In this compelling episode of Family Talk, renowned entrepreneur and author Ken Eldred joins us to discuss the intersection of faith and business. Eldred shares his journey of building successful enterprises by involving God as a key business partner. He provides insights into how Christians can integrate their spiritual lives into everyday work and addresses the common struggles believers face in compartmentalizing their faith.
Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It’s a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute supported by listeners just like you. I’m Dr. James Dobson and I’m thrilled that you’ve joined us.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, welcome back to Family Talk. I’m Roger Marsh. Does your faith feel separate from your Monday through Friday work life? You know, many Christians struggle with this disconnect. They treat their job as just a paycheck while their quote unquote real spiritual life happens on Sunday mornings. Well, on today’s edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, we’re continuing a conversation that challenges that thinking. Our guest once again is Ken Eldred, entrepreneur and author of books like God is at Work. On our last program, he shared with Gary Bauer how he built multi-billion dollar companies by inviting God to be his business partner. On today’s Family Talk broadcast, Ken Eldred will share practical wisdom about hearing God’s voice in the workplace, along with his meaningful partnership with our own Dr. James Dobson during this ministry’s early years. So let’s join once again Gary Bauer, our Senior Vice President of Public Policy here at the James Dobson Policy and Culture Center, and his guest Ken Eldred on today’s edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Ken, welcome back to Family Talk. You’ve shared so many great stories, so let’s get right back into it right now. You know, Ken, fathers are so important in the lives of children, and particularly for both sons and daughters, a dad brings specific things. And we’ve got so many kids today that don’t have a father in the home. And we see the results of that with all the societal problems. But what about your own dad? As I recalled, your dad had a great deal of influence on you.
SPEAKER 03 :
My father had a huge influence on my life. He was, when he was a child, he was a young boy. He was an acolyte in a high order church and kind of walked away from all that. So during the years that I was, before I committed my life to Christ, you know, when I was 30, by the age of 27, he’d passed away unexpectedly, you know, but he was the number three guy at Hewlett Packard, you know, and very well respected. I’ll never forget that when we went to the funeral, they had a procession from the church to the cemetery, and there were 200 cars in the procession. I was just amazed. I respected him so highly, but this was an area that he knew very little about. In one way, I think he was as capable as he was He was never an entrepreneur. It just, I think, you know, he came out of the depression, you know, he saw how difficult it is when you’re struggling. And I think he said, I don’t want to struggle and I don’t want you to have to struggle. So, you know, I, I often wonder, you know, we started this company on a prayer really. And, uh, it was the first one I did and I probably wouldn’t have done it if he was still alive, you know? So, you know, the Lord, knew what the timing should be. I’m not saying that that’s why he was taken. I’m just saying that from my point of view, it helped me to go ahead and do something like this. I remember when we started the concept of this business, I had business school friends of mine from Stanford saying, this is a bad idea.
SPEAKER 02 :
Don’t you think it’s amazing how people will discourage those who have ideas and have the will and are willing to take risks? And there’s always the naysayers, you know?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, one of the things that, Gary, just backing up a little bit if I could, you know, when I said to the Lord I want to do what he wanted me to do, but I would really like to be in business, you know, I continued kind of doing what I was doing, kind of wondering, you know, what is it that God, you want me to do? And I’m learning and I’m growing in my faith. And I early on got into friend, got me into teaching the Bible. And I said, I don’t know anything about the Bible. I said, that’s the best way to learn is teach the subject, you know, so. I’m sitting in a meeting with this friend of mine, and we tried to buy a company because I thought I’ll buy a company. And I didn’t have any money to buy a company, but that never seemed to bother me. So we failed in taking over this company and kind of licking our wounds. We decided we’d meet Monday morning because we met Friday with this company and found out we were too late. But we found we worked well together. So we’re sitting in a small room. There’s a door into the room behind me. And he said, well, I’ve got half a dozen ideas of companies we could start. And I said, yeah, I’m not interested in starting a company. He said, well, what else do you have to do today? And I didn’t have a job. I’m out of a job, you know, at that point. And sort of, so we’re, he’s kind of going through this list. And as he goes through this list, I hear a disruptive voice at about this level saying, that’s it. And I knew that’s it meant, this is the company I want you to build and this is the way you’re going to do it. And I turned around to see who had said that. There was nobody there. And then I looked back at him and I realized that he never heard the disruptive voice. I did. He never stopped. He just kept on going. So stop, wait, back up, back up, back up. That is the company we’re going to build. And I didn’t tell him that God said for us to do this, but I knew it was the Holy Spirit. And it’d take me a few seconds to figure that out. And there were so many things over the life of my experience with God that indicate his partnership. God wants to partner. Here’s the good news for business people that are listening all over. God wants to partner with you, whether you’re running the company or whether you’re down inside the company in some location. God has a role and a plan for you. And the plan that he has for you is, yeah, you’re going to do your work, but he is going to provide times where you can do the things that he’s called you to do if you know what they are. And the danger of not knowing what those are, I mentioned that he’s got a plan for every person. And if that person doesn’t stop and say, this is it, and Describe it just as Paul did in chapter 16, verse 15, or 15, verse 16b. He says to be a pastor, a minister to the Gentiles, you know, wholly acceptable to the Holy Spirit. That was the most incredible single mission statement. And he had multiple assignments within that mission statement, but that was the mission’s plan. Each person has one. And if they will understand that, that is the antidote to getting tied up in physical things so deeply that your spiritual life has ended.
SPEAKER 02 :
which is exactly the opposite of what God wants for us. Ken, you really, I mean, there’s a theme through everything you’re sharing with us that your heart’s been open and your ears have been open to hear God’s guidance for you. So many people that are listening, I think, even to our show, are so busy and they’re running around and they don’t pause to hear the voice that so often you heard and that bared great fruit in your life. You know, I found as I’ve been doing family talk the last couple of years periodically that people love to hear how somebody met their spouse. You know, we’ve all got a story or whatever, and you and Roberta, I mean, you— You have been together, I mean, it’s over a half century. How did God bring the two of you together and, you know, nurture this marriage all these years?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I knew her when she was 16. Okay. I hated her.
SPEAKER 02 :
You hated her?
SPEAKER 03 :
I hated her. And she hated me for different reasons. I mean, it was just, it turned out that her aunt, my father got divorced and he married her aunt. And she went up to live with her aunt. So anything dealing with that woman, I hated. Just that was the way it was. And over the years, we got to know each other. And it was sort of a revelation that I really like this. I really like her. I mean, I have to admit, first day of our honeymoon, sitting in Cabo San Lucas, and I said to her, I have to tell you something that’s really bothering me. She said, what’s that? And I said… I don’t know that I can do this. I mean, a lifetime, the rest of my life, I’m not sure I can do this. She looked at me, she says, well, neither am I. So let’s just have a good time and enjoy each other. And let the chips fall as they may. Well, 55, almost 55 years later, we still love being around each other.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, today there’s a lot of concern because so many young Americans are not getting married. You know, people are arguing, is it economics? Is it a cultural malaise or a theological faith malaise that people are not taking that leap of faith and pledging to spend a life together? And of course, Ken, as you know, if God’s not at the center of the marriage, it won’t work. I mean, it’s always filled with challenges, but marriage is a man and a woman and God. And I’m sure I know you and Roberta have understood that all these years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, what’s interesting, Gary, is that in the beginning, our marriage was extremely rocky. You know, we didn’t know anything about each other. We really, you know, I mean, we knew these superficial things, but that was about it. A couple of years have gone by and I thought, you know, I can’t divorce her and leave her on the East Coast. That’s just not fair. I mean, we’ll take her home. We’ll figure out, you know, get them established, and then I’ll get a divorce. I mean, that’s really where we were. At that time, the Lord called on us. She was off in a retreat. I was at the church. We made a plan to kind of Look at church. We would try the Christians. We’d try the Buddhists. We’d try the synagogue. We’d make a plan about it. Well, we never got past the Protestant Presbyterian Church where I was raised. And she was Catholic in the background. She said, okay, we’ll go there, and then we’ll go to the Catholic Church. We’re going to do them all. And what we didn’t understand, that warmth that we felt when we went to that church was the Holy Spirit. We didn’t understand that. Yeah. Long story, one weekend, I encouraged her to go with the women on a retreat. And she went on this retreat and I’m back home taking care of the kids and my mom’s there with me. And so I went to the men’s Bible study in the morning, trying to get to know more about God, you know, and what is all this? What’s this all about? And that morning after the struggle I’d had making him God, making him Lord, I went into the sanctuary and just bowled my head off and she’s, she’s off for the weekend. So she comes back and she gets, you know, comes into the house and I said, Roberta, I have to tell you something. I’m, It’s really bothering me. I said, this weekend, I committed my life to Christ. And she starts laughing.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s not the reaction you expected, is it?
SPEAKER 03 :
Not at all. I thought, that’s crazy. Why is she laughing at something that I’ve done? I mean, is it that foolish? She said, oh, no, no, that’s not the issue. She said, so did I this weekend.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, is that right? What a story, Ken. That is incredible. What are the odds of that, right? Think about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
We saw this as the triangle of God where she’s over here, I’m over here. And as we looked at God and saying, I’m going to count on God to make this relationship work. I’m not counting on her. I’m counting on God. And when we put our relationship on the rock, that’s when the rocks of disaster disappeared and it changed our lives completely.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s a beautiful story. Really beautiful story.
SPEAKER 03 :
Gary, the thing is that what’s happened to me is not that unusual. I mean, I’m nothing special. I’m special to God, just like every human being is special to God. Thinking about every man, every woman that’s out there saying, I’m involved with business. Can I do this? Do I have a relationship with God or not? And do I need one? No, I don’t need one. I’m going to do this on my own. Well, if you want to be successful, partnership with God. If you’re already a Christian, God has some requirements. One of them is that he’s not going to reward you for living as a pagan. in the christian world when you’re supposed to be his witness why would he do that you know and say well ken’s a believer and he’s you know he’s out there running around and doing all this other stuff and you know so it should be okay for me and god will just take us down a notch and He’ll deal with us. His objective is not to have you happy. His objective is to have you committed to Christ and more like Christ so that when we come to heaven, we’re there, we’re part of, we fit into the community. We’re not going to be perfect, but we’ve been forgiven. And we turn to him and we partner with him. He knows the beginning from the end, the truth from the non-truth. And we need that. And I can tell you there are many times I’ve said, okay, I got this now, God. And I’d go off and boom, got myself in trouble and said, forgive me, Lord, help me. What do I do now? And I would come back. And that’s gone on off and on in my career. But it’s always been back to God. It’s back to the Lord. You know, I think about David and the things that were in his life. I mean, he loved the Lord, but there was sin in his life. But it was back to God, back to God. And that’s what we need to do. And there’s no person out there listening to my voice and listening to you that can’t say, God, forgive me. I want to get back to you. I want you to be in charge of my life. I don’t want to be in charge of my life.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, Ken, you’ve made it clear that the role faith has played in all this and how God directed your life. I know you’re also a patriot. You know, we’re blessed to live in a country like this that was founded on the idea that liberty came from God. And it’s a country that You know, it’s provided more freedom and more opportunity for more people than any competitive system of government in the world. And I know that you shared the belief that Dr. Dobson did that if America is going to make it, it’s not America is not going to be great again unless it’s godly again. And it’s important for Christians not only to have faith in the workplace and in their families, but Christian citizens need to stand up. And I know you’ve done a lot of work over the years in trying to get godly people elected to office and to get folks to get off their butts and get into the public square and defend these important values. So could you share a little bit about how you feel about that?
SPEAKER 03 :
well to begin with i want to thank you for your letter i read it every day it is the one thing that i do regardless i may be two days behind i’ll read them i’ll read the last two days well thank you ken it’s it’s one of those things that i marinate in your in your writing i mean i literally don’t want it to be ended you know and it’s gotten longer and longer as you’ve gotten older but you’ve got because there’s so many things to talk about but you know the the thing that struck me was that clearly God is interested in business. He’s interested in every aspect of life. I mean, how could God create a universe and not be interested in some part of it? I mean, it just, it makes no sense. And yet the church, it’s not done what the ecclesia was called to do. The ecclesia, which is the word that Jesus used, at least what we’ve got in the Greek, it means the called out ones, people that are called out to do the work, getting out of the church, The church has kind of got itself into this, well, we’re going to isolate ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard so many times pastors say, you know, that the gates of hell will not prevail against our church because, you know, we’re inside and we’re locked in and we’re going to be okay. They got it wrong. He got it just exactly the opposite. He said, they don’t have the power to overrun us. You know, there’s a verse in Genesis chapter 24, verse 60, it says, and it’s about Rebecca. Rebecca, as you know, she’s a type of of the church because isaac who she marries is the type of christ so what is god saying to her he says to her says may you be blessed among women may you be the mother of many many women tens of thousands and tens of thousands and may your descendants possess the gates of your enemies and i thought what is that lord what are you saying that is the role of the church It’s taken me years to think about and try to understand what the role of the church really is. I don’t think the church fully understands us. Many do and many don’t. But the idea that we have to possess the gates of our enemies and we need to go after those. And what are those gates? Those gates are the enemy set up so they control us from going in or going out. The perfect example of taking a gate is Jesus came and died so that he could open the door that no man can shut. Nobody could open that door to God except Jesus. And so he took that and today he’s sitting at that gate, communicating using the authority that he’s been given to accomplish the objectives that he has in mind. And we need to be taking those gates. You do this, you’ve been focused on it for years. Today, I’ve never seen a more open opportunity for us to go out there and change things. And yet the church, for many parts of it, are sound asleep. They don’t really want to get out. They don’t think that God has anything to do with business or any of these other areas of life. That’s just not the case. I mean, he’s interested in all of it. And the thing is, he’s a partner. He’s a partner in God. And if we’re not going to partner with him, he’s not going to partner with us. It’s very simple. He said, why would I do that? I mean, I made you, I’ve created you, I’ve given you these gifts. What are you going to do with them? Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, Ronald Reagan used to say that if we aren’t one nation under God, we’ll just be one more nation gone under. And I think that’s true. Are you an optimist about the time we’re living in and our ability to turn the country around? There just seems to be so much turmoil. And I know people are worried that we’re headed to the edge of a cliff. But, you know, of course, as men and women of faith, we know how it all ends. But I sure would love America to be around when it’s all coming to God’s conclusion, you know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Likewise, likewise. You know, the Lord says that we are to occupy until he comes. What is he talking about? So we’re to occupy the gates. That’s what we’re to occupy. You know, this is the role of the church, and we need to understand what are those gates? What are our authority? The obvious and simple example is a school board. You know, the independent school boards. Those people, if we have Christians on those boards, you get good education. If you don’t have Christians on the board, you get bad education. And we have to occupy that role. And the sad part is people are saying, hey, let’s pack our bags. God’s coming. He says, no, no, no. Get out of your closet and get out there too. And change the nation. Occupy these places where we’re supposed to be. To the extent that the church does this, we’ve got a great future. To the extent that we don’t, God is saying, why would I save you if you’re not willing to save yourselves?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s a great summary, Ken. I mean, this used to frustrate Dr. Dobson so much. He would speak out about these issues. And of course, the secular left would attack him. But the most heartbreaking, and he and I talked about this a lot, is when he would get and I would get these letters from pastors saying, saying, why are you guys causing trouble? You know, don’t be talking about these controversial issues. And it just, it really was hard to take, you know. We thought we would be getting encouragement from church leaders, and they wanted us to shut up and sit down.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, yeah, exactly. What encourages me, Gary, is that there are pastors that are starting to wake up and saying we’ve got to do something you know if we don’t do something we’re going to lose it all you know but they don’t know what that is they don’t know what they’re called to do you know we’ve been so deeply involved with salvation that we’ve forgotten discipleship and discipleship is what creates descendants it’s what creates reformation you know disciples taking those gates That is reformation. If we don’t have reformation, we’ll have a—people are saying we’re in the middle of a revival. Well, that may be the case, but that revival will be short-lived because it doesn’t create descendants. Descendants are disciples. What is the church’s role? Because I didn’t list the church, and it bothered me for a long time trying to understand what it is. When I saw this verse, I got it. The role of the church is to train us in these responsibilities and these priorities to him. That’s its role.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, Ken, this has been a real treat for me to have this time with you. Your story of sacrifice and success and outlining how God directed you through so many decisions that ended up being key in your life. It’s really an inspirational story. I… I don’t believe retirement is one of the words in your vocabulary. If it is, I hope I can dissuade you from that because we still need your voice. And I just wanted to take this time as we’re wrapping up to thank you for all that you did in Dr. Dobson’s life. the generosity you showed to him and to this ministry. And it’s a great comfort to all of us at the James Dobson Family Institute that you still love this ministry and care for it and hope that it continues to be used by God in these important times we’re living in. So God bless you, my friend.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’d like to just leave with one point of thought, and that is that, you know, We’re called to do this. And we think oftentimes Christian thinks, well, once I’m Christian, my life’s gonna be easy and perfect. That is hardly the case. I mean, if Christ died on the cross for us, how more Christian can he be? And yet he paid an extraordinary price, but it said for the joy that was set before him. And I’ve had my problems, I’ve had my setbacks and they’ve been painful. And I haven’t had time to really talk about those, but I thank God for them because he taught me so many really important things. because he was ready to advance me to something bigger, but he can’t advance us until he’s dealt with the problems that we already have. So if we’re having problems, it says we’re on the right track.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s a great way to summarize your philosophy, and I think what is actually the truth, Ken. So we love you, love all that you’ve done, and look forward to continuing to partner with you in the years ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, Gary, I just want to say again, I thank you so much for All the leadership that you’ve provided and I love your posts. I love the material that you write. And, you know, and it’s I mean, I marvel at your ability to take the time to get it done because it’s critical. I think you’re training a lot of people out there. Me being one of them.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now that’s music to my ears, Ken. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Bless you and Carol. God bless you guys. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
When God becomes your business partner, rather than just someone you visit on Sunday mornings, every decision, every challenge, and every success takes on eternal significance. You’re listening to Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk and the conclusion of Gary Bauer’s conversation with author and entrepreneur, Ken Eldred. Over the past couple of days here on the Family Talk broadcast, Ken has shown us what it looks like to truly integrate faith into the workplace. Now, if you missed part one of this conversation, or if you’d like to share both parts one and two of Ken’s story with a friend, visit jdfi.net. Here at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, we’re committed to preserving the family and biblical principles while introducing people to Jesus Christ, defending the sanctity of human life, promoting religious freedom, and standing for righteousness in our culture. Through our daily broadcasts, extensive resources, and advocacy work, we are equipping families to live out their faith in every area of life. and your partnership enables us to continue sharing biblical truth with families who need encouragement and guidance. To partner with us financially, give a member of our constituent care team a call. That number is 877-732-6825. You can also make a secure donation when you visit JDFI.net. That’s JDFI for James Dobson Family Institute dot net. Well, I’m Roger Marsh. And from all of us here at Family Talk and the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, thanks so much for listening today. Be sure to join us again next time right here for another edition of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, the voice you trust for the family you love. This has been a presentation of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.
