A pastor does more than preach on Sunday mornings. In fact, that’s one thing you should be careful saying to your pastor.

We work throughout the week as well, wearing many varied hats. That may be something you forgot about us pastors. If preaching were all we did, our job would be easy.

I don’t preach every week, but the weeks that I get the opportunity (though I relish it), I’m completely swamped. None of my other responsibilities go away…it’s just a matter of tacking on 20-25 hours of prep time.

I often counsel folks who are sensing a call to ministry. Their idea of full-time ministry is that you get to have a “quiet time” for a couple of hours in the morning, take a long lunch where you meet with friends, drink coffee all afternoon, and go home by 4:00. They think that ministry is easy.

Trying to paint an accurate picture of the day-to-day life of a pastor is difficult, because there are so many different tasks that we are expected to complete. Though seminary was great, and I benefited from it tremendously, it didn’t prepare me for the gamut of roles I’ve found myself in. My title may be “small groups pastor,” but my job description extends well beyond that.

I’m sure that things are no different for you.

 The Varying Hats a Pastor Wears

• Preacher
• Counselor
• Leader
• Financial planner
• Designer
• Project manager
• Entrepreneur
• Videographer
• Supervisor
• Volunteer coordinator
• Theologian
• Receptionist
• Greeter
• Webmaster
• Community activist
• Writer
• Recruiter
• Life coach
• Shipping department coordinator
• Strategist
• Social media-ite
• Dreamer
• Student
• Disciplinarian
• Teacher
• Social activist
• Events specialist
• Chaplain
• CEO
• COO
• CMO
• CFO
• Operations management
• Janitor
• Salesman
• Communications specialist

Did I leave anything out, that you do or that you’ve seen other pastors do?