diff --git a/fedmsg/__init__.py b/fedmsg/__init__.py
index b463ef11..8206c565 100644
--- a/fedmsg/__init__.py
+++ b/fedmsg/__init__.py
@@ -53,10 +53,8 @@ def init(**kw):
         raise ValueError("fedmsg already initialized")
 
     # Read config from CLI args and a config file
-    config = fedmsg.config.load_config([], None)
-
-    # Override the defaults with whatever the user explicitly passes in.
-    config.update(kw)
+    config = fedmsg.config.conf
+    config.load_config(kw)
 
     __local.__context = fedmsg.core.FedMsgContext(**config)
     return __local.__context