Daily Discussion Question: How would you describe the pastor's job?
Jeremy Geerdes
Before I accepted the position, I was handed a sheet of paper which
outlined the essential expectations of an appliance salesman. There
were the obvious things like run the cash register, help the
customers, etc., and there were the things that I had never really
thought about like dusting the displays, changing signage, and keeping
inventory tallies because the computers were notoriously inaccurate.
There were things that were blatantly essential to our ability to
sell, like being knowledgeable of the products on the floor, and
things that were, frankly, superfluous, like making sure that we
dotted our i's and crossed our t's on the exhaustive "tear-sheets" of
notes we took on each customer. In triplicate. And then there was the
ubiquitous "Other tasks as assigned by supervisor" or something to
that effect.
When I graduated from Bible college and became a pastor, I began to
discover the true meaning of this final clause. A pastor's job can be
truly dynamic, ranging from John Maxwell's CEO-style pastor to John
Doe's toilet-cleaning pastor and touching on everything in between. I
have found myself cleaning toilets, applying band-aids, and making
lunch. There are times when I am running around with the kids and
others when I am sitting around with the guys. On any given day, I can
spend time studying theological texts and expounding Scripture with
profundity, doodling on a sheet of paper as I try to come up with a
way to market some new ministry or service, and mowing the lawn or
blowing the snow. I've spent time counseling hurting people, sitting
in hospitals with dying people, and giving advice to uncertain people.
And the other day, as I walked through the sanctuary, I noticed that I
need to get out the ladder and change probably 15 light bulbs in our
sanctuary.
Since becoming a pastor, I have realized that there is only one job
like it on the planet. And I've begun to understand the advice that at
least a couple of people shared along the way: "If there's anything
else that you can do inside of God's will for you, do it." This is
truly one of the most challenging, rewarding, draining, fulfilling,
discouraging, exhilarating jobs there is, and I consider it my
greatest honor to be called.
So, I am curious. What kinds of things have you done as a pastor? Or,
if you're not a pastor, what kinds of things have you seen your pastor
do? If someone asked you to provide a job description for the
position of pastor, how would you respond?
So here's the question: How would you describe the pastor's job?
Have fun with it.
Jeremy R. Geerdes
Effective website design & development
Des Moines, IA
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If you're in the Des Moines, IA, area, check out Debra Heights
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