Columbia Theological Seminary Bulletin, 24, number 2, November 1930

BULLETIN
COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

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18794930

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY AT
DECATUR, GEORGIA

Volume XXIV November, 1930 No. 2

Entered as Second-class Matter May 9, 1928, at the Post Office
at Decatur, Georgia
Under the Act of August 24, 1912

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation

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Richard Thomas Gillespie

BORN OCTOBER 23, 1879
DIED MAY 30, 1930

PRESIDENT

COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

1925-1930

MEMORIAL SERVICES OF REV. RICHARD THOMAS
GILLESPIE, D.D., LL.D., NOVEMBER 2, 1930

Dr. J. Sprole Lyons, Presiding

Doxology

Prayer Dr. Robinson

Hymn No. 19 (Tune Azmon, No. 68)

Scripture Lesson (Psalm 90) Dr. D. P. McGeachy

Gloria

Addresses :

Dr. Gillespie The Administrator and Executive

Dr. E. L. Hill, Athens, Ga.

Dr. Gillespie The Pastor and Preacher

Dr. Melton Clark, Columbia Seminary

Dr. Gillespie The Student and Man

Dr. W. M. McPheeters, Columbia Seminary

Hymn No. 309 (Verses 1-2-3-4-8)

Resolutions :

Faculty Dr. Green

Students Mr. Cecil Thompson

Prayer Dr. Cartledge
Benediction Dr. Kerr

[3]

Dr. Gillespie, the Executive and Administrator

By Rev. E. L. Hill, D. D.,

Pastor of First Presbyterian Church,

Athens, Georgia

A belief in the predetermined purpose of God has shaped the
course and moulded the career of the world's strongest men and
women. Without such a doctrine man lives a purposeless life in
a causeless world. The doctrine is rational and imperative the
only escape from intellectual despair. It rectifies the scientific idea
of development. It eliminates Atheism from Evolution. It drives
chance from the universe. It makes Law a servant and not a
master. It gives personality to God, and breaks the paralyzing
spell of fatalism. When God needs a man to fill a place in His
plan, by that unchangeable law of supply and demand, commonly
called Providence, the man is forthcoming. God needed a man to
go as an apostle to the Gentiles, and when the clock struck the hour
for such a man, Saul of Tarsus steps forth a Jew by birth, a
Greek by education, a Roman citizen by inheritance. A man was
needed to lead in the solution of the problem of human rights in
England, and straightway Stephen Langton stepped forth with the
Magna Charta in his hand. A man was needed to vindicate the
freedom of human conscience, and the door of the monastery at
Wittenberg opened and Martin Luther stepped forth and began
to unbind the rosary and prepare to nail the thunderbolts of the
Reformation to the chapel door.

Some six years ago God needed a man to head this venerable
institution, which for a hundred years had nurtured and trained a
large number of the most useful and influential ministers of His
Kingdom; but at that time stood in one of those great crises common
to human life. Richard T. Gillespie was elected President of Co-
lumbia Seminary on November 24, 1924; stepped in his place on
January 1, 1925, and was officially inaugurated on May 3, 1927.
I see him now as he stood at the beginning of his Presidency a
young man with a strong, agile and alert body, and a quick and
steady step; with a clear, keen and logical mind; with a vision that
was brilliant with the richest hopes; and an enthusiasm that was
freely fed from the exuberance of youth. He had a mission that
was well defined, and strengthened by a loyalty to a sense of duty.
I see him as he set himself to the task which was before him, and

[5]

like a giant he set in motion the forces which were destined to reg-
ister a new era in the history of this Seminary, in the enlargement
of its Faculty, in the increase of its number of students and in
the realization of this magnificent plant here in Decatur. Again
I see him as he called me to the rear of this chapel, just after the
graduating exercises of this Seminary in 1930, and threw his head
on my shoulder and poured out the inner feelings of his heart to
me. His task was done and he had sacrificed all for the attainment
of his ideals and he stood like a wounded veteran. Little did I
think then that I would so soon receive the sad news that the pre-
determined purpose of his life had been accomplished and he had
been called to rest from his labors.

Dr. Gillespie, as the President of Columbia Seminary, attached
no excessive significance to mere numbers in his student body; but
often he expressed the earnest desire that his student body should
be men properly trained in college and with a sufficient foundation
upon which to build the theological education. His beautiful soul
was an inspiration to his student body; and his sympathetic heart
poured out its richness into the lives of the young men in this insti-
tution. In my last conversation with him his eyes were dimmed
with tears and his soul burdened with sorrow because he could not
secure employment for all of his students during the summer, and
he said pathetically: "If I just did not love these students and did
not care; but I do love them and I do care, and their problems are
my problems; and I am burdened with their disappointments." I
say without the slightest hesitation that of the distinguished men
who have preceded and those who may follow him as the head of
this institution no one has exceeded or will exceed the full measure
of his devotion, and loyalty, and zeal in behalf of his students.

Perhaps, as chairman of the Building Committee in the construc-
tion of the buildings on this campus, I had more intimate association
with him than any other member of the Board. He was the incar-
nation of action; and, though he thought through the problems
concerning the buildings, his decisions were quickly made. His in-
dustry was tireless, and hard problems could not frighten, deceive
nor cajole him. From his point of view there must be no useless
expenditure of money, but nothing must be put on the campus which
would cheapen and detract from the majesty and dignity of the
"School of the Prophets." His study of the plans familiarized him
with their every detail, and he kept these plans in his mind and on
his heart by day and by night. He could visualize these buildings
long before the first shovel of dirt was lifted from this sacred spot;
and nothing afforded him more pleasure than to paint to some in-

[6]

quiring visitor the picture of this campus as it looks today with these
stately buildings towering on this hillside. Were I asked to formu-
late an inscription suitable for a tablet to his memory on this cam-
pus, I think I should purloin the words in St. Paul's Cathedral
in London, which mark the tomb of the architect of that matchless
structure "If you seek his monument, look around you."

Some years ago it was my privilege to preach the Baccalaureate
Sermon for Columbia Seminary; and after the service in the First
Presbyterian Church of Columbia, I was wandering around in the
old cemetery connected with that church, and presently I stood front-
ing the grave of the Rev. Joseph R. Wilson, D. D., the father of
President Woodrow Wilson and one whose name and family tradi-
tions have always been closely linked with the life of this institution,
and I read the inscription on the grave, "A lover and servant of his
fellowman, a man of God." Summarized in these few words is a
profound and beautiful tribute to a great life; and I rejoice to be-
lieve that it would be no exaggeration, but a just and merited tribute,
to apply these words to the life and service of Richard T. Gillespie.

[7]

Dr. Gillespie, the Pastor and Preacher

By Melton Clark

The committee on memorial exercises has invited me to speak on
"Dr. Gillespie as Pastor and Preacher." It would naturally occur
to any one that this task could be better performed by one who had
had the privilege of sitting under Dr. Gillespie's ministry. Such a
one would be able to bear personal testimony to the character and
influence of Dr. Gillespie's preaching.

While it has not been my privilege to be a member of his congre-
gation, our relations through the years have been such that I am
able to speak with confidence in reference to many phases of his
life as a preacher and pastor. He succeeded me in the pastorate of
the Presbyterian Church in Florence, S. C. I had labored there
for eight years, and therefore I knew intimately the problems, the
difficulties and the opportunities presenting themselves to him when
he became pastor of that church. After nine years of service in
Florence, he accepted the call to the Maxwell St. Presbyterian
Church in Lexington, Ky. ; and after five years of service in that
field, he accepted the call to the First Presbyterian Church in Louis-
ville, Ky., where he served for about four years. In 1925 he came
to the Columbia Seminary presidency, and we were intimately asso-
ciated during the five years of his service here.

In order to secure first-hand information as to Dr. Gillespie as
a Pastor and Preacher I have secured the testimony of officers of the
three churches that he served.

Mr. J. P. McNeill, an elder in the Florence Church, writes me:

"As a pastor, Dr. Gillespie was one of the best in our Synod,
and I believe that this statement would be verified by all the
members of our church. His constant, personal attention to
the members of the church was manifest and highly appreciated.
I know that we all loved him. As a preacher, he prepared his
sermons thoroughly and delivered them in an attractive man-
ner, to the spiritual benefit of the congregation. It was heart-
rending to us when his pastoral relations were dissolved."

Mr. F. L. Wilcox, also of the Florence Church, writes of Dr.
Gillespie :

"As a pastor, Dr. Gillespie showed himself to be well equipped
by native disposition and ability to fill the position in a most

[8]

useful way. He was a man in the prime of his young man-
hood, handsome, full of energy, athletic, and yet having every
appearance of deep consecration to the work he had undertaken.
His influence with the young people was unexcelled. Largely
through his influence a young men's class was organized in the
Sunday School, with an enrollment of one hundred, every one of
whom was eager and alert to do any service which Dr. Gillespie
suggested. From the very beginning of his services in Florence
there was a gratifying increase in the membership of the church,
and hardly a Sunday passed during his entire stay that from
one to thirty-nine members were not received into the church on
profession of their faith. The result is disclosed in the fact
that when he resigned from the pastorate of this church, De-
cember 1, 1916, the total membership was more than 485.

"As a preacher, Dr. Gillespie was earnest and persuasive.
His unquestioned faith, his devotion to the cause, his unbounded
energy and his attractive personality made him a force for
good, not only in the community as a pastor but in the pulpit
as a preacher. The effect of his work in this field can be
seen and the results of his preaching here are manifest in the
large increase in the membership of the church and in the devo-
tion of people of all classes to him and to his church. He was
not only loved and admired by the members of his own church,
but his popularity extended throughout the entire community,
among all classes of people. It was with sincere regret that
this church was called upon to give him up for work in a larger
field. It was with the greatest pleasure that his friends here
witnessed the wonderful progress which he made, and the rec-
ognition of his ability which was shown in his eventual selection
for the presidency of Columbia Theological Seminary."

Mr. C. M. Marshall, of the Lexington, Ky., church, writes:

"Dr. Gillespie was my close personal friend, not only for the
five years he served as pastor of the Maxwell St. Presbyterian
Church of Lexington, Ky., but it continued in his pastorate at
Louisville, and at Columbia Theological Seminary. To me,
his most outstanding characteristic was his devotion to the high
calling of his Master. Nothing was allowed to turn him aside
from this one great purpose of his life. He was eminently
qualified for a business or professional life; but, having once
turned from such a calling, he was not one who would look
back.' The earnestness and sincerity with which he witnessed
for his Master, both in the pulpit and in his daily life, was the
cord which drew and held men to him. I know of no former

[9]

pastors who won and held such a wide circle of friends, both in
and out of the church, as he did in this community. I attribute
this to his open, frank and generous disposition.

"Perhaps another characteristic of him as a minister was the
plain, clear and unmistakable emphasis in his preaching on
'Christ and Him Crucified.' His sermons were scriptural, and
nothing led him away from declaring the 'whole counsel of
God.' Talented in many ways, possessing a bright mind and
being a forceful speaker, he represented in a large way the ideal
minister. Any estimate of his character would not be complete
without reference to his manliness. The business and profes-
sional men were at perfect freedom in his presence. His manly
ways, both in act and thought, commended him to his associates.
He was every whit a man in his loyalty and devotion to his
home, in his respect and consideration of others, and in his
usefulness and devotion to his God."

Mr. Thos. F. Gordon, of the First Church, Louisville, Ky.,
writes :

"As pastor of the First Church in Louisville, which he served
for about three and a half years, Dr. Gillespie did a splendid
piece of work in leading the congregation through the difficult
period of the erection of a new church and Sunday School
building. During that time his work was made difficult because
of the fact that services were held in a club house several blocks
away from the church location. He soon won the esteem of
the people of the congregation, and his gentle ministry in cases
of illness and distress made him greatly beloved. His strongest
work was that of organization, and in this field his ability was
certainly providentially sent, as our congregation had been much
disturbed by moving into a new section, and only the most
careful leadership could have kept the work in good condition.
This Dr. Gillespie provided.

"Dr. Gillespie's preaching was marked by an earnest zeal in
the presentation of the simple gospel of salvation by faith.
Always dignified and of a serious turn of mind, his messages
were spiritual and uplifting to those who came to the church
for worship and instruction. Under his direction the services of
our church were attractive by virtue of his own deep sense of
the presence of the Holy Spirit, which created always the at-
mosphere of reverence and the feeling of faith, hope and love.
Those of us who sat regularly under his ministry were brought
constantly to the foot of the Cross, and the influence of our
pastor's own consistent walk before us will not fade from our

[10]

minds and hearts as we continue to serve in the Kingdom of
our Lord. We are grateful that our Heavenly Father gave
to us for a little while this noble servant of His, to serve a
very special need in a very trying time in the history of the old
First Church. No one could have given himself more con-
scientiously, more unselfishly, nor with more devotion to his
task than did Dr. Gillespie to his work as pastor and presbyter
while with us. We look back to our association with him and
with his delightful and beloved family as one of our happiest
memories."

I think, perhaps, that these letters which have come from able
and godly men, who regularly sat under the ministry of Dr. Gillespie
throughout the years, would suffice. However, I will add just this
testimony. Having examined the outlines of the sermons which
Dr. Gillespie preached during his pastorate at Lexington, Ky., and
in the First Church in Louisville, I find that his themes were taken
from both the Old and the New Testaments. There are two types
of sermons which predominate: first, the doctrinal; and second, the
practical. The doctrinal sermons center around the life, the sacri-
fice and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. The truths which
seem to be emphasized in the practical sermons are loyalty to Christ's
Church, effective service by the Church, and individual activity in
soul-saving.

There never arose any sort of question in any mind as to the
theological soundness of Dr. Gillespie. He loved the Word of
God, and his mind found greatest satisfaction in the Calvinistic
system of theology. He preached his convictions, and his convictions
were heartily in accord with the system of theology set forth in the
Westminster Confession of Faith and found in the inspired Word
of God.

There is just one other phase of Dr. Gillespie's ministry which
I am constrained to mention, and that was his fidelity and activity
as a presbyter. He took with utmost seriousness his relation to
the courts of the Church the Session, the Presbytery, the Synod,
and the Assembly when he was elected as a representative to the
last named. It did not seem to occur to him that attendance on
the Church courts was a privilege to be used at his option. It was
a privilege that he enjoyed, but it was first and foremost a duty,
which he always gladly performed. He gave his earnest thought
to the problems confronting the Church, and in the Church courts
he became recognized as a leader whose judgment could be relied on,
and whose willingness to participate in labors however arduous
was unfailing.

[11]

A letter from Dr. Blakely, formerly a member of our faculty,
has well expressed that which I think is the feeling and attitude of
the whole faculty of the Seminary in reference to Dr. Gillespie.
Dr. Blakely says:

"Dr Gillespie was one of the finest and truest friends whom
I have ever known. His loyalty to those who served and
worked with him was beautiful. He had the wonderful gift,
as his Master had, of seeing men better than they were and,
because he saw them better than they were, they in his fellow-
ship actually became better. In the depths of his great soul
Dr. Gillespie was a lover of his fellowman.

"He led Columbia Seminary through trying days. He had
caught a great vision of what theological education should be.
He was not able to realize all of his dreams for the ministry
of our Church, but the future education of our ministry will
most certainly lie in the direction of his vision. Truly his life
was a grain of corn, which has fallen into the earth to die,
but will live again, bringing forth much fruit. Praise God for
such a life!"

Dr. R. Alexander Bate, of Louisville, Ky., has expressed himself
and his relations to Dr. Gillespie in the following beautiful lines:

"A pastor, patterned like the Master, meek
Yet bold in every act of loving sacrifice,
His own requital for redeeming price
Of those who, strayed and wandering, fast grew weak;

"A shepherd, whose ideals shall ever speak
Through golden gifts of talents which suffice
To bring back those, a prey to wanton vice,
Who lose the way His love would have them seek;

"He fought armed in the armor of his Lord,
He sought to bring repentance to each soul
And rescue reprobate from certain doom.

"His life was even tone of sweet accord

With pitch of Heaven's tune, and reached the goal
Of Him who died, but left a vacant tomb."

Dr. Thomas Goulding, the first Professor of Columbia Theologi-
cal Seminary, had a rule for his own guidance in preaching:

"Let every sermon preached contain so much of the plan of Sal-
vation that, should a heathen come in who never had heard the
Gospel before and who would depart, never to hear it again, he
should learn enough to know what he must do to be saved."

This, I think, Dr. Gillespie endeavored to do in his preaching,
and as a pastor, like Paul, he "ceased not to admonish everyone
night and day with tears."

[12]

Dr. Gillespie, the Student and Man

By W. M. McPheeters

Our American "naturalist of souls," Gamaliel Bradford, has said:
"There are people who pretend to read souls from faces. Alas, it
sometimes seems as if the more they pretended, the less they knew.

"There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face," says
the great master, who perhaps found as much as any one. The cast
of the features, the set of eyes and nose and mouth and chin, tell
us something, but how vaguely, and how differently, according to
the different observer."

What Mr. Bradford says is no doubt true; still like Samuel,
when we look upon the splendid physical proportions of some Eliab,
we are only too apt to say, "Surely Jehovah's anointed is before
him"; and when we see Zacchaeus, because he is small of stature,
we are only too apt to measure the inner by the outer man. In
other words, our first impressions of one, rightly or wrongly, are
apt to be based upon his physical presence and appearance. But,
just as the testimony of an equivocating witness has to be corroborated
before it can be safely accepted, so our first impressions have fre-
quently not only to be modified, but to be wholly set aside in favor
of others, resting upon the more solid basis of subsequent revelations
of character in speech and action.

The impressions made by the outer man in the case of Richard
Thomas Gillespie were altogether in his favor. He was above the
average height, stood erect and firmly upon his feet, was well-pro-
portioned, carried himself with easy, unconscious dignity. He had a
finely formed head, eyes that were set sufficiently apart, a forehead
that suggested a vigorous mentality, a nose that is usually associated
with strength and aggressiveness, a chin and mouth that bespoke
firmness and steadfastness of purpose. His voice fell distinctly and
pleasantly upon the ear. His whole appearance commanded respect
and invited confidence. His step was firm and usually somewhat
rapid. I can see him now as he walked the paths of the Seminary
campus his quick, scrutinizing eye taking in every feature of the
little landscape which he was so concerned to render attractive.
All together he was a man of exceptionally fine and attractive
presence.

My personal contact with Dr. Gillespie was limited to two
periods in his life, namely while he was a student at Columbia

[13]

Seminary and subsequently when he became president of the Semi-
nary. I saw something of him before he came as a student in the
Seminary, and also was in more or less touch with him during the
period between his leaving the Seminary and his returning to it as
president. But, during the time of his presidency, it was my valued
privilege to have somewhat exceptional intimacy with him.

In his case, the outer man did not belie the characteristics of the
inner man. He had not a brilliant and versatile mind, but what,
for the purpose of the work-a-day world in which we live, is perhaps
better, namely an alert, vigorous, well-balanced mind.

His speech did not sparkle with wit, nor was it salted and sea-
soned with humor: it was, however, simple, unaffected, direct. His
words were well chosen, his sentences clearcut, and both alike were
suited to convey the ideas that he was seeking to express. He was
never verbose or prolix, and if occasion demanded it, his speech
could be both short and sharp.

His manner was usually grave, always unassuming, and courteous.
And, while never gushing or effusive, he could be very cordial and
gracious. Even when the occasion that called forth his speech was
charged with tenseness, such was his self-control that he could
speak with a perfectly level voice, and found no need either of
loudness or harshness to secure the impression that he desired to
make.

His activities were not determined by impulse, but by his enlight-
ened judgment. He was in the habit of thinking before he acted.
In the habit of getting the situation clearly before his mind, and
deliberately shaping his conduct toward some well-defined goal that
he had set before him. In one of his addresses to the student body,
while president, he urged the young men at an early period in their
career to select some definite goal and train themselves with that
goal distinctly in view. He illustrated his precept from the case
of two of his classmates and himself. It seems that, while they were
yet students, they talked with each other as to their main objectives
in their future ministry. One said that he wished to become an
effective preacher. What the other purposed making his main ob-
jective I have been unable to recall. But he himself said that he
purposed fitting himself to take, an active part in the development of
Columbia Seminary. This attitude was characteristic of the man.
He planned his activities prior to entering upon them.

He was characterized by a high degree of self-control and a
capacity for healthy self-criticism. He did not permit his ambition
to outrun his judgment, or to hasten him unduly toward the attain-

[14]

ment of his goal. He had not been a great many years out of the
Seminary when the faculty approached him with a proposal that
they be permitted to suggest his name to the board for some position
in the institution. To this proposal he listened with appreciation;
but said very frankly that he did not feel himself prepared to enter
upon such a responsible task, and that hence he would have to de-
cline to permit his name to be put before the board. For a number
of years after this, he continued to discharge successfully the duties
of a pastor and a presbyter. When subsequently, in the year 1924,
he was called by the board to the presidency of the institution, prior
to making any response to the overture, he came to Columbia Semi-
nary and talked over the whole situation very fully with the faculty,
stated to them his conception of the needs of the Seminary and of
the duties of the president, and talked over with them the situation
that was at that time actually confronting the Seminary; namely, the
question of its removal. While deeply interested in the Seminary,
and while, as has already been stated, having from his student days
looked forward to a time when he could serve it effectively, he still
refused not merely to accept, but even to consider the call until the
question of the location of the Seminary had been settled. With
his usual insight and good judgment, he said that for him to take an
active part in any movement, either to retain the Seminary in its then
location, or to transfer it to a new location, would from the neces-
sities of the case prove a handicap to his efficiency as president; that
the question of location was one that ought to be decided by the
controlling Synods and in regard to which he could not and would
not express any opinion whatever. Much as the faculty and the
board regretted his decision, they saw the wisdom of it, and also saw
in it an indication that they had not made a mistake in calling Dr.
Gillespie to be the head of the Seminary.

I mention these incidents as illustrating his fine self-control and
his capacity for self-criticism. It would have been very easy for him,
in the first instance, to have accepted the judgment of his older
brethren as to his qualifications for a place in the faculty. Naturally
their judgment flattered his proper pride. But he did not permit
either his ultimate purpose or the flattering opinion of others to
hide from his own eyes the fact that he was not at that time ready
to enter upon what he hoped would be his life's main work. And,
with a self-control that is quite exceptional under such circumstances,
he kept himself in training for a number of years longer. When
he did come to the Seminary, he had tested out his abilities as an
organizer and an administrator in three pastorates, and had tested
them perhaps more severely in leading to a successful consummation

[15]

a campaign for securing funds for the educational institutions of
the Synod of Kentucky. When he put his hand to that campaign,
it seemed to be a hopeless enterprise.

And this leads me to dwell upon another characteristic of the
man. He had what I may call an earned self-confidence a charac-
teristic, I may say in passing, at the farthest remove from self-con-
ceit, which latter is usually an evidence of self-ignorance. By an
earned self-confidence I mean a self-confidence gradually established
as the result of experience with himself in various connections. He
was in the habit of watching and criticising both the methods of
his work and its results. In consequence of this habit, he came to
be aware that he could trust himself to do, and do well, certain
things. It gave him the measure of his abilities and confidence in
them. Accordingly, he neither "rushed in where angels fear to
tread," nor was he easily daunted by difficulties. Having formed a
just estimate of the difficulties to be encountered in a given undertak-
ing and also satisfied himself that with proper tact, enthusiasm, and
energy they were not insurmountable, he did not hesitate to face
them.

Having put his hand to a task, he was unsparing of himself in
the energy with which he prosecuted it. Indeed, there is reason to
fear that the campaign to secure funds for the educational institu-
tions of Kentucky, that he headed and guided, made a drain upon his
physical resources that opened the way for the inroads of the trouble
that was finally to prove fatal. However that may be, having en-
tered upon a task, he was, as I have said, prepared to stake every-
thing that he had in the way of mental, moral, and physical re-
sources and energy to bring it to a successful conclusion. I do not
mean that he was foolishly wasteful of his energies. He sought to
conserve them, but he conserved them merely that he might use
them more effectively and for a longer period. He did not think
that a man's main end in life was just to keep living. He felt that
there were ends that in and of themselves were sufficiently important
and worthwhile to justify a man even in sacrificing his life to attain
them. He counted the cost before beginning to build and was pre-
pared to pay it to the last farthing in order that he might complete
what he had begun.

Not only was Dr. Gillespie characterized by definiteness of pur-
pose, but he was also armed with what every true leader finds to be
indispensable; namely, an indomitable patience and tenacity of pur-
pose. If he could not attain his goal today, he could wait and expect
to attain it tomorrow; and if not tomorrow, he could still keep his
goal steadily before him and wait again, removing now this obstacle

[16]

out of his path, and then that. He knew that the accomplishment
of any end of real magnitude and real worth was not to be effected
without overcoming difficulties, and that difficulties were not to be
overcome without enduring patience and resourcefulness.

Further, he was a man of vision. He saw the immense possibili-
ties in every way of that great tier of states that Columbia Seminary
was founded to serve. He saw that in the opening years of the
twentieth century they stood merely at the threshold of a material
development that promises to be of unprecedented magnitude. He
saw the possibilities of an institution like Columbia Seminary for
moulding and shaping both the present and the eternal destinies of
the great population, which, in the not distant future, will fill this
magnificent territory and develop its amazing material resources.
He saw the strategic advantage of an institution located at a center
of life like Atlanta, and so, capable of reaching out, both east and
west and south and north, until it came in contact with territory
in which other institutions had already found their natural spheres
of service. He felt that it was worth while patiently to expend
his best life energies in building up an institution that would be a
mighty and a lasting influence in shaping the future of the people
of this great empire. He planned for an institution that would be
worthy of such a vast constituency and would be fitted to meet the
needs of such a constituency. His vision was not limited merely
to training men for the ministry; but it was in his mind to establish
for this section of the country, when in the providence of God the
time was ripe for it, a training school for what, for lack of a better
name, I shall call, lay-workers ; and also to link up the activities of
the Seminary, not only with the home field in all of its departments,
from the Sunday School to the pulpit, from the city to the village
and country church, but also with the work in the foreign mission
field, by establishing here a home for missionaries, who by their pres-
ence and personal contact with the students would keep alive in
the hearts of the latter a sense of the duty and privilege of going
out to the uttermost parts of the earth with the gospel of Christ.
He thought that it was worth while, if necessary, for a man to lay
down his life to lay the foundations of such an institution and start
it upon its career, and he was right.

Dr. Gillespie was not only capable of a great and noble vision
of service, but he also saw the relation that exists between the at-
tainment of such a vision and many humbler and unspectacular
forms of service. He never forgot that he was human himself
and that the very heart and core of the great enterprise to which
he had devoted himself consisted largely in developing generous,

[17]

human sympathies and worthy ideals in the lives of the young men
who were to be the agents under God in accomplishing the end for
which the Seminary itself exists. And he wisely sought to cultivate
in the students those kindly, human sentiments and sturdy, manly
qualities, which, when sanctified by the spirit of God to the service
of Christ and man, make the real preacher and the real evangelist.
He wisely recognized the fact that one way in which to cultivate
these qualities in the students was by exhibiting them in his own
intercourse with them. Had he been their father in the flesh, he
could not have felt or shown a more genuine, kindly, human, per-
sonal interest in every individual student than he did. He sought
in every way to provide for their comfort for the natural and
wholesome expression of their youthful physical vitality. He could
not only enter into their zest for wholesome recreation, but bear
with their youthful limitations. If any of them were heady, he
was patient with their headiness. He sought to impress them with
the fact that no form of service is beneath the dignity of a man;
that instead of being beneath their dignity to provide for their own
needs, as far as their circumstances permitted them to do so, it
added to the measure of their true manhood to render any service
that it was in their power to render, and through rendering which
they would be able to cultivate and maintain a proper spirit of in-
dependence.

This leads me to notice another conspicuous characteristic of Dr.
Gillespie as a man, and that was his own sturdy spirit of inde-
pendence and self-dependence. From the time he was a lad of
fourteen years of age, as I understand, under God, he depended
upon his own personal labors to provide for his personal needs. He
earned by actual work the money with which to put himself through
college. When I approached him with reference to coming to
Columbia Seminary, he told me frankly that he was unwilling to
come unless he could be provided with some means by which he
could meet his own expenses. And it was on those terms that he
did come and by actual work paid his way through the Seminary,
as he had paid it through college. While this is true, he was as
far removed as one could be from any spirit of self-appreciation or
swaggering independence. No student who has been at the Semi-
nary within my memory has demeaned himself with more of the
unpretentious, unself asserting character of a Christian gentleman
than Richard Thomas Gillespie. So far as his outward actions went,
nobody would ever have known that he was paying his own way.

He not only paid his own way while he was at the Seminary,
but, even while still himself only a student, he felt it his duty and

[18]

privilege to do what he could actively to promote its interests. In
this connection, he showed his insight into certain matters, the im-
portance of which it is only too easy to overlook. One way in which
he did this was by raising the money with which to furnish a guest
room at Columbia Seminary, and by so furnishing it as to make it
not only comfortable but attractive. Any of the alumni or of the
ministers of the synod who were passing through Columbia found
it an inviting and cheerful prophet's chamber into which to turn
aside and rest awhile. It was he also who suggested and equipped
a room specially fitted for the use of the Society of Missionary In-
quiry, providing suitable cabinets and table and chairs. I mention
these facts as showing a side of the man that fitted him for the
work to which God finally called him. In connection with the new
plant, he did not seek for display, nor indulge in extravagance,
but he properly appreciated the importance of comfort and of a
due regard for appearances. And so, in regard to everything that
affected the comfort and welfare of the students, Dr. Gillespie
was careful to see that in these respects they lacked for nothing that
he could provide. He thought money spent in providing good food,
well served, wisely spent. He thought money spent in keeping the
grounds attractive and the buildings and walks clean and presentable
was money spent for really educational purposes, that is, for the
purpose of cultivating ideas and habits of orderliness and tidiness
in the lives of men, who from their position were to be ensamples
to the flock.

While he did not coddle the students, feeling that there is no
greater disservice that you can render a young man than to coddle
him, he did take a sympathetic interest in all of their financial and
other difficulties, and was ready, as far as his judgment permitted,
to assist them to meet their legitimate needs. He secured a fund
to help meet the expenses of any student who had to go to the hos-
pital, and in many other ways he was at pains to show his interest
in the students as men as human beings with bodies that had to
be cared for.

Conspicuous among Dr. Gillespie's characteristics was his loyalty.
When I approached him in regard to coming to the Seminary, the
interests of the institution were about at their lowest ebb. The
total student body numbered only sixteen the Junior Class which
he entered numbered only six. The same year there was at Union
Seminary, Virginia, an enrollment of seventy, and a Junior Class
of twenty-five. The buildings in which the Seminary was then
housed, while not without their beauty and their attractiveness, were
old. The rooms of the students were heated with grates. They

[19]

had to carry in their own coal, make their own fires, take out the
ashes and cinders. They had to get their water from a spout and
take it to their rooms. The refectory was a dilapidated wooden
structure, the floor of which was none too solid. The chapel had
been built for a stable. The grounds were limited to four acres.
On the other hand, Union Seminary at that time was housed in
new and modern buildings. It had an attractive chapel, library and
refectory, and spacious grounds. Dr. Gillespie was a student at
Davidson College at the time and his friends and classmates there,
some of them from South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida,
were all going to Union Seminary.

In talking with him, I called his attention to the fact that the
Seminary had been founded by his spiritual forebears; that it had
ministered to the spiritual welfare of his forebears; that it was
erected to meet the spiritual needs of those of his own people who
were to come after him; that it had been built up by the self-denying
labors and prayers of godly men and women men and women of
vision, who had their eye, not merely upon the present, but upon
the future, and who were seeking to serve, not a limited locality,
but an entire section of our common country. I also made it plain
to him that if he turned away from the Seminary, his influence would
inevitably be to lead others to do the same, and that that meant
that, instead of helping to build up what his spiritual forebears had
started at such great cost, he would be tearing down their work and
rendering it nugatory to the extent of his personal example and
ability.

Such was the argument that I used to induce young Gillespie to
enter Columbia Seminary. What other could I use? I could not
deny facts. Union Seminary did have at that time a larger faculty,
a larger student body, a larger and better plant, and was located
in the outskirts of a larger and more rapidly growing city than the
Seminary of his own Synod. It had everything to attract an intelli-
gent young man with worthy ambition. Of course, if one were to
be controlled merely by such considerations as those that I have
mentioned, instead of going to Union Seminary, he would have
gone to Princeton, which had a yet larger faculty, a yet larger stu-
dent body, and a yet more impressive plant. Further, Princeton
was located within easy reach of two great intellectual and cultural
centers, New York and Philadelphia, and right beside it was a
great university.

I thought then, and I still think, that the argument that I pre-
sented to young Gillespie was a solid and unanswerable argument.
No people will ever have or can ever have great institutions,

[20]

unless they themselves make them great. If they turn their sons
and daughters away from them, while such institutions are yet in
the making, or while they are recovering from the shock of some
great disaster such as war, or a heated religious controversy, they
can never hope to have great institutions. I am not sure that they
deserve to have them. The apostle says: "If any provide not for
his own, specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the
faith, and is worse than an infidel.' ,

I know that there are those who say that when a young man
is preparing for the ministry his first duty is to himself and he must
go where he can get the best advantages. The statement is plausible
enough on its face. And, if it only meant that he ought not to at-
tend an institution where the instruction is inadequate, or incom-
petent, where the educational ideals are low, and the work done
by the professors slovenly and not up to a high intellectual and edu-
cational standard, it would be true. But it is too often forgotten
that while there are unquestionably subtle and powerful educational
influences in one's external surroundings, and in the general atmos-
phere of an institution, all of the essentials may be present in an
institution that is relatively small and lacking in some, it may be,
quite valuable incidental advantages. So far is it from necessarily
being to the advantage of a young man to go to an institution where
there is a large and brilliant faculty if, indeed, there are any such
faculties where there are great numbers of students, and where he
will come in contact with currents of thought and life that unques-
tionably exercise a stimulating influence, it is only the especially well-
equipped man the man who has solid foundations, well-laid, who
can really get the full benefit that such an institution has to offer;
whereas, the man who is intellectually still in the making is apt to be
more wholesomely and effectively developed in a smaller institution
than in the larger one. In this matter, I am happy to have my
judgment confirmed by that of two such notable educators in the
theological field as Drs. B. B. Warfield and Francis L. Patton.
Both of these distinguished men taught first in a small institution
and then in a larger one. Both of them have said to me they
believed they did their best work and that the students did the best
work in the smaller institution. Of course, they were referring to
their classroom work. Further, it may not be improper in this
connection to state that students from Columbia Seminary, a number
of whom, after graduating at Columbia, have gone to Princeton at
my instance, or at that of other members of the faculty, have
reported, so far as I know without exception, that they think that
it was their good fortune to have had their undergraduate work at

[21]

Columbia, rather than at Princeton. In saying this, they were in
no sense of the word depreciating either the student body at Princeton
or the work done in the classrooms there. They were simply recog-
nizing the fact that there are real advantages for students in smaller
classes, as over against students in classes so large that they are
seldom called upon to recite and can have but little personal contact
with their teachers.

So far as I know, young Gillespie never regretted his choice of
a seminary and his subsequent career showed that he had gotten an
education at Columbia that put him upon a footing of equality in
the actual work of the ministry and of the church at large with
those who had gotten their education elsewhere.

By his loyalty to his own people and to the institution that they
had founded and fostered and that, in the day of its sorest need
Richard T. Gillespie placed himself in this respect in the same class
with men like Robt. E. Lee and Robt. L. Dabney.

After the War Between the States, Gen. Lee had numerous offers
made to him of positions that would have given him personal promi-
nence and would have provided him not only with a comfortable
living, but with many of the most coveted luxuries of life not
material luxuries merely, but luxuries of a higher kind, such as
come with the opportunity for satisfying one's higher tastes and
social instincts. All of these he put aside in order that he might
become the president of a war-wrecked educational institution at
the pitiful salary of $1,500.00 a year. This he did as an expression
of his love for and loyalty to his own people. He had shared their
good things in the day of their prosperity he was not the man
to turn his back upon them in the day of their adversity. He might
have said, as many did say, that a man's first duty is to himself 1
and to his family. Certainly, he did not neglect his family in pro-
viding them not only with the necessities of life, but with a noble
example, the worth of which cannot be estimated in dollars and
cents, or in material advantages and luxuries of any kind. Having
shown himself ready to die for his country, he showed himself ready
to do what is perhaps harder still, to live for his country and to live
in it and with it through the bitterest and darkest period of its
history. In doing so, he rendered not only his native state, not only
the South, but the nation and the world a service, the memory of
which will not be permitted to perish as long as there are men who
can feel and respond to the inspiration of a splendid example.

Dr. Robert L. Dabney, after he left the University of Virginia,
was urged by affectionate but unwise friends to turn his back upon
Union Seminary, which at that time was a feeble and struggling

[22]

institution with limited faculty and still more limited equipment,
and go to Princeton Seminary, which even then had a faculty than
which it has never had as a whole a more distinguished one. But,
Dr. Dabney was wiser than his well-meaning friends, and said to
them in effect: "If I do not go to Union Seminary, how can I
expect others to go there, and if the candidates for the ministry in
Virginia and North Carolina turn their backs upon Union Seminary
and their faces to Princeton, we can never hope to have an institution
that will meet the needs of our people." And he, along with Bocock
and other distinguished men, few in number, but great in gifts,
went to Union Seminary in spite of certain incidental disadvantages,
with the result that the Union Seminary of that day has been trans-
formed into the Union Seminary that is now flourishing at Rich-
mond, Va. These men, like Gen. Lee, have left an example that is
of priceless value to any people. They have not only reflected glory
upon Union Seminary by their gifts and graces and achievements,
but, it seems to me, in some respects a greater glory by the nobility
of their devotion to their own people and their own institutions at
a time when the latter needed their support. The price of loyalty,
like that of wisdom, is beyond rubies. The fine gold cannot be
compared with it. God pity the people whose sons and daughters
are destitute of it, and to whose heart it is a stranger.

Richard T. Gillespie, I say it to his lasting honor, showed the
same inspiring spirit of devotion to his own people and to their
institutions as did the great men whose names I have mentioned.
And, he will not be without his reward. As long as the name of
Columbia Seminary is known, his name will be linked with it. He
will be recognized as having started it upon a new career and the
longer and more fruitful that career is, the greater will be the
distinction that will come to his name and the honor that men will
accord him. His service was a service that could not be paid for in
money. It was the devotion of a heart to a great and worthy cause.
When, toward the close of his career, he mistakenly thought that
the Board in providing a period of rest for him were simply seeking
in a kind and courteous way to relieve him of the onerous duties of
the presidency, because they felt that his physical frame had given
way under the weight and pressure of them, he was like a man who
has been stricken by a deadly dart. He said to me in private con-
servation that if he were no longer physically fit for the duties of the
presidency, he wanted the Board to retain him in some relation in
connection with the institution that his life was centered in it and
that he was prepared, if need be, to die in its service. It was no
idle boast. Such devotion deserves to be remembered. I hope to

[23]

see the day when it will be recorded upon some memorial tablet,
that will arrest the attention of every student that enters the Semi-
nary, of every stranger that visits it, not merely that it may per-
petuate the memory of a man worthy to be honored, but that it
may be an inspiration to a like loyalty on the part of every student
that goes out from this institution, wherever he may go loyalty
not merely to this institution itself, but also loyalty to their people,
their church, and above all to their Saviour. God has set this Semi-
nary in a great section of our common country, a section with
many noble traditions and whose history is adorned with many
names illustrious in science, literature, statesmanship, war, law, medi-
cine and theology; a section with an amazing future before it. Let
us by God's help make Columbia Seminary a source of blessing to
it an institution to which our choicest young men will throng,
where they can be fully equipped intellectually to grapple with the
grave problems with which the Church of God is even now con-
fronted, and where their own hearts may be thoroughly leavened
with the gospel of Christ, as set forth in the writings of the evan-
gelists and apostles, so that they will go forth to proclaim that gospel
that is the only "glad tidings" for sinful men and women, and that
alone can save our people from the fatal dangers of that material
prosperity with which God seems certain to trust them and to test
them.

[24]

Resolutions

Whereas God, in His wisdom, has permitted the removal of
Rev. R. T. Gillespie, D. D., from his place amongst us by an un-
timely death; and

Whereas the home has been bereft of a worthy son, affectionate
to his mother, and an exemplary husband and father who ruled his
house well in the Lord; and

Whereas the Seminary has been deprived of a president who
believed in its future, who loved it for its past, and who was intel-
ligently and loyally devoted to its interests in the present; and

Whereas the Church has lost a stalwart son and single-hearted
servant, who held not his life as dear unto himself in comparison of
accomplishing the ministry which he received from the Lord Jesus
to testify the gospel of the grace of God; and

Whereas mankind have lost a friend, whose heart had compas-
sion on them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd; and

Whereas all good causes have suffered the loss of a liberal-minded
supporter of proved ability and efficiency;

Therefore, Be It Resolved:

First. That we, the members of the faculty of Columbia Semi-
nary, humbly accept this discipline of Divine Providence.

Second. That we express our deep sorrow and sense of personal
loss, and extend to the bereaved family our Christian sympathy and
pledge to them our friendship in Christ.

Third. That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of
the faculty, and that copies be sent to the stricken family and to the
religious and secular papers.

FACULTY COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

J. B. Green,
Chairman of Committee on Resolutions.

[25]

Rev. R. T. Gillespie, D. D.

Whereas God in His wisdom has seen fit to remove Dr. Richard
T. Gillespie from his labors; and

Whereas the Presbyterian Church in the United States has lost
an outstanding son, a faithful minister of the Gospel, and an educa-
tor of ability; and

Whereas Columbia Theological Seminary has lost an able execu-
tive through whose courage and faith the institution has entered
into greater opportunity and usefulness; and

Whereas each member of the Seminary student body is keenly
aware of a personal loss with the passing of a sympathetic friend
and adviser; and

Whereas a Christian home has suffered the loss of a beloved
husband and father;

Be It Therefore Resolved:

First. That we, the members of the student body, do earnestly
thank God for the life of His servant who has given himself without
reserve in order that our lives might count for most in the Gospel
ministry.

Second. That we express our sorrow and sympathy, and extend
our continued friendship to the bereaved family and relatives.

Third. That these resolutions be sent to the family of our late
president and that copies be sent to our church publications.

STUDENT BODY,

COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

Committee on Resolutions,

Wallace McP. Alston, Chairman,
Walton Stewart,
Thomas Grafton.

[26]

A Few Extracts from Letters Received

From President B. R. Lacy, Jr., Union Theological Seminary,
Richmond, Va. :

Dr. Gillespie was a student at Davidson while I was there and
he then demonstrated those administrative qualities which afterwards
were exercised so well in his ministry, but especially as President of
Columbia Seminary. I feel that the Church has sustained a great
loss by his removal.

From President J. R. Cunningham, The Louisville Presby-
terian Seminary, Louisville, Ky. :

I am in receipt of the invitation to be present at the memorial
services of Dr. Gillespie next Sunday afternoon. I am appreciative
of the thought and would be glad, because of the high regard in
which I held him and because of his generous service to our Seminary,
if I could be present. Since that is impracticable, I wish again to
express for myself and for the Seminary our deep sympathy and
lasting appreciation of him as a servant of God.

From President Thos. W. Currie, The Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas:

Yesterday's mail brought your invitation to me to attend the
Memorial Service for Dr. Gillespie. I wish so much that I might
be present on that occasion. I certainly share with you people there
in the Seminary the great sense of loss in the homegoing of Dr.
Gillespie.

From President John Timothy Stone, Presbyterian Theologi-
cal Seminary, Chicago:

This is to express to you and to your officers and the family of
the late President Gillespie our thoughtful and earnest consolation
and to let you know we are thinking of you at the memorial service
to be held on November 2nd.

[27]

From Dr. Henry H. Sweets, Secretary, Christian Education
and Ministerial Relief of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States :

Dr. Gillespie was one of the truest men I have ever known. His
friendship has meant much to my life. He made a great pastor, but
he did not; submerge all of his interests in the local church. Had it
not been for Dr. Gillespie, I am fully persuaded that we would
never have been able to successfully carry through the Presbyterian
Educational Movement in the Synod of Kentucky. His statesman-
like leadership, his overcoming courage and his persistent and efficient
work helped us to do for our educational work in Kentucky what it
seems to me, humanly speaking, could not otherwise have been done.

The whole church followed with admiration and appreciation his
splendid work as an administrator and executor in the reestablishment
of Columbia Theological Seminary. A great man has been taken
from us and our Church has suffered a great loss by reason of his
going. I imagine there was strong emphasis on the part of the
greeting of the Master he has so faithfully served as He said : "Well
done, good and faithful servant."

From Dr. Wm. C. Covert, General Secretary, Board of Chris-
tian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. :

I have the invitation to join with the Faculty of Columbia The-
ological Seminary in grateful recognition of the life and work of
our beloved friend, the late President Gillespie.

The testimony of his life is permanently written in all our hearts.
His faithful discharge of his duties as president, teacher and executive,
together with his sacrificial spirit in the education of well-trained
ministers enshrines his memory in the heart of the whole Church he
served so well. I share with you all in the poignant sorrow of his
early going. Earnestly do I pray that his dreams and plans for
Columbia Seminary may be realized and the institution take her
place among the great formative influences working for a better
leadership in the Kingdom of God at home and abroad.

From Dr. Chas. E. Diehl, President Southwestern, Memphis,
Tenn. :

It is a source of deep regret to me that an imperative engagement
here in Memphis for Saturday night makes it impossible for me to
be present with you on Sunday afternoon. But for this obligation,

[28]

which cannot be delegated, I would be with you to unite in the
tribute of respect and affectionate regard for a great life whose
sudden removal from our midst fills our hearts with genuine sorrow,
and shocks us into the realization of an abiding loss.

My experience in the removal of Southwestern from Clarksville
to Memphis, and the erection of a new plant, was so similar to that
of President Gillespie that I can possibly appreciate more fully than
many others the magnitude of the task which he had undertaken. It
is not difficult for me to realize the tremendous strain under which
he was working, nor to imagine how his whole heart and soul were
wrapped up in the accomplishment of his great task. He has rendered
a magnificent service to the Church, his loss will be keenly felt, and
we here at Southwestern desire to record our appreciation of Presi-
dent Gillespie, of his life and work, and our deep sympathy with
his family and with the friends of Columbia Theological Seminary.

[29]

Servant of God, well done!

Rest from Thy loved employ;
The battle fought, the victory won

Enter Thy Master s joy!

Soldier of Christ, well done!

Praise be Thy new employ;
And, while eternal ages run,

Rest in Thy Saviour s joy.*'

Montgomery.

[30]

Ruralist Press, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.