and against. People thought Christians were everywhere, though only 400 had the BRIGHT orange shirts ... 400-425 came to our meet Glenn meeting, and 22 indicated starting a relationship with God."

-Kyle Menig, UC Santa Barbara

One of my friends told me she started a relationship with God a weekend last year, but He never called her back. And according to her story, "omnipotent" isn't the only "-potent" thing He is. Let's continue:

"It was an awesome experience for all those that took part because it challenged their comfort zones, on evangelizing to classmates, and professors ... It was a wonderful event that started a long ring of questions by nonbelievers on our campus. I recommend it for every campus, because it does work!"

-Katie Pahn, Northern Michigan University

Compare this to last Friday's Daily Orange article by Eric Hughes, in which campaign spokesman Jonathan Han had this to say:

"Our goal is to stir conversation on this campus, to get people thinking and out of their comfort zone. We hope people will start questioning what they believe."

Both used the term "comfort zone." Now we're dealing with reoccurring jargon. I'm so frustrated with the lack of ingenuity here that I'd be willing to take Communion to be able to hear the Good Word in new words. That's right, I'll cannibalize Christ, I'll drop JC! But the campaign has thousands of campuses yet to be misled. I understand the atavistic opposition to this very idea, but it's time for Campus Crusade to evolve.