“So what do you do for your real job?”

So I have been thinking about what pastors do with their time and energy. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have been asked what I do when it is not Wednesday or Sunday. People love to joke that pastors only work two days a week and golf every other day except for when there are funerals and weddings.

So what is it that we pastors do with all that “free time”? I too think about what we pastors find to fill the time, but I think about it in a slightly different way. I know that there are pastors that perhaps don’t manage their time well and others perhaps who have an underdeveloped work ethic (lazy?), but many pastors I know also work hard. They study, pray, call on parishoners, work on the behind the scenes aspects of ministry and program development, stay on call 24/7 and otherwise serve as the resident cheerleader, spiritual coach/trainer, counselor and accountability partner for many people and congregations. But what I think about alot is this: do pastors really do the right things? And what are the rights things? And should we all be doing the same things, or does it differ for each of us?

I would contend that the primary responsibility of pastor is that of priest: one who goes to God on behalf of the people and to the people on behalf of God. This role’s primary function is as a prayer warrior and resident intercessor. The pastor should spend a great deal of time in the prayer closet, prayer room, and at the altar as one who bears the burdens of the people before the Father!

Only after this role has been lived out should a pastor then move on to another important role: that of prophet. A prophet is one who is the mouthpiece of God. They are called and designated by God to bring His messages to all whom He sends them to. Since God’s words are eternal this is perhaps one of the most important tasks that any pastor can do. And the role of prophet flows directly out of that of priest. Without a pastor drawing close to God there is no way he or she can stand before the people with a message.

As the first two roles are lived out and then as the Lord directs the pastor should then thirdly pursue his or her role as that of shepherd. A shepherd is one who leads the flock to green pastures for nourishment, beside still waters for rest and renewal, through the valleys of life as guide and comforter and who overcomes the Enemy and serves as the protector of the flock. In contemporary times all of these functions are realized mostly through words of instruction, Biblical counseling, discipleship and accountability. And so yet again the pastor is to pray, prepare heart and mind through study and meditation and speak as God directs.

Lastly, the pastor should be a servant leader. In a sense this is the last role and in a way it is the over-arching and primary role. The pastor should lead his or her people by example. The church should see their pastor as under-shepherd of the Great Shepherd. The people ought to see the pastor learning and growing and becoming more like Jesus. They should be able to follow their pastor as their pastor follows Jesus.

So I am sure now that what the pastor actually does is as clear as mud to you.

One thing you may notice is that the pastor shouldn’t spend much time developing or working on ministries and programs. God calls and equips many ministers to these tasks, but the pastor ought to first and foremost be priest, shepherd and servant-leader.

Unfortunately I myself have often spent an unhealthy amount of time on administrative tasks. Making sure everything is organized, well communicated and that all the church business is handled has diminished or perhaps even crippled the spiritual roles of many pastors. Instead the pastor’s primary responsibility is to connect people to God and be one of God’s instrument of grace among the people. The pastor should spend the majority of his or her time seeking out God’s will for self, family and church and preparing heart and mind to be used of God among the people.

If the pastor himself or herself never completes certain projects and leads certain programs or ministries that are resume’ worthy but always leads the people to the feet of Jesus, that pastor is a success in their ministry!