Defining the job of the “Pastor”
October 25, 2006
During a class a few weeks ago, someone was giving a 1-line job description for a pastor, and it just struck me as a little lacking. But then I asked myself, "How would YOU describe the role of a pastor in one sentence." I’m not sure I came up with an answer, but I’d love to know what you all think.
Task: Give me a one-sentence job description for the "pastor" of a church.
Posted in Ministry
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
October 25th, 2006 at 8:35 am
How about one word? SHEPHERD
October 25th, 2006 at 9:52 am
Nice one, Drew! I had the exact same thought when I read that. I guess I need a different answer, so I’ll use a whole sentence.
A pastor is a human who tries to help humans be more God-like without actually becoming God to them.
I’m not sure I like that, but oh well.
October 25th, 2006 at 9:56 am
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the Ôªøevangelists, the Ôªøpastors and teachers,Ôªøto equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up Ôªøthe body of Christ, until we all attain to Ôªøthe unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,Ôªø to the measure of the stature of Ôªøthe fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, Ôªøtossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Ephesians 4:11-14
October 25th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Pastoral responsibilities include:
giving 100% of himself, asking nothing in return.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Slomo…although that was one verse, I don’t want scripture - I want to know what people actually think.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:43 am
Slomo…also, that doesn’t just look at a pastor, but also looks at the apostles, the prophets, the Ôªøevangelists, and teachers. That verse could imply that a pastor is not an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, or a teacher.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:45 am
The shepherd image DOES make the pastor God to the people. The LORD is my shepherd? The better image for a pastor would be a sheepdog, doing the shepherd’s work among the people.
As for my one sentence answer, let me give this a try: A pastor is someone who models God’s love to all people, and calls the church to live lives defined by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:55 am
A pastor’s job : feed the sheep
October 25th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Why would you try to describe ANY job in just one sentense?
October 25th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
“Pastor” may etymologically mean “shepherd,” but any pastor who gets too much into this role (and any pastor who thinks he/she gives “100%”) is in clear danger of getting a messiah complex.
October 25th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
I like the shepherd analogy (I personally KNOW shepherds). But I boil the analogy down further to mean one who FEEDS the sheep (one of the original definitions of “shepherd”). So, a pastor is someone who carefully provides spiritual nourishment for people. thus spoke churchpundit!
October 25th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
“I don’t want scripture - I want to know what people actually think.”
Yeah, you don’t want to confuse the issue with the actual words of God. Hey, btw, that might make a great new tagline for your blog!
“also, that doesn’t just look at a pastor, but also looks at the apostles, the prophets, the Ôªøevangelists, and teachers. That verse could imply that a pastor is not an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, or a teacher.”
Sorry, I haven’t read the Dave translation.
October 25th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
very hard task. here it goes: a pastor of a church is someone called by god and others to be a part of a community and to minister with them toward god’s mission in the world.
October 25th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Pastors are those called members within a particular church community who continually narrate in word and practice the; life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the true story of God’s activity in the world and in the life of individuals
October 25th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Sorry, I haven’t read the Dave translation.
Funny…I just quoted from the verse that you gave. The verse that you gave lists pastors as one of the roles among many, does it not? Therefore you cannot take that verse and apply it solely to pastors.
It seems pretty clear to me…
October 25th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
“you don’t want to confuse the issue with the actual words of God”
Slomo, slomo, slomo. The Bible isn’t the word of God, it witnesses to the Word of God. Dude, keep up!
October 25th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
To be everything to everyone all the time. Ha Ha… Though from the pastors I’ve talked to, that’s how it often feels.
October 25th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Cool your jets Davey. Where did I say it applied only to pastors? Of course the passage indicates there is overlap in the roles mentioned, but it would be difficult to argue that roles of a pastor do NOT include:
building up Ôªøthe body of Christ
encouraging unity in the body
encouraging knowledge of and faith in the Son of God
guiding the body to maturity
protecting the body from errant influences/teaching/doctrine
Wow…come to think of it…feeding, guiding, protecting sounds kind of pastoral or shepherdish(w?). Well, at least that’s what I think.
October 25th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
I agree with the sentiment expressed above, why would you try to boil it down to a sentence?
I say this considering the fact that William Willimon wrote a whole book called “Pastor”, (which is by far the best book written on the pastoral vocation.)
Anyway, here’s my somewhat feeble attempt:
By way of teaching and preaching the Pastor is a servant of God called to lead others into service and witness in the world.
October 25th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Pastor: One who serves the Body of Christ in a means of thinking, teaching, contextualizing, leading, sacrificing, and feeling in an attempt to bring out the kingdom from within the Body, expressed outwardly.
October 25th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
In a small church the “pastor” is slave to the people on call at all times to be doing their bidding and doing most chores and jobs around the church. In a large church the “pastor” is king and comes out to woo the people with weekly mesmorizing orations and then disapears for another week.
October 25th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Wow, Dan. In the vintage church, the “pastor” must be a big, negative nancy.
October 26th, 2006 at 12:07 am
“Pastors are those called members within a particular church community who continually narrate in word and practice the; life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the true story of God’s activity in the world and in the life of individuals”
Well, hopefully all members of a community of faith do all that, not just the pastors!
October 26th, 2006 at 5:38 am
A pastor equips ordinary people to be faithful disciples — followers — of Jesus Christ so that the world would be changed to more closely resemble God’s will on earth.
October 26th, 2006 at 10:23 am
“Slomo, slomo, slomo. The Bible isn’t the word of God, it witnesses to the Word of God. Dude, keep up!”
Very neo-orthodox of you Brett, but what does one do with verses like 2 Timothy 3:16?
Or, 2 Peter 1:21?
And, in the context of this post/comment thread, how does a pastor discharge his duties if the revelation of God is unreliable and full of errors? I’ll answer my own question…HE can’t. Instead, popular opinion, culture, or the whims of a fallen nature will define the role of the pastor to the detriment of those being misled.
October 26th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
My definition: A person who nourishes others in their way of following God in a Jesus
some pastors have received some type of certification or ordination - most have not
I wonder if there is any insight in word frequency in our sacred texts forthe words normally translated as pastor or shepherd. I am often fascinated that in Hebrew Scripture, the Hebrew word for pastor רעה (ra`ah) is used 173 times. In Christian Scripture, the Greek word ποιμην (poimēn) is used 18 times.
Is there anything in the Incarnate One and the Spirit that transforms the mediation of God moments ?
October 26th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
My definition of pastor:
SHE is the one who, through “popular opinion, culture, or the whims of a fallen nature” mislead others into thinking that the epistles that refer to “scriptures” were actually talking about the epistles themselves.
October 27th, 2006 at 12:02 am
I liked Sam’s definition (basically, I think any attempt I make to define the role of pastor would fall short):
“Pastors are those called members within a particular church community who continually narrate in word and practice the; [sic] life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the true story of God’s activity in the world and in the life of individuals.”
August 17th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Why don’t you guys go to http://www.simplybible.com and type “pastor” into the search field at the top of the page.