What do you do all day?

Ok, no book to review today, just some thoughts. It is almost cliche to talk about the assumption that all a pastor does is preach on Sundays, but it is something that comes up every once and a while. Not just the work that is done on Sundays, but the work that is done during the week. I think it is a question of the tasks of the pastor. What is a pastor supposed to be doing all week.
I think some would prefer the pastor to visit the sick and leave it at that. I wonder about such an assumption. It is important to visit the sick, but that can't be all. What does it say theologically if the role of the pastor is to just visit the sick and preach? What does such a visit do for the person visited. If I were part of a high church movement, then I might be able to draw upon the sacramental traditions, especially in a healing ministry. Yet I shirk away from the idea that the pastor brings special powers to the side of the sick. On the other hand, I do feel that the presence of the pastor can help the sick be aware of God's presence - this is good. So visits are good.
At the same time there is much more to do. I believe the pastor is in many ways the face of the church to the community. The pastor is the one who is in the community serving the needy, helping those in distress and sharing the gospel. This is vague, and the specifics can take time.
The pastor is to pray for the people.
The pastor is to prepare meetings, to prepare budgets, to answer mail, and take care of the nitty gritty stuff of the church. If it is a large church, then that is a totally different issue (then the pastor is to raise money). It is important for the pastor to do this work because it is part of the forming of a community.
I think this is closer to the crux of what the pastor does. The pastor forms a community. The pastor calls the members of the congregation to visit the sick, to answer phones, to be present in the community, to pray, and to study. The pastor leads the formation and to a degree is a part of the formation. Theologically, I would argue that this sets the pastor apart. Theologically I would argue this is why the pastor is ordained. The pastor leads the community on behalf of God/Holy Spirit. The pastor guides the community as he or she has been called by God. This is a big trust issue because sometimes the way the Holy Spirit leads may not seem to be the best way according to many. This itself is a topic for another time.
The point is, the pastor has to do a lot during the week that at times seems to very much be church work, and at other times seems to be "busy work." Yet if the pastor is connected to the Holy Spirit, then it all is good work. I hope.