MidAmerica Nazarene University Inaugurates Fourth President

MidAmerica Nazarene University inaugurated its fourth president last week during a public ceremony that ushered in a new era at the 38-year-old university.

Students, faculty, staff and the community attended the formal investiture ceremony for Edwin H. Robinson on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in the College Church of the Nazarene Sanctuary. Robinson was elected in March by the MNU Board of Trustees to serve as the university's fourth president. He succeeds Dr. Richard Spindle who retired June 30, 2005, after 16 years as president.

Last Tuesday’s ceremony began with a procession comprised of over 70 faculty members and delegates representing 26 colleges and universities. The colorful procession – a hallmark of academic tradition – featured flags from each of the 16 nations represented by MNU's student body, as well as a towel and basin – symbols of Robinson's commitment to being a servant leader to the Christian university.

The ceremony included special music by the MNU Concert Band and Heritage Choir. Following his formal investiture as the fourth president of MidAmerica, Robinson delivered his inaugural address titled "The President as Servant Leader."

“I will confess tonight that there is much that I do not know about being a university president,” Robinson said in his address. “That shouldn't scare you too much because all of my predecessors and many of my colleagues began the same way.

“In my best moments, I am confident that the wisdom, knowledge, and competencies of the presidency can and will be learned in time. In my worst moments, I remind myself that I am a part of a community of leaders who will enhance my strengths by their encouragement and complement my shortcomings with their abilities.”

In speaking of the community, Robinson said, “We are a community of servants who by serving one another, engender students, alumni and constituents not only capable of, but passionate about living out servant leadership in their personal and professional lives. We are a community of servants whose senses are attuned to the needs of our neighborhood, our cities, our nations, our world.

“We are committed to champion the cause of truth, righteousness, justice, and compassion,” he continued. “We are a community of servants who seek not to conserve ourselves as if our perpetuity were the point. Rather, we seek to extend and expend ourselves for generations of students who call MidAmerica their own and who go from this place to extend and expend themselves as servant leaders.”

Although Robinson confessed earlier that that “there is much I do not know,” he said, “This I do know – MidAmerica Nazarene University was, is, and shall continue to be a servant community.

“I said yes to the call to be your president because I believe in this mission, vision, and identity.”

The full text of Robinson’s Inauguration Address is included below:

Dr. Cook, my fellow trustees, distinguished platform guests, honored delegates, my colleagues from the University community, dear friends and supporters of MidAmerica Nazarene University -- thank you for coming. Your presence is significant to me.

I want to offer a word of thanks to some special groups who are here tonight. First, to the students who are present, I am deeply gratified that you are here. I thank you for the ways in which you have graciously received Nancy and me into your hearts and lives. You are, you know, the reason this University exists. What we do here tonight is symbolic of our commitment to you and to your futures.

I want especially to thank our neighbors from Bentwood Park and Nancy's colleagues from her school who have taken the time to be here. We are honored by your presence and are glad to call you friends.

I stand tonight in the long shadow of those who have served in this office. The visionary, entrepreneurial leadership of President Curt Smith established this university out of the cornfields with their dirt road boundaries on the outskirts of a small town in Eastern Kansas. This University is his legacy. Marge, your friendship and confidence in me is inspiring. President Don and Adeline Owens brought the world to MidAmerica. In their short but fruitful tenure they elevated the University's horizon to encompass the globe. Don and Adeline, your gift to MidAmerica has multiplied, and you should have a sense of holy pride in it. I also want to acknowledge my gratitude to President Richard and Billy Spindle for leaving a legacy of stability, integrity and trust for MidAmerica's presidency. I knew these qualities in their lives for myself, but the word of most everyone I meet on the region, in the community, in the church and on campus bears witness to the depth of their character and the quality of their leadership. Nancy and I are grateful that the shoes we fill are already marked with goodness and mercy. It is no small thing to stand in the shadow of others. It is, however, a thing of joy when the shadows are filled with light rather than darkness.

Finally, I want to express my personal thanks to my family members who are present. Of course, I am always proud to be associated with my wife and daughters who are a continual source of joy, blessing, and inspiration to me. I am, in part, what I am today because of their contribution to me as their husband, father, friend, and fellow traveler in the Lord. I want you all to know how much I believe in them and their callings.
I want to acknowledge my sister and brother who are here tonight. As the youngest sibling who has the privilege of the podium, there is much I might say, but I'll resist the temptation. I do want to convey that I am honored you are here with me tonight. But more importantly, our presence here together is a significant statement of honor to our parents. May God grant us grace as we continue to honor their lives by ours.

What a joy and privilege it is for me to serve as the fourth President of MidAmerica Nazarene University. When the call came that eventful Saturday afternoon last March informing me of the election, I had an inkling that our lives would be different. Little did I know how much! In these few short months Nancy and I have been on a whirlwind adventure that has brought joy, hope, and fulfillment in such significant ways. We've traveled more miles in the car across the interstates of the North Central Region, attended more conferences, participated in more church assemblies, gone to more athletic events, crowned more homecoming queens and kings, princesses and princes, brought more presidential greetings, scheduled more appointments, eaten more chicken dinners and had more fun than we could have imagined. Dr. Spindle said to me in one of our many conversations before his retirement that being the University's president was the best job he ever had. If these first four and half months of our tenure are any indication, I'm on my way to the same conclusion. Nancy and I came to MidAmerica Nazarene University and you have won our hearts.

I will confess tonight that there is much that I do not know about being a university president. That shouldn't scare you too much because all of my predecessors and many of my colleagues began the same way. In my best moments, I am confident that the wisdom, knowledge, and competencies of the presidency can and will be learned in time. In my worst moments, I remind myself that I am a part of a community of leaders who will enhance my strengths by their encouragement and complement my shortcomings with their abilities.

But to say there is much I do not know is not to say that I don't know anything. In fact, if I may be so bold tonight to say, I may already know the most important things. In these few minutes I have I'd like to tell you what I know.

• I know the Mission of MidAmerica Nazarene University is true and right. We have been called into being by a God who planted a vision in those early MNU "Pioneers" to establish a place where the lives of women and men could be transformed through their intellectual, spiritual, and personal development for a life of service to God, the church, the nation, and the world. This is a mission of transformation that we have, we do, and we must continue to embrace. It is our divine calling.
• I know that the Vision of MidAmerica Nazarene University is worthy of the investment of our lives. We are a Christian community of higher education where students are being transformed for a life of service and leadership. I would expand this vision to include more than students. For we who serve as faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees are also being transformed in the routines of our work, however ordinary they may seem. Central to the University's vision is one key concept: service and leadership. One might argue that these are two distinct ideas. Not at MidAmerica Nazarene University. For in defining ourselves as a Christian community we are not given the prerogative of bifurcating service and leadership. To lead is to serve. For the Christian, serving is not one way to lead, it is the only way to lead. Jesus articulated it well with this gentle reminder to his disciples as they were arguing about "greatness." He said, "… whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever want to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28 TNIV) This vision of servant leadership has been, is, and must continue to be our vision. It is our divine imperative.

Consequently, there is no better way to conceive of this University (or, I believe, any university) than as a servant community (a descriptor I like much better than "service organization"). We are a community of servants who by serving one another, engender students, alumni and constituents not only capable of, but passionate about living out servant leadership in their personal and professional lives. We are a community of servants whose senses are attuned to the needs of our neighborhood, our cities, our nations, our world. We are committed to champion the cause of truth, righteousness, justice, and compassion. We are a community of servants who seek not to conserve ourselves as if our perpetuity were the point. Rather, we seek to extend and expend ourselves for generations of students who call MidAmerica their own and who go from this place to extend and expend themselves as servant leaders. This I do know -- MidAmerica Nazarene University was, is, and shall continue to be a servant community. I said yes to the call to be your president because I believe in this mission, vision, and identity.

A servant community requires a servant leader -- one who sees him or herself as a servant first, committed fully to serving first, not essentially from a formal position of authority, but from the heart and mind of a servant. Leaders who do not serve first cannot effectively lead servant communities for they are at odds with the mission and out of step with the vision. They have competing value centers, competing identities. My commitment to you, as president, is to be a servant among you, to lead by serving. To reiterate, for the Christian university president this is not one way to lead, it is the only way to lead.

This way of understanding servant leadership is shaped by Scripture and the wisdom of one of my author mentors, Robert Greenleaf, through his classic work, Servant Leadership: a Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. ( Paulist Press, 1977.) This awareness of and commitment to servant leadership have guided my thoughts about the presidency and have informed my sometimes feeble attempts to practice it.

• My understanding of servant leadership is that it is more about perspective than position. Though I intend to carry the title as your president with honor, it is more about the testimony of my life as a servant among you. You have the right to expect such and the responsibility to hold me accountable to it.
• Servant leadership is more about character than personality. Though I may exhibit an occasional glimmer of charisma, it is more about the consistency of my character and the integrity of my word as a servant among you. I realize that the responsibilities of the presidency include "image" work (I've chosen to call these my iconic tasks). But "image" often lasts only as long as the impression it makes. The character and integrity of a servant leader endures. You have the right to expect such and the responsibility to hold me accountable to it.
• Servant leadership is more about transformation than transaction. The bottom line isn't simply a balanced budget, an increasing endowment fund, expanded facilities, higher ACT scores for incoming freshmen, more PhD's on the faculty, greater scholarship dollars, or even increased enrollment. These are worthy goals we will achieve, but to accomplish them without transforming the lives of students, staff, faculty, administration, alumni and constituents in the process is to fail at our mission. We would not be a servant community and I would not be a servant leader. You have the right to expect a commitment to transformation. You have the responsibility to hold me accountable to it.
• Servant leadership is more about substance than style. Substance is being patient and listening for the sake of the community, when the impulse is to act quickly for the sake of a secondary goal. It is a commitment to collaboration for the sake of shared leadership and not simply expedient consensus. It is acting as an agent of healing and reconciliation for the sake of true community rather than simply becoming a mechanism for keeping the peace. But it is also serving on those occasions when one must be direct and make the "lonely decisions" that are right even when many will not understand or agree. It is speaking responsible persuasive words for the sake of transformation rather than overpowering speech for capitulation or coercion. It is envisioning a preferred future for the sake of the university's mission and the development of each and every person rather than the success or glory of the leader. You have the right to expect such and the responsibility to hold me accountable to it.

A new president only has one opportunity to give an inaugural address. Presidents sometimes use the address to share their vision for the future of the universities they lead. I have chosen tonight to look inward rather than forward; to remind myself and to share with you the ground on which I stand to hold the sacred trust you've given me.

I have chosen also to include in tonight's service a basin, pitcher, and towel - symbols of servanthood. The richness of their meaning echoes from the ministry of Jesus in the upper room when he seized the role of a servant by washing his disciples' feet. His words ring in our ears, "I have set an example for you. Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their masters, nor messengers greater than the one who sent them. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." (John 13:15-17)

The basin and pitcher, shaped on a potter's wheel and then finished and fired by our own Jo Cunningham in the kilns of Dobson Hall, will sit in a prominent place in my office as a constant reminder that MidAmerica Nazarene University is a servant community and I, as her president, am your servant.

In closing, I want to share a brief story of one other person who has shaped my life and modeled for me what true servant leadership is about. Almost ten years ago I had the privilege of speaking to a group of student leaders from across the country at a conference held in this very sanctuary. I spoke to them four times during that day about leadership. The last session was a dinner meeting at a local country club and I had the unenviable task of being the "after dinner" speaker. I had already said more than I knew in the first three sessions, so I was not looking forward to the evening. I decided to give a short devotional on the expendability of leadership from the 2 Corinthians text Randy Beckum read for us this evening. I was struggling for a closing illustration and Nancy was doing her best to help me think of something. After a few unsuccessful suggestions, I said to her in frustration, "I need a story about someone who dies serving." She quietly said, "Why don't you tell them about your father." So I shared the story of my father, a retired United States Army chaplain who served his country, his family, his alma mater, his church, and his God with humility and great generosity.

One hot summer morning he volunteered to weed the shrub beds of a downtown community beautification project in Nampa, Idaho. In the course of his service that July day, he collapsed and died of a heart attack. It was no surprise that the cause of his death was his heart for he had two previous by-pass surgeries. It was no surprise that he died serving since that was, in essence, the way in which he lived.

I finished the story of my father's example of servant leadership, said words of blessing and we rose to leave. An older gentleman who was an ASG sponsor rushed to the podium and asked for everyone to come back and be seated. Honestly, I was a bit perturbed that this already long day was to be prolonged even more. After everyone was seated, he started into an old war story about his experience during the Korean Conflict. I grew even more perturbed at the prospect of sitting through a second "after dinner" speech. But the man persisted. He told of his early days in combat and the harsh realities of war. Many of his friends were either killed or wounded and he was due to return to the front after a few days of respite from the battle. It was a Saturday night and he confessed to God that he was ready to give up, that life had little meaning anymore, and that dying was as good as living. This young soldier decided to give an early Sunday morning chapel service a try before heading back to the battle lines. A new chaplain had just arrived from the States and was scheduled to lead the service that Sunday. As the chaplain began to preach, the young soldier thought to himself, "This chaplain is my kind," and was determined to talk with him. "Chapin'", he said, "what denomination are you from?"

"Son, it really doesn't matter, we're all God's family."

"No Chapin'" the young soldier begged, "I have to know."

"Well, son, if you must know, I'm from a small denomination you've probably never heard of. It's called the Church of the Nazarene."
The young soldier threw his arms around the chaplain's neck, hugged him and cried for a long time. It was the first of many such times during their sojourn in a far away land on a very dangerous battle field.

Forty years after those encounters, the older gentleman looked over the crowd of young leaders and solemnly said, "That chaplain saved my life." And then he looked at me with a purposeful gaze and said with a slow and deliberate cadence, "That chaplain was your father."

It was a moment I will never forget. It was a moment I don't ever want to forget. It was a divine moment of remembering what servant leadership looks like and how long it will endure.

Yes, it is true. There are many things I don't know about being president of a university. But this I do know. If we are going to be the kind of university we are called to be, we must be a servant community. If I am going to lead this university, I must lead by serving well. That is my conviction and my promise. May God grant us the grace, faith, and courage to serve together.