Graves and Addington, co-founders of the Cornerstone Group, authored The Fourth Frontier: Exploring the New Role of Work as a road map to help us navigate a landscape of fragmented lives, and to find a focus on our destination.

According to the authors, we try to separate our lives into compartments and not worry what one has to do with another. Subsequently, we live very unbalanced lives. They call work the fourth frontier, and insist that biblical truth calls for us to integrate it with the first three frontiers -- family, government and church.

"As we grow more prosperous from our work," they write, "we are growing more alienated from our friends, our families and our God." We use church as a place of retreat, a safe place to withdraw from the world. We want to break life into segments we think we can handle one at a time -- family, work, church, leisure, volunteerism, school, community.

"In addition to the worlds of family, government and church, God has created this fourth frontier," they say. And Jesus is the "whole-life solution to the problem of fragmentation ... the antidote to the fragmented life."

They lament that work is usually considered a negative thing, and they rebut that fallacy with the thesis of The Fourth Frontier: "God has ordained work. It was his idea." The volume cites sound biblical principles to support that thesis, pointing out that more than half of Jesus' parables incorporate a theology of work for his followers.

Graves and Addington dismiss the claim of some who say man didn't have to work until after Adam's fall. It's simple. They quote Genesis 2:15: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Because God's original plan called for man to work, the authors believe we'll work in heaven. Finally, they point out that the Word never refers to a time at which one should quit work -- i.e., retire.

To help us integrate work, faith and all of life, The Fourth Frontier offers several practical strategies. First, the authors suggest we check our attitude toward work. To help do that, they offer a series of questions including: Do you feel passionate about your work? Is your work significant for God's Kingdom?

They also spend some ink debunking four common myths about work: (1) Work is a four-letter word, (2) Work is enemy territory, (3) Work is our "salvation," and (4) Work is our last priority.

Addington and Graves believe that work, the marketplace, is currently the "greatest opportunity for kingdom influence the world has ever known." And, they say that as we discover this fourth frontier, we should find a rhythm of family, church, government and work.

They contend further that believers should reflect God on the job by -- among other things -- displaying purity, building strong relationships, focusing on the task at hand, showing mercy and compassion, providing servant leadership, demonstrating balance, offering forgiveness and setting correct priorities.

The meat of the volume uses six of its eleven chapters to explore fourth frontier "realities" that are key to having a full and balanced life: devotion, calling, integrity, stewardship, rest and influence. The concluding chapter returns to scriptural foundations, and the authors declare without apology, "New believers are the only people with a legitimate reason to say, 'I don't know the Bible very well.' " Know the Book and live the Book, they conclude. They are persuaded that people have never been more receptive to the influence of believers on behalf of God's kingdom.

The Cornerstone Group, founded in 1991, is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and specializes in change management and strategy to both non-profit and for-profit organizations around the world. Graves, with an earned doctorate from Dallas Theological Seminary, is known as a no-nonsense businessman and a solid theologian.

Addington, an expert in organizational analysis, strategic planning and communication strategies, holds his doctorate in communication from Penn State University. He spent several years as a professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the University of Arkansas.

Graves and Addington are also principals in The Life@Work Company, a non-profit group which publishes the bimonthly Life@Work Journal and other professional materials dedicated to helping men and women blend biblical wisdom with marketplace excellence.

However, the authors really enabled me to discover the value of work, the purpose behind it, and how to let God lead us through the journey of finding our place in the workforce.

Wonderful book, and I bought it as a gift as a present to my company president!

This is not the definitive work on the subject, but is worth reading if you're looking for adding some surface level knowledge on Buddhism.

Also, this book was the catalyst for a to take a side trip to Celebration, Florida after our last Disney vacation in Dec 2001. The book peaked our curiosity to see Walt's real/intended version for a prototype community of the future.

Witty, engaging, balanced, factually accurate, yet still with a point of view... a great book all around. Other reviewers who complain about the writing level, or some of the more obscure academic theorizing, are missing the point. For a truly academic piece of literature, it is written in incredibly accessible, engaging, and clear style. Highly recommended.

By the way, there is some mistake in the book.

Page 48, Figure 3.3: The 'pending read state' is not copied to 'actual read state' upon receiving a change cipher spec(message number 6) from the client. Fortunately, it is correct in page Page 50, Table 3.6, step 6.