The Pastor's Job Description

Dr. Ray Pritchard has some insightful comments about the pastor's job in a recent blogpost. Here is a short excerpt--read the entire post at
http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/pritchard/11542456/

It’s easy for a pastor to be sidetracked into a thousand things that don’t really matter in the ministry. I meet pastors all the time who work hard, stay busy all week long, and have their hands in a thousand things at once. That’s generally a recipe for eventual burnout. No one can do it all.

When you find good soil, cultivate it. That’s what Jesus did. Though he spoke to the masses, and though he had time for individuals, he gave the majority of his time to training the twelve.

No one really knows what the pastor’s job is. Even if you have a job description, it’s usually so general as to be almost useless. I don’t know a single pastor who consults his job description in the morning to figure out what he should be doing during the day.

If you have 300 people in your church, you’ve got 300 bosses, each with their own perception of what you should be doing. If you fall into the trap of trying to please them all, your ministry is bound to fail or you will end up frustrated and ineffective.

I don’t think we can improve on Jesus’ plan for reaching the world.

He preached to the masses.He ministered to individuals.He poured himself into a small group of key followers.He called an even smaller group to be his apostles.

That small group of 12 men (which eventually became eleven after Judas defected) was the real focus of Jesus’ earthly ministry. After he returned to heaven, they became the foundation for the church he was building (Ephesians 2:20).

Every pastor needs to do the same thing. Find a group of key men and women and pour yourself into them. Teach them. Pray with them. Listen to them. Laugh with them. Cry with them. Challenge them. Encourage them. Meet them early in the morning. Call them late at night. Send them a weekly email. Bring them into your confidence. Let them see your heart.