What does a pastor do???

I have talked to a lot of people who attend church every so often to not really a whole lot. In one of my most recent conversations, a person asked me, "So, what does a pastor do?" I started thinking of all the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly things that I do and I could have listed them all off , but that would take a very long time. Then there are the things that no one can plan for. How do you tell someone that you live a life of chaos and unknown, and help someone make sense of it??? Here is my attempt.

A pastor does many, many things; largely depending on the congregation's size and whether or not there is more than one pastor. If the church is large and there are multiple pastors, then they are specialized into separate fields.  In a one pastor congregation, then he/she does most (if not all) of the following. Depending on where the congregation is located will also determine the work that the pastor will have as a focus or time for travel between people, ministries, and events. The first and most obvious is preaching Sunday morning, but this is not as simple as getting in front of a crowd and rambling for 20 minutes. Before that takes place, there are hours of preparation and prayer go into even the simplest sermon. There is leading the congregation in worship and administering communion. However, the job isn't over Sunday after the services are over.

Throughout the week, the pastor holds positions in all councils or boards that the church offers. It is their responsibility to make as many meetings as possible to ensure everything is running smoothly. This can be from the Board of Education, Memorial, Stewardship, Deacons, Prayer, Youth, Evangelism, and other councils or boards that are within the church. Let's not forget the monthly newsletter article. (Yes the one that you may cast off to the side or claim to read later.) Along with teaching Confirmation or other Bible Studies that are led by the Pastor.  Time and energy are not limited to just those times but also the preparation for each of these events. A pastor also has to be current and up to date on what's going on within the community along with helping the congregation relate that to the Scripture texts for the week.  The pastor tries to stay up to do date on what is going on within the synod and nation to know if the congregation could be involved within those events to help or even make connections with the people.  When the pastor is not involved in these meetings or working on something for these or working on sermons, the pastor will also go and visit people. This includes those who are sick, elderly, incarcerated, and actually spending some quality time with the person to help them in the struggle that they are currently facing. Visits may also include meeting people for the first time, chats at home, school activities of the youth, or simply getting to know people in their daily life. This is one of the most important and often overlooked means of ministry because it builds trust, relationship and community. 

Now for things that you can not plan for. This is most often known as "Pastoral Care" which can be a range of possibilities. Numerous issues come past a pastor's desk and congregates will bring a wide range of issues before a pastor to handle, be it marriage issues, personal problems, spiritual questions, situations with their children, substance abuse, etc. etc. etc. Then there is also involvement and leading of numerous special occasions in a person's life, (in many cases, conversion), baptism, weddings, and burials. Some churches have different milestones like these and differ widely from church to church. These are bittersweet moments for a pastor, especially when he/she is personally invested in the individual(s) that the ceremony is being held for.

These are your standard "9-5" job qualities, things that a pastor knows about at least a few days in advance and can prepare for. But a pastor's job is far from 9-5. One of the most physically demanding, and spiritually taxing aspects are those moments that you can't be prepared for. That midnight phone call to the hospital because Mr. and Mrs. Smith's 21 year old son is in critical condition because of a drunk driver. A pastor may be there for hours giving comfort and aid to the family and victim. That pastor may not have gone to bed yet, and in some cases it'll be Saturday night/Sunday morning and 2-3 sermons in the morning. It is in those moments that they rely entirely on God to pull them through.

Being a pastor is far from an easy job.  He/she is continuously being thrown into situations that most would want to avoid; tragic accidents, violent and malicious arguments, and pressed with questions that no one can really answer that normally start "Why would God..." Their job is 24-7-365, and they are part teacher, part psychologist, part CEO, part financial manager, part therapist, part orator, part ambassador, and part parent.

Keep in mind all of this is done while trying to be non-judgmental, caring, understanding, helpful, and above all helping the person do what God is calling them to do.   Now keep in mind a pastor is not a cookie cutter.  Each is a person with strengths and weaknesses, so some pastors may be better at some of these things and not as good at others.  Yes, pastors are people too and may even make mistakes or do things differently than you would.  However, this does not make them any less of a pastor,  but simply a different pastor.  Perhaps when you have a pastor who is doing things differently, it is not the pastor that needs to change but time for you to accept to do things differently.  Expectations that you have of a pastor can be unreasonable.