Sharing My Story

(Today is my birthday so here is an extra post.)

In May 1982 we had our headquarters staff training
in San Diego. Shortly after that my AIA magazine editor
John Carvalho told me he had talked with a gentleman
at a conference (in Florida ?) that he was looking for a
graphic designer for his organization. I had discussed
with John previously my desire to pursue other employment
options outside Campus Crusade. John gave me the name
and contact information for this employment opportunity.

I found out that it was with the Narramore Christian
Foundation in Rosemead. Rosemead is in the San Gabriel
Valley about 40 miles or so west of San Bernardino.
I thought this interesting for as a young teenager I had
listened to Dr Clyde Narramore on the radio and had
enjoyed his program. I had my first interview on May 18
and a second interview on Friday, May 21. I met Dr. Lee
Bendell, the vice-President, Ruth Narramore, the editor
of their magazine, Psychology for Living, Roy Mathison,
the retiring company artist/designer and Dr. Narramore
himself. The interview also consited of thorougth and
lenghty psychological testing session. A job offer was
extended and I accepted it on May 28, 1982. The job was
more of a lateral move that a step up. I would basically be
doing the same thing for NCF as I had been doing for
Campus Crusade--working on NCF's magazine and
other print material.

A number of reasons went into this move. One, was the
sense that I'd accomplished about all I was going to in
Campus Crusade on a vocational level. I had more than
lengthened the initial two-year commitment by a factor of 5.
I didn't feel an obligation to stay with Campus for "hiring" me.
On a spiritual level I'd felt that Campus had given about as
much as it would toward my spiritual development.
During the winter of 1979 I took several seminary level
courses (Church Growth & Anthropology-Christology)
offered by staff from Campus Crusade's Institute of
Biblical Studies (IBS).

There was also a social aspect that entered into it.
The social landscape of Campus Crusade during those
years was a rapidly changing milieu. I had gone through
two or three generations of friends and housemates
during the eleven years I was on staff. A good friend,
Jim Lowe, a writer in the CCC editorial department
had moved back to his native Texas to take over the
running of his father's newspaper when he suddenly
passed away. Jim, who I often prayed with, was typical
of those who were in and out for my life over the
course of several years.

Also I saw a lot of friends finding their mates and while
I dated a good bit things didn't fall into place as I
thought they should or would have. There was a
sense of needing a change from the rapidly changing
singles social enivornment that I found myself in
within Campus Crusade.

There was also a long submerged desire to actually be
paid for the work I did rather than having to raise
financial support. Like so much in life this is complicated
as I very much appreciated the people who invested
in me to be on Campus staff (felt humbled and privileged)
but at the same time there was a restlessness to have
the work I did support my living.

This sense of restlessness had been with me for several
years. During 1979 I had made a serious effort at job
hunting sending out many letters and resumes and even
took a week of vacation (June) and traveled to Orange
County (CA) looking for work in the graphic design area.
Since being flooding out of the Hampshire house
(January 1980) the following two and one half years
were a time of transition. The AIA magazine design job
made that period much more enjoyable but did not
radically alter my eventually career path away from
Campus Crusade. It seems as if the time was right and
the doorway open for a new work place (and challenge)
that was congenial to my faith and artistic/design talents.