In the role of a pastor, results are not tangible and are seldom measurable. Even when they are measurable, the question of what they are measuring is an open one. I can apply myself to a task and see nothing change over long periods of time. Pastoral ministry can often feel purposeless.
I regularly hear fellow priests talk about how their principal responsibilities are to plan and execute Sunday worship. Lay people can visit the sick members of their parishes, they tell me. After all, priests are trained for other things.
