What does a pastor do? The Duties, Tasks, and Responsibilities of a Pastor/Elder/Overseer
What does a pastor do?
By pastor, the Bible means "elder" or "overseer." Here are lists of answers from various sources I've collected throughout the years:
D. A. Carson (For the Love of God, vol. 1, [Crossway: 1998] Nov. 2):
Feed (as a shepherd)
Defend (as a shepherd)
Guide (as a shepherd)
Discipline (as a shepherd)
Be mature (as an elder)
Be respected (as an elder)
Oversee (as an overseer)
Godly manage (as an overseer)
Hold in spiritual accountability (as an overseer)
Mark Dever (The Deliberate Church, [Crossway: 2005], 89-95):
Practitioner of the marks (preaching, administering the ordinances)
Teaching
Meet with staff
Be disciplined and stick to a workable schedule
Graze – feed the flock
Guide – direct, model, equip, and keep the flock
Guard – from false teachers and false teaching
The 4 P’s (from chapter 1) – preaching, prayer, personal discipleship relationships, and patience
Benjamin Griffith (1743):
Preach God's Word
Watch over every member of the flock (emphasis mine)
Visit the flock to know their state.
Administer the ordinances (Baptism and Lord's Supper)
Pray for them
Model Christlikeness
Lig Duncan's job description as "Senior Minister":
Preach the Word
Love the People
Pray Down Heaven
Promote Family Religion
Train the Elders
Under those 5, it is to live a godly life
Mark Driscoll's list of duties for the elders-pastors (from Vintage Church, [Crossway: 2008], 72):
Praying and studying Scripture
Ruling/leading the church
managing the church
caring for people in the church
giving account to God for the church
living exemplary lives
rightly using the authority God has given them
teaching the Bible correctly
preaching
praying for the sick
teaching sound doctrine and refuting false teachings
working hard
rightly using money and power
protecting the church from false teachers
disciplining unrepentant Christians
obeying the secular laws as the legal ruling body of a corporation
developing other leaders and teachers
"The Form of Presbyterial Church Government 1645" in The Reformation of the Church: A Collection of Reformed and Puritan Documents on Church Issues edited by Iain Murray, 209-212.
Pray
Read Scriptures publicly
Preach the word
Catechize and teach theology
Administer the sacraments
Bless the people of God (with benedictions)
Care for the poor
Rule over the flock
PJ Tibayan (My list on the pastor-elder-overseer's role):
Prayerfully teach God's Word (1 Tim 3.2, Acts 6.4)
Oversee the whole flock and each individual member's spiritual good (Heb 13.7, 1 Pet 5.2)
Equip the church for the work of ministry (Eph 4.11)
Model godly Christian living and love for Christ (1 Tim 3.1-7, Titus 1.5-9)
John Piper's take on the function of Elders:
Governing
Teaching
This list is staggering, convicting, and clarifying. It staggers me to think about the weight of the responsibility God has on the pastor for his church. It is convicting because I see how I personally have failed. I want to pray and improve and grow in putting more of my time into teaching/preaching responsibilities, meeting with my small group leaders and training new teachers. I want to get more involved in knowing the lives of the students in my church. I also want to be in better communication with the pastoral team that I serve with, giving them weekly reports of the ministry, even if it is not asked of me. I want to seek their input and evaluation. I also want to pursue those who are straying that God has put under my care. This also clarifies my task. I need to defend the flock, discipline the unrepentant, hold them in spiritual accountability, disciple them, and most of all feed them and point them to the bread of life and living water, Jesus Christ himself.
[Also see Pastor-Elder Vows, a sample]
What are your thoughts? Are you thankful for your pastors? Do you pray for them? Do you make it easy or hard for them to shepherd and love you? If you have pastoral responsibilities, does this list help you? Why or why not?