I remember being asked a couple years ago what type of farmer my Dad was. I discussed with my friend that their are two types of farmers: 1)The Gentle/Guide 2) The Slap/Shout. I shared with my colleague that you can tell what type of farmer they are by the way they approach their animals. My dad approached the animals with a slight of hand and a gentle voice. It was almost like watching The Horse Whisper (The movie.) He never raised his voice in anger or struck the animal with abusive force. Rather he would touch the animal on their backside and gently prodded them along to their destination.

On the other hand I have seen farmers who have used the slap/shout method. They maul their animals in attempt to have them go in a certain direction. I have noticed that it does not make the animals go any faster. In reality, they seem to go slower. The net result from this type of leadership is that animals will cower and sometimes will stop and lay down because they are afraid to move forward. (I have seen this happen; the animal becomes so fearful that it shuts down.)

How about you? What type of leader are you? Gentle/Guide or Slap/Shout? I know that we all hope we are the gentle/guide. Have we made the effort? We may not physically strike someone but we can with our words and actions. I have watched people being abused (that's what it is) by people in these circumstances. You can tell they are being led by the slap/shout method by the way they are reacting. Similar to the animals I have described above, they will begin to cower, second guess themselves and sometimes literally shut down and not move forward.

What about you? How are people reacting to your leadership? Do they cower or do they stand up? Are they decisive or do they second guess themselves? Do they dream, dreams or do they lay down? My hope and prayer is that all of us will be people who are the gentle/guide.