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Welcome back to All Things Reformed Baptists. And what I'm gonna address today is a well, I I guess it's a question. Um, so the question that many people ask me is so what do you actually do as a pastor? Um, in other words, uh, what does your week look like? And so um I wanted to I wanted to take a moment to address that. I've been asked that more times than I can count. And sometimes is genuine curiosity, sometimes it's the polite way of saying, you only work one day a week, right? Now, let me give you an honest look at what a typical week can look like and why oftentimes 50, 60 hours a week is not unusual. So let's let's go through the days. Sunday, Sunday is the most visible day, but it's rarely just preaching. It includes early arrival. You gotta you get we gotta set the air conditioners on, there's prayer, there's there's uh making sure that your mental state and your emotional state and your mind is ready, right? It includes last-minute coordination with the worship and tech teams, uh, preaching, and often teaching a second time in another setting, greeting people, praying with those who stay out there, following up with visitors, and debriefing with leaders. By the time I get home, you can ask anyone in my family, the emotional tank is often very, very low. And no, I can't just take a nap. I have five beautiful kids and that keep me on my toes. And so naps are rarely allowed. All right, let's get to Monday. Monday is frequently recovery and admin work. Catching up on emails that piled up over the weekend, processing notes from Sunday conversations, checking in with uh the staff elders, uh, your key volunteers, uh, and beginning to outline the next sermon. It comes, the it's it's unbelievable how quick the next week comes. Um, many of us pastors also use Monday for hospital visits or counseling appointments that couldn't fit elsewhere. And then you got Tuesday through Thursdays, and those are usually the heaviest study in meeting days. Sermon preparation alone often takes anywhere from 12 to 20 hours. You're studying the text, you're reading commentaries, you're praying through application, you're writing, you're rewriting, you're rewriting, you're rewriting, and refining, refining illustration. After that, elder meetings, discipleship appointments, premarital counseling, conflict mediation, ministry team check-ins, and planning for upcoming events, such as baptisms, membership classes, outreach events, and more. Somewhere in there are phone calls and texts that need really extremely thoughtful replies. You get to Friday. Um now, Friday, I try to um kind of cool down and use that as a day to retreat a little bit, but you know, Friday is often a mix of you're finishing the sermon, uh, administrative work, and pastoral care. You got funerals, crises, and hard conversations don't schedule themselves around our preferred calendar. Many pastors use Friday to prepare for Sunday logistics and to protect some family time, uh, though that protection is frequently interrupted. And then Saturday comes uh along, uh, and I'll be honest with you, I try to protect Saturdays as much as I can. Uh I got a lot of yard work, clean the house, be with my family, uh, but a lot of times it's rarely fully free. Uh a lot of times you have final sermon review, praying through the service, responding to last-minute needs, and sometimes Saturday events or counseling. Even when the calendar looks open, the sermon is still living in the mind. Then there are things that don't fit neatly into any day: unexpected hospital runs or emergency pastoral care, late-night texts and calls when someone is in crisis, weddings, funerals, and graveside services, ongoing discipleship and mentoring relationships, vision and strategic planning, conflict resolution that can consume hours of emotional energy, community presence and informal conversations that are part of shepherding, personal study and prayer that must be guarded or they actually disappear, caring for your own soul and family so you don't burn out. Now, the reason it so easily reaches 50 to 60 hours is simple. Pastoral work is both highly relational and never fully finished. You don't get to just clock in and clock out. There is always another person who needs care, another text of scripture that deserves deeper study, another conversation that requires wisdom, and another responsibility that carries weight. The emotional and spiritual load is definitely real. You carry people's joys and sorrows with you. It doesn't clock out at 5 p.m. None of this is a complaint. It is a privilege to shepherd God's people. But it is also real work. Much of it is unseen. The public hour on Sunday is or a little bit more, is supported by many quieter hours of study, prayer, listening, leading, and caring. So when someone asks what a pastor does or asks me, you know, what do I do all week? The short answer is we try to feed the flock, protect the flock, and care for the flock, while also keeping our own hearts soft before the chief shepherd. That work is rarely tidy and it rarely fits into a neat 40-hour container. Now, I'm grateful for the calling that the Lord has on me. Um, and dependent on grace is an absolute must for that work. Well, I I hope that answers the question of so what do I do? And and I also forgot to say that oftentimes we're continuing education. Right now, uh, even though I have my bachelor's and my master's, I am working on a two to three year certification for biblical counseling uh program right now. That in and of itself takes up many, many hours per week of study, examinations, and so forth. Well, I hope that answers the question of what do I do? What do I do in a typical week as a pastor? That is it for now. Thank you for listening to All Things Reformed Baptist and look forward to seeing you next time.