The Integrated Life by Ken Eldred

The Integrated Life by Ken Eldred

What if we could resolve the exhausting struggle between work, family, and spiritual life? What if we recognized a deep connection between faith and business? What if biblical values weren't roadblocks but actually the source of successful business? What if the real goal of business were more noble than maximizing profit? What if we could see our everyday work as having spiritual value? What if we could approach it as ministry? What if it were our calling, a calling as high as that of a pastor or missionary? What if God cared deeply about our work and wanted to be involved? And what if we could even partner with him in our business?

Many of us believe the key to resolving the tension between work and faith lies in a more balanced life. Pursuing balance is important, Eldred explains, but that noble effort still leaves us with compartmentalized lives. We still sense that all those prime hours of our day have little or no spiritual significance.

Integration is the key to changing that mindset and thus redeeming the vast majority of our time, the hours devoted to work. When our work is a holy calling and a ministry, it's loaded with spiritual significance. All that time we spend at work has spiritual value. So while balance alone might redeem some hours, integration can redeem far more

Ken Eldred reveals how to find a deep integration between our work and faith such that all areas of our lives further God's kingdom, glorify him, and fulfill our life mission. As we integrate our lives, he explains, we can experience the abundant life that Jesus offers us.

The author takes on pervasive misconceptions stemming both from business and from church. He debunks these misguided beliefs and attitudes that hold us back and reveals a transformational new paradigm for purpose-driven work.

Eldred explains that we have a threefold ministry in our work life: pointing those around us to God (a ministry at work), serving and creating via the work itself (a ministry of work), and redeeming the practices, policies, and structures of institutions (a ministry to work). That's a pretty lofty charge for those of us in the marketplace

This book offers a powerful picture of the integrated life in which our faith impacts every sphere, including our work in the marketplace. Drawing on his own experience and the example of others, Eldred lays out practical applications that lead to abundant living through a far deeper connection between work and faith.