Kimo and the rattler (a lesson in leadership)

Yesterday was an interesting day weatherwise in Castaic, where I live. There was a storm moving in from two or three directions yet in many places the sun was shining through. I went for a walk with one of our men from the church, David Thompson. We were in a place called Dry Gulch. It's one of my favorite local places to hunt, hike and pray. And sometimes I just hang out there with Kimo, my German shorthaired pointer. People have been saying a that this year will be one of the most prolific snake seasons that we've had for a long time. Though I've never seen a rattlesnake in that area before in over two a half years of hunting and hiking it I trust what others say. I thought there might be a chance that we would run into a rattlesnake but not so much so if we stayed on the well-traveled path. Well, we got into an area where I hunt sometimes and we started to hear the quail call. Kimo got really excited so I let him run into the brush. I was about to send him up the hill to chase the quail a little bit. I happened to look down and about 8 feet for so from where I was standing was a coiled rattlesnake (pacific black). The snake was at rest and not aggressive but still very much a danger. My dog was ahead of me about 15 yards but because of the brush I couldn't really see him but I knew that to get back to me he would have to cross directly over the snake. Normally I have a pretty cool head and I think on my feet fairly well, but not today. I called out to my dog to get his attention so that I could direct him away from the snake. He heard my voice and probably heard the anxiety in it and came directly towards me. Meanwhile the quail are still calling and Kimo, being a bird dog, the stops to listen. Unfortunately, he stops directly over the rattlesnake at which point I'm really panicked, thinking my dog will soon have a rattlesnake tattooed to his chest. In panic and desperation I ran up the hill in an attempt to get Kimo to follow me. Thank God, it worked. Five minutes later he would almost drown but that's another story.
In retrospect I see the rattlesnake incident as a good example of really really bad leadership. Having noticed the potential for disaster I should've quietly walked a safe distance away then called my dog and totally avoided any danger. Unfortunately I totally panicked, something I normally don't do. In haste I called my dog and he basically did exactly what my voice told him to do. He was trying to follow my voice, listen to the tone and take the appropriate command. Sometimes just the tone of my voice is direction in itself.

In a short time I'll be installed as Rector of all Saints Church. I'm very sensitive now how easy it might be to lead in panic. I realize now that even leaders that have the best intentions for those who they lead can potentially do great damage if they aren't very careful how they lead. Panic and fear based leadership is lame at best if not down right dangerous. Those who follow us will listen to our voice. I pray that we as leaders are listening to God's voice instead the panic that can so easily take us over (or at least me)-- Go and live the BIG STORY .