Challenge to become a Servant Leader

It was a warm day in the late spring of 1978 as Lendon Martin left work at the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Adamsville, Tennessee, and drove the short distance to my house. This was a route he was familiar with since he went in that direction most days on his way home to Gilchrist, a small hamlet located about eight miles south of Adamsville. Lendon was on a mission that day and he soon communicated to me the intent for his visit. Seeing me outside, he pulled up into my driveway and we sat down outside on my carport.  After exchanging a few pleasantries, we entered into a conversation that would change my life forever.

Now I had just finished my fourth year of teaching and coaching at Adamsville High School. Lendon had served as the school board member for the past four years and would soon be elected for his second term. At this time school board members were very involved in the hiring and firing process of school employees. That would later change in 2000 when the State of Tennessee enacted the law that school boards would appoint the director of schools, who would be solely responsible for all school personnel. Prior to that time, superintendents were elected by the people.  

So, having become friends during the last four years, we talked that day of various things and then, getting down to brass tacks, he said, "Mr. Chisholm, the current principal, is going to retire after one more year. I would like for you to consider replacing him when that time comes." He continued with a statement that has remained in my mind for the past forty-four years when he said, "You can help several people as a coach and teacher, but you can help so many more as a principal." I can still hear those words even today. He did not say that this can be a great career opportunity for you. Lendon did not encourage me because it would increase my salary or that it would ultimately lead to a better retirement package. It was not presented as what I could get out of this opportunity but rather what I could give. He simply pointed me toward the consideration of helping people. Helping people? At that time in my life all I wanted to do was teach school, coach basketball, and paint houses in the summer months when school was not in session.  I had a pretty good painting business that was growing each year. 

I must quickly add that Lendon was not minimizing the role of coaches and teachers. He knew that servant leadership can apply equally to anyone, whether in a school setting or elsewhere. 

I did not respond yes or no but told him that I would think about it. I really had a good basketball team coming back the next year and so I simply moved that conversation into the back of my mind. I  had no aspirations of becoming a principal. That school year of '78-79 was a very successful one when our basketball team finished 23-6 and got beat in overtime by Middleton in quarterfinals of the regional tournament. 

But the conversation with Lendon would resurface again almost a year later than the first one. Mr. Chisholm would formally retire at the end of June in 1979. His announcement was confidential most of that school year. His decision to retire and the announcement of it made the proposal before me very real. Servant leadership was really what Lendon was talking about. Was I prepared for the challenge? Did I have what it took?

Why did Lendon mention helping people? Well, you would have to know him. I had that opportunity for only about ten years. He was more than a school board member--Lendon Martin was a friend who had a genuine concern for mankind. His life was an example of helping and serving people. His contributions to the Adamsville community remains to this day. In my opinion, without his effective and collaborative leadership on the school board from 1974-84, Adamsville High School would probably not be where it is today. Elected in August 1974 to a seven member body that had a history of division and disharmony, he became a peacemaker who stepped across political and community barriers to build unity. Ultimately, he became chairman of the board from 1979-1982 because he believed in helping all students and teachers and every community in McNairy County. He was an outstanding communicator with a great heart.

Sadly he died of leukemia in June of 1984 at the age of 43--a life cut way too short. I'm thankful to say that his challenge to me of helping people remains.

The football stadium at Adamsville High School is named in his honor. The plaque at the entrance reads as follows:

                              Terrial Lendon Martin

                                        1940-1984

Dedicated to the memory of an outstanding community leader and member of the McNairy County Board of Education from 1974-1984. He served as chairman of the Board from 1979-1982. He was among those who were instrumental in the county-wide building program that resulted in this complex in Adamsville. His encouragement in the quest of knowledge, his inspiration to youth and his loyalty inspired all who knew him. 

After much reflection and hesitation, I accepted the job. I agreed to take it for one year. If I did not like it or the community and school did not like me, I would go back to teaching, coaching, and painting houses. Little did I know that this step would lead to eighteen years as principal and twelve more as assistant director of schools. I hope I have helped more than I have hindered during that time. Sometimes I wonder. I am sure that many times in my thirty years of administrative leadership it could have been done better. But failure to meet the challenge of servant leadership should never negate the ultimate goal. 

What would happen if our government, churches, schools, homes, and places of work  focused on helping people and building unity? Maybe that is what John Mark had in mind when he recorded the words of Jesus in Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus is the greatest example of servant leadership. Upon reflection, I have come to believe that is the model Lendon Martin had in mind. We all need to go about doing good, leaving this world a better place than we found it. He did more in approximately forty-four years of life than most do in a lifetime. I am convinced that helping people is still the ultimate standard and challenge of leadership.

Remember, I believe we are all leaders regardless of our position.