What Do I Do? The Job of a Pastor

“What do you do all day?” “What do you do all week?” “Pastors only have to work one day a week.”

I have heard all three of those questions/statements in various forms over the years. People seem to be curious about what it is that a pastor does and what a pastor’s life is like. They also seem curious about the life of a pastor’s wife. Michelle has received some interesting questions as well.

What does a pastor do? Maybe the question should not be what do I do, but what SHOULD I do? What is the Biblical responsibilities for a pastor?

There are actually several passages of scripture that directly address the job of a pastor. The term “pastor” is actual a biblical term that carries with it the responsibility of the pastorate.

I am not going to address each of the passages of scripture and all of the tasks that a pastor is to do. I want to address the main thing.

Acts 6:1-4
The early church in the book of Acts had run across a problem. There was a practical issue among the church members that needed addressing. So, the church comes together to address the issue and what comes out of that meeting lays the foundation for the main responsibility of the pastor. It’s not the only responsibility but the main one.

" Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”" (Acts 6:1-4, ESV)

This passage does not say that the leaders of the church should never serve these widows. In fact, there is clear instruction elsewhere that the pastor is to set the example of servanthood to others in the church.

This passage is about priorities. And the point is real clear. The main priority for the pastor is “prayer and the ministry of the word”. There are other passages of scripture that assign other tasks like administration, leadership, service, managing, and oversight of the church. But, the main task of the pastor is the preparation to preach.

Paul told pastor Timothy to “preach the Word”(2 Tim. 4:1-2). Titus 1:9 mentions the mandate of teaching. And we could go on.

I am fully convinced that my main responsibility is the preparation and delivery of the Word of God. I believe that I am held accountable by God Himself for this responsibility and I should be held accountable by the church body as well. That makes the task of preaching central and the highest priority for the tasks of pastors.

If I fail to devote the appropriate attention to the matter of preaching, I believe that I will have to answer to God for that sin. I believe that when I preach on Sundays that the congregation is my secondary audience. My primary audience is the Lord. I am preaching because He called me to. I am preaching, hopefully, by His power and strength. I am preaching by His wisdom. I am preaching by His grace and mercy. How can I take this task lightly?!

How much time does prayer and ministry of the Word take each week? There is no set answer. But, suffice to say, I never feel like I have spent too much time in preparation. I have a set method of study and preparation that works for me. Sometimes that takes longer than at other times depending on the passage.


I try to accomplish two major things in my preparation. One is to get the text right. I don’t want to get God’s Word wrong. It is His holy Word and I want to make sure that I am faithful to what He says. My second goal is to allow myself to be impacted by His Word. Before I preach to anyone else I want to allow God to speak to me through His Word.

Am I perfect at accomplishing those two tasks? Of course not. There are days and weeks where my flesh gets in the way and the preparation can become a rote exercise, instead of a spiritual exercise. There are days and weeks where it is just a job.

But, I love to preach. I love to dig into God’s Word. And I love to proclaim it to the people.

Whatever God has called you to is just as important. Our highest boss is not the person who signs our checks, it is the Lord God.

I ask you to pray for me in the job that God has called me to.