Someone once told me that a pastor is the only person who has two hundred bosses. That is...if you serve a church with two hundred members. The larger the church, the more 'bosses' you have. Of course I chuckled at that. It isn't nearly that bad, but one of the pressures of being of pastor is a sense that you have different sets of expectations that aren't always compatible, thus the idea of multiple bosses.

In the previous article I listed the expectations the Discipline has. They are varied and many. Yet, there are times when the district has their own set of expectations (that are usually backed up in the Discipline) as does the conference. There are also expectations coming from your church, your community, your family and even yourself. Over and beyond that we have a sense that God has expectations too. So, what is a pastor to do? Who trumps whom? Should we always meet expectations coming from our church, or should it always be the district/conference? Or maybe our family? Where do our own expectations formed in prayer, silence and spiritual practices come into play?

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm a pastor. It is what I do. It is who I am. I can't get away from it. Every Monday morning I get up and I start the week doing the work of a pastor. I know I'm not alone. There are a lot of pastors out there. Perhaps you are one...or know one. But what does it mean to be a pastor? What is our work really about? How do we know when we are doing the work of a pastor? How do we know if we are doing the work of the pastor?

The Book of Discipline has some things to say about pastoral work. Even though pastors are ordained to Word, Sacrament, Order and Service there are many things that potentially includes. Here is what 2004 Book of Discipline says (I've condensed some of this so it isn't 'word for word' but it does include all of the responsibilities listed in paragraph 340):