Out Our Way - Yes, I ride drag

Romans 12: 1- 8

Out our way, the spring and fall roundups are a big deal. Of course it's nothing like the old days, when trail drives went clear cross country and lasted for weeks. For us it is within the confines of a large fenced area and likely takes less than a day. Even so, the process of moving the cattle remains the same and even when four-wheelers often replace cow ponies in the process, the herders pretty much have the same job as their predecessor

The top hand(s) ride point and guides the herd. Then the skilled hands ride to the side, in the swing and flank positions. And then there's me. What do you do with the least-skilled or least-experienced? That dust-eating, dirt-covered honor is called drag and reserved for the tenderfeet. Yup, six years of working Big Mike's herds, I always rode drag. 

I was hoorawed a bit now and then by my buddies, but it was all in fun. And they always reminded me after the laughter died down, that in the end it took us altogether - drag included - to get the herd in. Indeed. More than once I turned a balky calf occasionally a stubborn bull back to the herd and kept them moving.

Now, in the early Church, as is the case today, there are different roles for believers to fulfill in our "trail drive" towards the Kingdom. Some are prominent and well known - others not so much.  

As the pastor and senior head of the local Church, I rode "point" and was often the dominant figure in the congregation. Then there was the Clerk of Session, the Elders, the Board of Deacons, the Choir master and soloists.  All highly visible and certainly critical to the Church. But there were also the many volunteers - the sunday school teachers, the nurser workers. And then the regular woman or man in the pew who lived the faith seven days a week, not just on Sunday morning. Truth be known, they were the ones riding point, demonstrating the faith and showing the way. They were the ones whom the world saw and whom the rest of humanity decided to follow. I was just in the back urging them all forward. Yup, I still ride drag - and am grateful to be part of the process.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Brother John

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].