Author: Cameron McAllister

The Practical Importance of the Spiritual Disciplines

Your body is central to your spiritual life. In fact, to say it’s the locus of your spiritual transformation is not an understatement. Lately, I’ve noticed an odd disconnect, though. A growing emphasis on healthy lifestyles is leading to a fitness revolution, especially among young people in North

3 Questions to Put Our Fear Into Perspective

Lately, I can’t stop thinking about Jesus asleep in the boat. The storm is surging; the vessel is filling with water; the disciples are scurrying. This is a historic scene, not some vivid illustration, but let’s pause for a moment to acknowledge its fittingness as a metaphor for

Default Paradise

W.H. Auden says, “All the judgments, aesthetic or moral, that we pass, however objective we try to make them, are in part a rationalization and in part a corrective discipline of our subjective wishes.” It is therefore incumbent on critics, maintains Auden, to spell out clearly their version

Learning to Leave the Growth to God

Speaking metaphorically, the apostle Paul describes our ministry efforts in terms of planting and watering seed (I Corinthians 3:6-9). In the recent past, we’ve focused a great deal of those efforts on the presentation of our planting and watering to the exclusion of depth. Cultural relevance was the

Pascal’s 3 Dimensions of Reality

A Cryptic Thought According to Peter Kreeft, God in his mercy struck Blaise Pascal down at a young age before he could turn his “pensees” into a dry academic tome. Instead, we have the brilliant sketches that fly off the pages like sparks. Once when I was a

Community and the Creative Spirit

Nietzsche With the Voice of an Angel   Ralph Waldo Emerson’s seminal essay, “Self Reliance,” remains the great paean to American individualism. As with all the man’s writings, it’s equal parts quotable and intoxicating, making the task of choosing a representative statement a formidable one. But choose we must

The Practical Root of Unbelief

Casual Atheism   Christian men and women ought to be highly skeptical of the word practical as it’s often used in everyday conversations. When we scrutinize its usage, we discover that it frequently serves as a kind of shorthand for one of the most basic but profound forms of

What Are We to Make of the Revival at Asbury?

  A Note of Hesitancy As of this writing, the events unfolding in the auditorium of Asbury’s chapel are getting more and more difficult to explain away. What began as a routine chapel service on Wednesday, February 8th has transformed into a perpetual worship service, drawing crowds from

New Reflections Podcast

Dr. Kenneth Boa and Reflections Vice President, Stuart McAllister, have launched a new podcast that explores the riches of the Christian life from the standpoint of two seasoned veterans of the faith. Taking their cues from T.S. Eliot’s poetic declaration that “old men ought to be explorers,” Dr.

How to Be a Hopeful Realist

Why We Think Hope is Unrealistic  Ironically, we often mistake hope for hopelessness. Look no further than the early stages of the pandemic in 2020. Driving through the spooky stillness of the first lockdown, I came across a marquee boldly declaring, “Hope is not canceled!” All of the