A Book Review: The Fifty Years’ Ministry of an Ordinary But Remarkable Man: Called, Chosen, Faithful

Outlining and a Book Review

(Still searching for a way to show the outline format from Word in Word Press.  Meanwhile, if you want to see it in outline format, e-mail me: maggie@centerforneurodevelopment.com)

Outlining a biography provides practice of this important pre-writing, comprehension and study skill. Marilyn Alexander wrote of her husband, Jeffrey Alexander’s Fifty Years of Ministry with the purpose of informing his family, friends and others of how God has used this man for fifty years.

When teaching students to outline include an introduction to MS Word or other word processor’s outlining feature. For beginners using the chapter titles and other headings provide a great introduction. Later, you should require more detailed information. Also, at some point a student should experience using parallel structure in the outline. Marilyn Alexander provided examples of parallel structure in her headings as the same parts of speech appear in a pattern. Repeating words and phrases work in outlines.

The Fifty Years’ Ministry of an Ordinary but Remarkable Man:

Called, Chosen, Faithful

By Marilyn Alexander

I.Part One – Called

A.Chapter One – Called to Salvation Through “Call-ege” # 1 1943-1962

1. Born on October 25, 1943 in Denver, Colorado to Alex and       Verdonna Alexander.

2.Called to Salvation – at age 6 in an American Sunday School Union Sunday School held       at an elementary school in what is now Lakewood, Colorado.

3.Called to Conviction – His father showed conviction when comparing the teaching of        God’s word with what he heard at a denominational church. His father led the family to      South Sheridan Baptist Church (SSBC). Under the ministry of Ed Nelson, God called Jeff         to preach.

4. Called to “Call-ege” #1 – Ed Nelson encouraged Jeff to attend Bob Jones University in       Greenville, South Carolina. God provided the finances for the first semester through his       work at a supermarket and a warehouse man for the summer. Further, God supplied for       the second semester with a gift from a family that had saved a sum of money and had           given it to the Lord.

5.Called to Serve Servicemen – Jeff took every opportunity for ministry during his                  college days and beyond. On one occasion he went to the Christian Servicemen’s Center        in Augusta, Georgia. Here he preached his second sermon and God protected them from       a probable fatal collision with a train on their way back to campus.

6. Called to Preach – Jeff received his first license to preach on June 1, 1962 for a three          month summer ministry with Gospel Fellowship Mission.

B. Chapter Two – Called to “Call-ege” # 2 – 1962-1963

1. Encouraged to study at Baptist Bible College -Summer Ministry did not provide finances for another year at BJU. New leadership added to Jeff’s interest in BBC – New president – Jack Hyles and new vice president – Ed Nelson. This leadership lasted only one year.
2. Called to the Candy Kitchen – Jeff worked at night at Russel Stover Candies and attended classes at Baptist Bible College during the day. He lived at home.
3. Called to Artistry – Jeff began to use his artistic abilities at area churches doing chalk art and preaching.
4. Called to Sugar City – SSBC licensed Jeff for a summer ministry.

Chapter Three – Called to Sugar City – 1963 1.Called to a small town in southeastern Colorado – Jeff attended services in Crowley and preached in Sugar City on Sunday afternoons. People came from Crowley and Ordway.

1. Called to trust God for provisions – a place to stay, a refrigerator, food, help with the vehicle.
2. Chapter Four – Called to “Call-ege” # 3
3. Called to Pillsbury Baptist Bible College (PBBC) in Minnesota – encouraged to go by Ed Nelson and Dr. Monroe Parker (from PBBC) – small school, plenty of opportunities to serve the Lord.
4. Called and Using His Car – Jeff sold old car to pay for college expenses. His dad gave him the family car. Soon God was using that car to get Jeff and others to ministry assignments.
5. Called to More Preaching – Chicago and other cities in Illinois, other area churches.
6. Called to Do More Art Work – In his preaching opportunities as well as for school drama productions.
7. Called to Use Other Talents – parts in plays and humorous monologues.
8. Called to Date His Wife-to-Be –Marilyn and Jeff, merely aware of each other during their junior year, began to date during their senior year. Jeff’s credit count fell short so he had to take summer school and wait a year to graduate. After summer school, Jeff returned to Colorado, their future uncertain.
9. Chapter Five – Called to Pastor At Galeton, Colorado – 1965-1968
10. Galeton, Colorado, located 14 miles northeast of Greeley with barely a population of 100. This calling marks the beginning of Jeff’s 50 years of ministry.
11. Pastor Ed Nelson invited Jeff to his office where two deacons from Galeton Baptist Church waited. They wanted him to preach until they had a pastor. After a couple of months, they wanted him to be the pastor even though he intended to go to seminary eventually.
12. Called to Ordination – March 17, 1966
13. Called to Reunite – Graduation at PBBC
14. Marilyn, teaching music at PBBC, received advice – write to tell him that she looked forward to seeing him at graduation.
15. Jeff arrived in a brand new red mustang – that did it for Marilyn.
16. Marilyn visited Colorado and Jeff’s family in July, 1966.
17. While driving back to Denver having done some sightseeing Jeff said, “I want to marry you.”

She asked, “Are you asking me?

After a moment, evaluating whether this was the time and place, he said, “Yes, will you marry me?”

Marilyn said, “Yes!”

On the way back they planned the wedding.

50. His salary of $50.00 per week would not provide for a wife. He continued preaching on Sundays and Wednesdays, moved back to Denver to live with his grandmother and worked at a shoe store.
51. Called to Small Town – well treated by all, especially by servers at a café until he went with Marilyn. No more special treatment.
52. Called to Marry – June 10, 1967 – Plymouth Baptist Church, Plymouth, Minnesota.
53. Called to a Busy First Month of Marriage – after a short trip home / honeymoon, they had to get back so that Jeff could officiate at a wedding- 8 days after their own. Jeff’s parents celebrated 25 years of marriage 13 days after they Jeff and Marilyn were married.
54. Called to Enjoy Ministry –Music and Fellowship and Punctuality lessons.
55. Called to More Education –Marilyn taught piano and organ lessons at PBBC in Denver. Jeff took a class at BBC during that time.
56. Called to Even More Education – Symptoms of pregnancy in 1968 prompted the Alexanders to move to Minnesota for seminary before children started coming. Jeff sold his mustang and purchased a car that could haul a U Haul.
57. Called to Central Seminary and White Bear Lake, Minnesota – 1968-1976
58. Called to Secular Work – to provide for family – shoe salesman and fabric warehouse driver.
59. Called to White Bear Lake, Minnesota – Pastor of Bellaire Baptist Church
60. Called to Lead Others – Many people associated with Central Seminary and PBBC ministered in the church.
61. Called to Support Missions – Jeff and Marilyn participated in monthly meetings of Twin City Association of the Minnesota Baptist Convention and Jeff held positions. During this time he learned of “Faith Promise” and it ignited a desire to support missions that never died.
62. Called to Good Training – At Central Seminary, Jeff learned of expository preaching and going first to the Word and then later to commentaries.
63. Called to Be Tested Sometimes –God provided the Alexander’s needs, often “in the nick of time.”
64. Called to Grow – Church grew so they had to vacate the attached “parsonage.”
65. Called into Association with Others – Minnesota Baptist Association
66. Called Elsewhere- Bible Baptist Church, Terre Haute, IN
67. Called to Terre Haute, Indiana – 1976-1978
68. Called to Assist – Jeff wanted more experience learning from a more experienced Pastor. His job included Sunday School promotions and fundraising.
69. Called to Some Productive Fun – Fossil collecting –family fun and future rewards for Sunday School children.
70. Called to Loyalty – Pastoral staff resigned; Jeff was asked to consider to stay, but did not out of loyalty to the godly pastor.
71. Called to Evangelism and Lay Ministry – 1979-1990
72. Called to evangelism – January, 1990
73. Called to Trust God –When salary from Bible Baptist Church ceased, the Alexanders trusted God to provide through offerings. Marilyn wrote in a journal regarding those occasions when God supplied.
74. Called to Live in a “Hallway -”the 32 foot trailer that God provided for the growing family.
75. Called to Laugh with God at “What we don’t need is another kid.”
76. Called to Help –Helped Jeff’s mom after the death of her second husband and worked in the family construction company for several weeks.
77. Called to Remember the Good and Hard Times – Parking in a Pastor’s driveway between meetings caused some neighbor problems.
78. Called to Close Living – Children were growing up and needed some roots.
79. Called to Spacious Living – Jeff’s brothers were building a house for them in Lakewood, Colorado.
80. Called to Transition – Problems with the truck that hauled the trailer.
81. Called to Lay Ministry – Jeff and Marilyn led the senior citizens’ ministry at SSBC. Jeff became involved in the Colorado Association of Christian Schools.
82. Part Two / Chapter Nine– Chosen – 1979-1986
83. Turning Point – Jeff came to a turning point in his understanding of God’s Word.
84. Turning Point Topic covered in Jeff’s book: Predestined for Heaven? Yes!
85. Chosen as in Calvinism –
86. Total Depravity
87. Unconditional Election
88. Limited Atonement
89. Irresistible Grace
90. Perseverance of the Saints
91. Chosen in Spite of Self – “We love Him, because He first loved us.” I John 4:19
92. Chosen to Understand Through John 3:16 “God loved the world in this way (so)…”
93. Chosen, Like Puritans – Arthur Pink, John Owen, Joseph Carroll
94. Chosen to Bless Others with Understanding – First, Marilyn, then daughter Karen and many more.
95. Chosen to Restraint –Teaching Sunday School at his church – though anxious to tell others (as are most new Calvinists), he didn’t want to cause trouble.
96. Chosen Amid General Misunderstanding – Most modern Baptists are unaware of their theological heritage.
97. Chosen to Give Out the Gospel – Since we do not know who God has chosen, we must declare the Gospel to all, trusting God with the rest.
98. Chosen to Give Forth the Gospel –Jeff wrote a gospel track following this outline:
99. God created us for His glory. Isaiah 43: 6,7
100. We are required to live for His glory. I Corinthians 10:31
101. We have failed to live for His glory. Romans 3:23
102. We are subjects of God’s just condemnation. II Thessalonians 1:9
103. God gave His only Son to provide salvation from this condemnation. I Timothy 1:15, 1 Peter 3:18
104. The benefits purchased by the death of Jesus Christ belong to only to those who repent of their sin and trust Christ for their salvation. Acts 3:19

 

• Part Three – Faithful –It is God who is faithful.

1. Faithful in Lamar, Colorado: The First Few Years- 1990-1994
2. Faithful in Candidating – did not hide position, but that information did not get to all individuals on committee.
3. Faithful through the “Honeymoon.”
4. Faithful When Criticized
5. Faithful Though Maligned
6. Why did all the people leave?
7. Faithful by God’s Grace
8. Faithful with Humor
9. Faithful in Preaching and Writing – 1994-1999
10. Faithful: Preaching Style and Character
11. Faithful When Criticized and When Encouraged
12. Faithful in Studying Our Issues
13. Faithful in a New Position – Principal and Teacher at Lamar Christian School
14. Faithful Although Disfellowshipped –Eschatology
15. Faithful With the Faithful
16. Faithful as Attendance Declined – 2000-2003
17. Faithful in Debate with a National Figure – Robert L. Sumner – The Biblical Evangelist
18. Faithful in the Face of Criticism
19. Faithful in Subsidiary Ministries – cooking, men’s community Bible study
20. Faithful to His Philosophy of Ministry.
21. Faithful in New Pursuits – 2004-2009
22. Faithful with Additions to the Family – through foster care.
23. Faithful Despite Decline –moving to smaller building to save expenses.
24. Faithful in Working at a Church Plant – Garden City, Kansas.
25. Faithful in Missions – missionaries connected with Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals
26. Faithful to the Fifty Year Mark – 2010-2015
27. Faithful to the Garden City Church – had to discontinue, hopeful for future work.
28. Faithful in More Personal Wrestling – “I think sometimes God brings to the brink in order to show us ourselves and our need for Him. Being discouraged motivated my study of the Word.” P. 175
29. Faithful When God Encouraged
30. Faithful With the Faithful in Lamar
31. God Is Faithful!

 

While an outline can provide a great summary of a book, I encourage you to read if for yourselves. This book provides great encouragement for every called and chosen one (i.e. Christian) to be faithful during times of encouragement and discouragement. God is faithful

 

A Book Review: The Calcium Lie II – What Your Doctor Still Doesn’t Know

 

            In 2008, the authors published the first edition, The Calcium Lie – What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know Could Kill You. Then in 2013, they updated the information in The Calcium Lie II – What Your Doctor Still Doesn’t Know. In this review we will look at the revised edition.

            Dr. Robert Thompson, MD who maintains a medical practice in Alaska, at one time did not know what he lays out in this book. He, like most well-meaning health professionals, treated patients according to what he had learned in medical school for many years. Kathleen Barnes, a health journalist and author, lives in North Carolina. Dr. Thompson says that Kathleen helps him communicate in terms that his readers will understand.

This reviewer has administered numerous homeschool assessments over the years in which the General Information section of the tool she uses includes a question: “What mineral is most necessary to make bones hard?” Many have answered correctly, according to what they have learned and according to the assessment tool, “Calcium.”

Our authors would have us remember that the exam that determines whether a patient has osteoporosis or its precursor, osteopenia is the dexa MINERAL bone scan test. This name should help us remember that bones are made up of many minerals, one of which is calcium. By supplementing calcium alone, we actually harden more than our bones – calcification can occur in arteries, kidneys and other places in our bodies. Dr. Thompson reminds us throughout the book that “Calcium hardens concrete!”

Having gone into medicine with “altruistic” ideas, Dr. Thompson had become disenchanted with his profession, ready to quit. He reconsidered when in 1996 a peer-reviewed directory chose him as one of the “Best Doctors in America.” Encouraged, he decided to continue to make a difference.

Minerally Bankrupt (Chapter 1) – This foundational chapter states that bones consist of at least 12 minerals. “Excess calcium can cause:

• Kidney and gallstones
• Arterial plaque (and heart disease)
• Bone spurs (joints / osteoarthritis)
• Calcium deposits in tissues other than bones
• Brain cell dysfunction, brain shrinkage and dementia.” (p. 9)
• Cataracts
• Cancer
• Diabetis
• Hypothyroidism
• Hypertentension (p. 29)
• Obesity (p. 39)
• Migrains (p. 43)

 

“Too much calcium causes the adrenal glands to be suppressed in order for the kidneys to hold on to the necessary magnesium in an attempt to keep these two minerals in balance.” (p. 19)

 

Before the invention of refrigeration, our forefathers used sea or rock salt

to preserve food. Our natural balance of minerals left with this change. “Because a mineral ‘footprint’ is passed from mother to child, each generation has become progressively more deficient in these essential minerals.” (p. 12)

 

To add more injury to our systems, when the use of iodine in making bread and canned goods was exchanged with cheaper bromine, we began to see an increase in “thyroid disease and cancer, breast cysts, fibrous changes, cyclic tenderness and cancer, prostrate inflammation and cancer, and ovarian hormonal dysfunction, ovarian cysts, endometriosis and ovarian cancer.” (p. 13)

 

Table salt destroys health and the best mineral supplement is unrefined rock or sea salt. Dr. Thompson explains that the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HMTA) gives the best possible analysis of the mineral levels and guides the medical practitioner in properly supplementing. He recommends only Trace Minerals, Inc. for doing the test.

 

Throughout the book, Dr. Thompson gives mini lessons on biochemistry that all doctors study in medical school. Amazingly, most doctors have forgotten their biochemistry and continue to follow the “Calcium Lie,” “The Calcium Myth” (chapter 2), and “The Vitamin Lie” (chapter 7).

 

Our authors devote chapters to the following health conditions and how they relate to calcium:

• Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Calcium (chapter 3)
• Digestive Dilemmas: Poor Protein Digestion, Sodium Deficiency and Cell Membrane Dysfunction (chapter 4)
• Metabolic Failure How Excess Calcium Causes Weight Gain, Thyroid and Adrenal Malfunctions and Five Types of Hypothyroidism (chapter 5)
• Women’s Issues: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Menopause (chapter 6)

Stress plays a key role in our heath. Thompson and Barnes address this issue and its relationship to Calcium (chapter 8). They emphasize that “stress management must be a regular part of a healthy life style.” (p. 176)

In chapter 9, The Road Back to Health they give their readers the following steps:

1. Drink pure water.
2. Take ionic sea salt – derived supplements.
3. Whole food vitamins.
4. Essential Fatty Acids
5. Eat raw nuts and/or seeds daily.
6. Eat high quality protein.
7. Get essential monosaccharides. (p. 184-195)

The Calcium Lie II closes with chapter 10, “Doctor to Doctor: An Impassionate Plea.” He encourages his readers to copy this chapter and take to their doctors or better yet to purchase a copy of the book for their doctors.

Dr. Thompson and Kathleen Barnes present the facts behind their claims. Reading and following their guidance will improve our health.