What's a Pastor?

It seems like it would a reasonably easy question to answer, right? I am not so sure!

After several years of pastoral ministry (and many more years of additional lay/staff ministry that I and some others would consider pastoral---although it was not under appointment) I am finding that "pastoral" is very contextual in meaning.

In the churches I currently serve, there are expectations of a pastor in the areas of preaching, teaching, administration, evangelism, church growth (not equivalent to evangelism, but that rant is for another post), relationships, study, spiritual growth, counseling, and the list goes on ad infinitum.

Having served a very large church, three mid sized churches and one very small church (some suburban and some rural) I have come to recognize that the expectations and understandings of this role differ based upon geography.

I also think that these definitions and expectations differ from generation to generation.

So here is the question of the day: What is a pastor?

I would love to hear about your expectations, definitions, and understandings of pastors. What makes for a good pastor? What makes for an ineffective pastor? Are the expectations that we place on pastors (those our churches pay for this job) different than the expectations we place on laity (after all, isn't everyone baptized into Christ a minister...think hear of the "priesthood of all believers")?

Let me know what you think...and of course, I will write more about this in the near future!