Somebody asked me yesterday, “Do you have a job or are you
just a pastor?” Funny question. Others tease me saying that I work two hours per
week, one on Sunday and one on Wednesday.
What does a pastor do? Have you
ever wondered? In the ministry, there is
no such thing as a typical day. Days vary
and you never know what might happen. Let me tell you about my day yesterday.
Yesterday started at 5 AM when I got up to take my mother to
the airport. She was here visiting for a
week. While she was here, I “took the
week off” for vacation. I tried not to
go the office more than once a day.
Anyway, as a pastor, I also have a personal life, so I took my mom to
the airport. Afterwards, I grabbed breakfast
and returned home. I took a quick nap before going into the office.
By 9:30 AM, I was in the office. Most office days start with a conversation
with my secretary if it is a day that she is in the office. I “unload” some tasks on her and she brings me
up to speed on some things. Turns out,
she is having computer trouble. I put my
“computer tech” hat on and take a look at her computer. After a quick call to my son who is in the
computer business for advice, I fix her computer. I wasn’t quite done when someone stops by the
office to see me. We discuss a variety of
things including current events and a passage of Scripture that he has been
studying. As he is ready to go, another
parishioner pops his head in to say hello.
He had come by earlier and was praying here at the church. He was done but didn’t have time for a long
chat because he was on his way to work.
After that, I am reminded that there is still something wrong with the
computer. I finish the last piece.
Alone in my office, I pray and read a variety of Scriptures,
contemplating my sermon message for Sunday.
I try to start my sermon, at least choose a text, on Tuesday. We have been doing a series from Philippians,
but there is something else on my heart.
It needs more prayer. At the same
time, I am returning text messages and I think one phone call – I don’t
recall.
My wife dropped by just to tell me that she was on her way to
pick up the grandkids. I must have
missed her call or text.
Next, I review the church calendar for next month. At the same time, I look forward at several
months events.
I have lunch plans – someone needs help digging a hole. It’s an usual request but it is important. I loaded my shovels (short and long handle)
in the pickup before I left for the office this morning. I run to the local pizza place, get to slices
and a Coke, and drive to a friend’s house.
After the hole is dug, I grab an ice cream cone on my way back to the
office. It took longer than a normal
lunch.
Back in the office, I try to get a few more things done
before I have to teach karate at 6 PM.
Usually on Tuesdays, I snack before karate and eat dinner
afterwards. I reply to some emails, one
resulting in a phone call. Second phone
call. Running out of time. I eat a fig bar and rush home to put my karate
uniform on. No one shows up for the 6 o’clock
class (first one since the pandemic), so I return to the office and work on
something for 30 minutes. Before 7, I
return to the karate room. Good showing
for 7 o’clock class.
Karate ends at 8 PM, and I go back to the office. First I return a text message about a church
appointment next week. We go back and
forth and finally set a date and time. Next,
I check in with a group leader from another church about a group event that we
are doing together. Both of those are
done, so I’m headed home after 8:30 PM.
Time to build a fire in the backyard. The grandkids are here (I finally get to
spend some time with them) as well as another guest. We do smores and hotdogs. The fire starts to die down, so we pack
things up and head into the house.
My wife gets the grandkids settled into bed on the couch and
starts to watch a movie with them. I go downstairs,
open up my computer and start working on tomorrow’s Bible study. I don’t know what interruptions to expect on
Wednesday, so I want to get a good start on it tonight. According to the computer, I started at 9:47 PM
and finished at 11:44 PM. During that
time, my wife lets me know that the grandkids are asleep and that she is going
to bed. Before leaving, my wife shares
what God had put on her heart to share with the ladies. It is very similar to the message I am
working on for Sunday, but I don’t say anything to her. God is amazing.
Before going to bed, I like to plank – it’s an
exercise. I plank for two minutes and do
a quick 10 pushups and head to bed. (By
the way, I did brush my teeth and pray with my wife.)
Every pastor is different.
Every day is different. This is
not a typical day because there is no such thing as a typical day. I might have missed something, but you get the
idea.
What is your day like?
Whatever it is, love God and love people – serve God and serve people.
