Cleland Boyd McAfee

Cleland Boyd McAfee combined the work of an American Presbyterian minister, theologian, teacher, and hymn writer in a career joining congregational service with higher education. Born in 1866, McAfee graduated from Park College in Missouri and returned there as a professor, dean, and college pastor. He later led First Presbyterian Church in Chicago and Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn before teaching systematic theology at McCormick Theological Seminary. The Worth of a Man appeared through the Winona Publishing Company in 1903 and belongs to his substantial body of religious addresses and sermons. McAfee also wrote The Greatest English Classic, a study of the King James Bible and its influence, alongside works on preaching and Christian belief. His best-known hymn, Near to the Heart of God, arose from a family bereavement and has remained in Protestant hymnals. Across these roles, McAfee addressed theology for students, ministers, congregations, and general readers rather than separating scholarship from pastoral communication.