It’s a key principle of leadership.
It’s also a well-known truth in advertising (you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar).
But what do either of those have to do with shepherding God’s global workers?
Well, it’s actually quite simple: sheep follow shepherds. And when they call their sheep by name, the sheep come to them. They do not respond well to being driven, and people are not any different. That’s why “Come on” works so much better than “Go on.”
To lead requires you to be going somewhere. It requires that you be further down the road – a least a few steps. You may not know as much as they do about language and culture, about church planting or cross-culture ministry, but you must be following closely the Shepherd you point them toward. You cannot expect them to go where you are unaccustomed to go yourself.
But if they know how much you love them, they will follow you to places you could never drive them.