A few years ago a seminary student on the verge of graduation asked me a question. The student had served in some part-time church staff positions but now faced the prospect of being called as pastor by a small church. The question came over coffee at a local fast food establishment:  "What does it take to be a pastor?"

Since then I've pondered the question, and my answer today would include at least the following elements.

A Deep Sense of Calling--Insofar as I can determine, the church has always believed this to be so. The call to become a pastor certainly manifests itself in any number of ways. For some the call arrives in a given moment and is clear; for others it grows over time and remains open to further definition. The call may be mediated through the scriptures, prayer, music, life circumstances, scholarship and study, or private reflections of the mind and heart. It may come as a still voice in the night. A sense of calling, though, is required. As many a pastor will testify, calling not only leads us to take up the task of a pastor but also sustains us in that work.

Patience--Pastors (ideally) spend a long time with a given group of Christians. A pastor soon discovers each member of the flock is unique. Some are far advanced in the ways of Christ, others are beginners, some have not actually started to walk with Christ, most are strung out on the path somewhere between the entrance and end. A pastor leads by shepherding such travelers as best he or she is able. Pastors find they spend a great deal of time walking from one end of the road to the other, meeting persons where they are, trying to help them take a few more steps, rounding up strays and the like. There's not much glory to be found in such a task. Mostly you get dusty, footsore, and tired. The travelers seldom thank you for looking out for others on the road; they may scold you for not being instantly available when they want you. Enormous patience is required in order to stick to the work of caring for the entire church.

Forgiveness--If you are a perfectionist,you might ought to reconsider your decision to become a pastor! Perhaps you've mistaken your calling. On any given day you will deal with church members who have failed to honor Christ through their attitudes and actions. Some segment of the church family will be in turmoil as a result. You will be tempted to try and "fix" the matter, to patch up or cover over the problem. Eventually you will learn the best response is to forgive those involved and to try to help them forgive one another. Of course, failure is not restricted to church members. Assuming you are honest, you often will know that you have failed God or the church in some way. One response is to wallow in guilt, another is to try to make up for the failure by working even harder, still another is to resolve never to fail again--and all such responses are futile. In order to remain a pastor, you have to learn to forgive yourself as well as others.

Prayer--What is the primary work of a pastor? Is it preaching, teaching, visiting the sick, administration, leadership or the like? No. The primary work of the pastor is to pray for church members, those who do not know Christ as Lord, for himself or herself, and for all the others who share the world with us. The "successful" pastor is a man or woman who is being shaped by a life of prayer and who is helping others enter into such a life.

Love--Love is required, if we are to become and continue as pastors. I, of course, am not talking about sentimental love but instead agape, the kind of love exemplified in Jesus. This kind of love combines a realistic assessment of others and the self with an unbreakable determination to serve them in ways which honor God. Such love always calls for self-sacrifice. The nature of our self-sacrifice varies from person to person. In my own case, among other things it has always involved surrendering some of the seclusion and independence I value and need in order to serve God's church. All of us who become and remain pastors discover the ways in which we must suffer for the sake of our love for God and the church.

"What does it take to be a pastor?" I've shared my answers. How would you answer the question?