While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said, “The servant-leader is a servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.” Jesus said, “…He came to serve, not be served.” Matthew 20:28 (MSG)

Most of the people God used to accomplish His will can be described as servant leaders. From Abraham to Paul, they all considered themselves servants who were used by God to lead his people. Every leader in ministry should be a servant leader!

A servant leader is not born that way but trained. One of the ways God teaches servant leaders is in the school of life. Generally, He uses life’s circumstances to train His servant leaders. One of these life circumstances is solitude or loneliness. No servant leader can become great without spending time in solitude. Moses spent 40 years in the backside of the desert, and David spent years alone with the sheep. Jesus spent 40 day and nights in the wilderness alone, and Paul spent 3 years in Tarsus before he started his public ministry.

Remember, it’s the time we spend in solitude that proves our character, and it’s the little things we learn in the lonely places that allow us to do the big things in public.

Are you being trained in a lonely place? Don’t give up, God is about to propel you into your destiny. Stay faithful.

Be Blessed,

Bishop Jemmott

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