A pastor's hours

When I make a new non-churchy friend, he or she often asks
what exactly I do with my time as a pastor outside Sunday morning.

A lot, actually—often more than my three-quarter-time
position would suggest. I plan for Sunday, prepare sermons, connect with other
pastors, visit the sick and the elderly, plan or attend community events, stay
up on scholarship, teach classes, write articles, pray and work with other
churches in my denomination. And that's only on Monday! My non-church friends
are often surprised by the range of activities, as I expect many members would
be as well.

On a recent trip to Scotland, where I once served as an
assistant minister in the Church of Scotland, I was reminded of the different
expectations of pastors in that country. In the congregation I served, pastors
were expected to visit congregation members for huge portions of their
workweeks.