What Does a Pastor Do Anyway?
A Reflection on Acts 20:17-35
Pastor Marc Peña
Not long ago my wife and I went to our favorite Chinese food restaurant to eat some of their famous salt and pepper chicken wings. We arrived just ahead of the lunch crowd and were seated at a corner table. Within fifteen minutes or so the place was packed. An elderly woman walked in and sat down on a small bench waiting to be seated. By the look of things she was in for a long wait. The manager, who knows us as regulars, motioned to me to ask if it was O.K. to invite the woman to sit at our table. Mary and I agreed and in a few moments Marian was sitting at our table ordering her lunch (yep, salt and pepper chicken wings).
After some small talk Marian asked, “So what do you do for a living?” I looked over at my wife who was smiling. “I’m a pastor.” I replied.
“Oh…” Marian hesitated for a moment. “I don’t mean to be rude but what does a pastor do anyway?” Over the course of the next hour and a half we talked about all things pastoral. I think she was intrigued by the fact that my vocation involved far more than officiating over weddings and funerals. We talked about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; about tithes and offerings; preaching and teaching the Bible; church ministry and church politics. In short, Marian left very few “church” stones unturned. We finished our lunch, exchanged contact information and thanked Marian for joining us. Later on that night I began to think about my conversation with Marian. “What does a pastor do anyway?” As I rehearsed the conversation in my head, I thought about all the different topics we covered. The list was by no means complete but it was long enough to make me feel exhausted.
I grabbed my Bible and began to read from Acts 20:17-35. It’s the Apostle Paul’s farewell address to the elders at
1. A pastor’s life and ministry is primarily a God-ward act of humility (v. 19). Paul viewed his ministry to the Ephesians as a humble offering of service to God. As a pastor I frequently remind myself that my life and ministry is primarily lived our before an audience of One.
2. A pastor is called and commissioned by God to preach and teach the Word of God (v.20, 27). The ministry of the Word (both in preaching and practice) is central to pastoral ministry.
3. Being a pastor is a life-long call (v.24). Not everyone will agree with me here but I believe that becoming a pastor is about a faithful, life-long response to God’s calling. Being a pastor is much more than a job or career. There’s is no “retirement” in the
4. A pastor is called upon to shepherd and watch over God’s people (v.28). There are two things that strike me here; first is that the congregation does not belong to me, they are God’s people. I know that some reading this will think “Duh, Marc… that’s obvious.” But you’d be surprised what happens to a pastor after years of serving, leading, preaching, teaching and counseling a congregation. After a while a pastor can begin to feel and act as if the congregation is indebted to him. The pastor develops a growing sense that the congregation is obligated to him for his years of dedicated service. This is unhealthy and dangerous. It is important to remind ourselves as pastors that we are “unprofitable servants” who are simply responding to God’s calling (Luke 17:7-10). Secondly, a pastor has the sacred responsibility to guard God’s people from error. I’m not one to engage in doctrinal hairsplitting but over the years I have witnessed what poor and erroneous teaching does to people. I am convinced that the faith of many well-intentioned believers rests on little more than Christian clichés and slogans. They’re nice and catchy but will do nothing for you when the storms of life hit. A pastor works hard to make sure that Christ is the bedrock of a congregation’s faith… everything else is sinking sand.
5. A pastor works for the healing and reconciliation of broken people (v.35). Pastoral ministry is about people. Hurt, angry, broken, disillusioned, abused … the list is long. When a pastor loses sight of this his ministry becomes skewed. More time and energy is spent on developing programs, marketing, organizational structure, financial planning etc. than on ministry to people.
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