A Week in the Life of a Pastor: So, what do you do all day?

 A few months ago, while getting a haircut, the the barber asked me what I did. When I told her that I was a pastor, she asked what I did during the day. After telling her what my week entailed,, she looked surprised: "I thought you just worked on Sundays!" Most readers here will understand that pastors do a fair bit of work throughout the week -- but you may wonder just what happens in a typical week. For fun, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into some of what keeps me busy throughout a week. My next blog post will try to offer some reflection into why this creates a need for extended rest.

A typical day begins between 6:00 and 6:30. Occasionally, About once or twice a week, I'll head for the gym for a workout before the day gets going. Checking email, reading the news, and yes, playing a
word or two in my "Words with Friends" games all happen first-thing.

Breakfast with the family follows -- we've got three kids to get out the door before 7:45. They are all able to walk the 1/2 mile or so to school, but some days, they get the benefits of riding in "Blue-y," my affectionately-named blue Toyota.

I try to get into my office before 8 AM.Each day varies a bit -- Mondays always start off slow, while Thursdays (my last day before my day off on Friday) are always hit-the-ground-running. Mondays usually involves starting the day with any administrative work left over from the weekend (Sundays have a way of piling up my to-do list!).

I manage anywhere from 3-7 visits each week. Sometimes, a visit consists of an appointment with someone who needs some counsel, or guidance. Sometimes, it's sitting with an elderly saint whose mind is slipping. Last week, I had to remind a dear member of our church four times that her husband had passed away. Each time, the shock and sadness registered on her face again, and the grief appeared as though it were happening for the first time. Pastoral work is inherently "people" work. John Calvin wrote somewhere that a "preacher who neglects visitation is a voice shut up in the sanctuary." Pastoral visiting is a way to come along side of people. It is a window into their hurts, their fears, their joys, and the struggles. It is, quite often, an opportunity both to apply the gospel and to shape the preacher for effective pulpit ministry.

Sermon work consumes a significant portion of my time. Sunnyslope is a "twicer" church -- which means that we have two sermons a week. This is becoming a rarity in our denomination, but Sunnyslope is a holdout on having two services. I've felt this a good fit -- Sunnyslope values sermons and I am glad to take the time writing them. This workload does mean that I have to be intentional in how I use my time; typically, there are 6 sermons in the "hopper" at any given time. I start writing a sermon about 17 days before they preach, and they take shape -- sometimes gradually -- over the course of three weeks. People ask how long it takes to write a sermon -- I don't actually "write" sermons because I don't use a manuscript, but an outline. That means that the sermon process is primarily about studying the text, and shaping it into outline-form.This process takes about 12 hours per sermon, with two sermons a week, which means 24 hours a week is spent studying a text.

And on the eighth day, God created a committee to manage and keep his world." Or not. Like it or not, committee work and meetings take a considerable amount of time. I neglected to snap pictures of these all-important chunks of my day. In general, I have to admit that I don't mind meetings. Or at least, I enjoy the people on the committees I work with. Committee work itself can be draining. This week, I attended four different meetings: a mentoring meeting (bi-weekly) worship planning (weekly), elders (monthly), and Council (monthly). In addition, I serve on the Faith Formation Committee, the Worship Committee, and the Evangelism Committee. Each of these requires some degree of preparation and planning --agendas planned and prepared, items distributed,, as well as the time spent in the meeting itself. These times together -- as much as people like to disparage meetings! -- can be the engine that gets stuff done at church. A necessary evil, if you will, that isn't really evil. Meetings set focus and priorities, and give direction on what to do next.  Similarly, a good amount of work each week must be devoted to administrative details. Preparing bulletin announcements. Sending emails (about 25-30 this week. Preparing Sunday School lessons to teach. Usually 6-8 hours a week gets spent n just such busywork. This time isn't as monotonous ast it might first sound. Usually, the time allows me to listen to an online lecture that may be of interest, or to listen to a favorite podcast.

Sunnyslope will be in capable hands this summer. For the last year and a half, I've had an opportunity to mentor two seminary students as they prepare to follow God's call into the ministry. On the one hand, this may seem inefficient; I'm only working with two people, rather than training 10-12 people at a time. It's a lot of time and energy -- but I've come to realize this time spent is exceedingly productive. We've talked theology, we've talked preaching, we've talked ethics, and we've talked church leadership.  These guys have preached, and visited, and attended those meetings with me. They have learned a lot, and this summer, they will be covering most of the gaps while I'm away. Yesterday, we enjoyed brunch together, going over the last details that may slip between the cracks, and encouraging and praying for each other.  Sunnyslopers, these guys may look a little wild, but you're going to be okay with them at the helm.

7 years ago, Sunnyslope was looking for a way to get guys together in order to build friendships loosely within the context of the church. Out of that was borne "Guys Night" -- a monthly gathering of the men in our church who sit together to enjoy a burger, cheese curds, or yes, even a cold beer. Monday night marked guys night, and again, good friends came out to watch sports, talk politics, and debate current events. It was fellowship of the very best kind, and it's been a tradition for 7 years. I can't go every month -- I have to balance the number of nights I am out in a given week -- but when I go, it is a rewarding experience.

Sunnyslope is a church that holds ages in healthy tension. We are not a young church, or an old church -- we have a healthy dose of both, and we are richer for it. Earlier in my time here, our greatest influx of new members came through our Golden Agers Ministry -- a monthly senior luncheon that featured entertainment of some kind, and a home-cooked lunch. Members of our community flocked in each month, strangers became familiar faces, and a few f those familiar faces became members here. I stop in to visit when I can -- not as often as I'd like -- and I make the rounds. This week was Golden Agers again, and I visited. My son reminded me -- "Dad, you're the second youngest person here!" (he being the youngest...). And he was right. These are dear people -- members, guests, friends, and the time spent here is always memorable.


Once a year, the Precepts Bible study group invites me to join them for dessert, and for a time of bible study. This is a group of ladies who take their bible study seriously! Each year, they choose a book of the bible -- the Sermon on the Mount this year -- and go through, paragraph by paragraph, learning, discussing, and being challenged. There exists out there a notebook, I'm told, and each time they stumble upon a question they can't answer, they jot it in the notebook, and they reserve those questions for me. I'm sure I don't answer every question perfectly -- maybe even leaving more questions than answers. But the conversation is rich, and rewarding, at least for me.

There are other things that fill my time -- non-work responsibilities (although that line between "work" and "non-work" isn't always clear). I volunteer as a CASA (Court-Appointed-Special-Advocate) for our county, investigating and advocating for child currently in the Foster care system. This week involved a visit to his home -- other weeks might have me attending a Court hearing, or writing reports for the court. I do a fair bit of writing -- including for Family Fire, an online ministry aimed at strengthening marriages and families. I read a great deal -- fiction and non-fiction alike.

So, it's a busy life-- and no two weeks are exactly the same. Needs pop up suddenly. Some sermons take longer than others. Sometimes a crisis will emerge out of nowhere. Sometimes, the need for visitation is great -- and other weeks, it's slower. But it's a good life. It's good work, it's challenging, and it's rewarding.

The point here, of course, is not to suggest that my work is any more or less busy than anyone else. It's to give a window to the curious about what goes on. In my next post, I want to reflect a bit further on why the greatest joys of pastoral ministry can also work against the pastor, to create ministry burnout.