The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-06-17
A BACCALAUREATE SERMON
DR.. Chichester's Talk to Col
lege Friends on Leadership
REV. THOMSON AT UNITY
Traditions Have Made Gods Word
Of No Effect
Tive Sermons of Great EIoquence and Power.
Well Filled Churches and Close At
tentien-Synopses

Occidental college gathered in Emmanuel
church to listen to the annual baccalau-
reate sermon preached by DR.. Chichester.
On the platform were President Condit,
Professor Parkhill and the Rev. Wads-
worth, all of whom took part in the pre-
liminary exercises. DR.. Chichester text
was Matthew, Nv: IA: IF the blind lead
the blind both shall fall into the ditch"
The speaker began by saying that he
wished to talk to his college friends con-
corning leadership. The worlds history
is history of leadership, history of
the lives of few prominent men who
have left their mark upon the passing
centuries. Humanitys movements have
invariably been movements through lead
ership, and although the influence of
leaders like Ahab, .Machiavelli and Vol
taire has been exceedingly evil, yet such
men have still been leaders who have
gathered crowds about them and led
them whittier they would. The subject
is one in which thoughtful college stud
ents must feel a vital interest Educated
young men are now asking. as never be-
fore, whom they shall folow--in science,
in philosophy, in politics and religion.
Shall it be Augustine or Hegel? Calhoun
or Stuart Mill? Herbert Spencer or Nc
Gosh? Mr.. Heron or Charles Hodges?
One of the first qualities essential to safe
leadership is mental ,trainning-intelli-
gence. 1.-THE world today says some
one, lies at the feet of the first-class
men," Brain force always makes itself
felt everywhere-one hundred and fifty
Families controlling the half of England
and thousand families the whole of
Scotland. The battle of Waterloo was
wen at Eton, and the politics, the bust
~ ha nh Ia n an
Of twenty-five years hence are to be found
in the schools and colleges of today.
But" says the Master, ''if the bird
lead the blind"-this is the dire POSSIBLE
ity and the grave peril with which our
country is now confronted the in
tellectualy and morally blind are assum-
ing the role of leaders. that men without
education, training or experience are
undertaking to mold public thought and
action.
But something more than intellect is
needed for leadership. 1t must DE con-
these exciting, tumultuous times good
leader must be possessed of calmncss.
He, of course, will nave earnestness and
enthusiasm. but at the same time he will
evince intellectual repose and self-cen-
tering. Instead OF continually falling
into rhetorical Mysteries and losing his
mental and moral balance. he will learn
from Solomons teaching that 'he who
ruleth his own spirit is greater than he
who taketh city, And then the COM
petent leader Will be possessed of I'M
faltering faith. 1t is not distrust nor
pessimism nor cynicsm that We now
need. 1t is faith faith in GOD and IN
man and in the WORE which we are I'M
dertaking. Some things doubtless need
to be swept aside. but the man who poses
as an everlasting critic will never make
a safe and effective leader. The agnostic
OF today is accomplishing nothing, while
the man of positive convictions and un-
faltering faith is the man who in every
department is successfully doing the
worlds work and guiding the world S
thought.
: Another important requisite for wise
leadership is clear ana definite aims. A
competent leader will always know what
he is about and have definite goal In
view and a well-defined ann. Instead of
being like the French king who led his
army up the hill and then led them down
again, he will have some clearly under
stood object in vlew-so.Iiewhere to go
and some reason fer going there. But
passing over many other qualities need
full to good leadership, such as patience,
practicableness ana loyalty to the past,
the speaker emphasized the fact that no
one can be SAFE leader who is not HIM
self led by the Lord Jesus Christ. MI.
Gladstone recently stated that during the
many years he was a member Of the
Eng fish cabinet he was brought into con-
taco with more than sixty of the worlds
master minds and that all but five of
them were devoted followers of the lowly
NaZarene.
Tho sermon throughout was one of
great eloquence and force. The closing
words addressed to the graduating class
made profound impression not only on
them but on the entire congregation.
Unity Church
Christ's Greed was the theme of the
pastor, Rev. ]. S. Thomson, yesterday
morning in Unity church. The text was:
1.-THE Lord our God is our Lord; and
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength. and with all thy
mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." This
is Christ's creed and the essence of II is
gospel, and it is found in Leviticus, Deu-
teronomy, and in the three synoptic Cos
pels-Matthew, Mark and Luke.
1t is therefore truly Bible doctrine. 1t
is stated in plain Bible language, and in
the purest Saxon. 1t is 334O years old,
and its inspiration is unquestioned, as
Moses and Christ uttered it. 1t is the
root out OF which the law and the proph-
ITS grew. 1t is comprehensive, sufficient
and inexhaustible. 1t is universal. suited
to all the religions of the world, and If
union of all Christian churches ever
takes place, it must be upon this divine
statement of the Christ. 1t IS also a
practical creed; for every soul can live it.
Christ told the lawyer and the rich
young ruler that it was all that they
needed to gain salvation and to realize
eternal life. 1t demands the conservation
OF all our powers to the purposes for
which they were given to us.
Why is 1t that all the churches of
Chrstendom ignore this creed, or refuse
to adopt it? 1t is Just because they pre-
fer the NIcene creed. the Athanasian
creed, the confession or faith, the cate
chisms, to Christs plain and sufficient
creed. He said it was sufficient for saliva
ton but they say virtually, sit is not
sufficient for u.s. Abraham, joseph.
Elijah, John the Baptist. had not our
ecclesiastical creeds, but they surely went
to heaven without them. Therefore
creeds were not essential to those men
to save them. Christ's mother, Peter.
James and Paul, were surely saved, and
yet they knew nothing about our creeds.
For three hundred years after Christ,
Christians went to heaven. who never
saw any OF the creeds mentioned.
The churches make the word OF God
OF no effect by their traditions. Even
OF their own composition to Christ's.
Indeed, these metaphysical puzzles and
medlaeval speculatiOns are yoke on
our necks which neither we nor our ia
thsrs were able TO BEAR Other forces OF
IvvrI t1-k 49,