“So… what do you do all day?”

Ask any pastor and you’ll hear it: the joke that just won’t die. “You only work one day a week, right?”

Sure. Most of us just download our sermons Friday afternoon, skim them twice, and hit the pulpit Sunday morning. Easy peasy.

Truth is, I’ve often struggled to describe what pastoral ministry looks like on an average Tuesday. Some use business language: I’m a life coach, a spiritual mentor, a resident theologian. Those terms have their place, but they fall short.

Others speak more biblically and more beautifully. The pastor is a shepherd. A steward of mysteries. One who cares for souls. That’s far closer.

But recently, while reading Revelation 12, a new title jumped off the page.

You know the scene: the great red dragon — Satan himself — makes war on the woman and her offspring, “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 12:17).

That’s the Church. That’s my congregation.

That’s when it hit me.

If I ever get business new cards printed, they’re going to say:

Rev. Ethan Sayler — Dragon Slayer

Because that’s what this calling feels like.

Each day, I come to the office and prepare for battle.

I study the Word, not to collect trivia, but to preach and teach with clarity — so that God’s people are armed with truth, dressed in righteousness, and standing firm in the armor of God.

I pray for my congregation — not as a perfunctory duty, but as real intercession for real souls under real attack.

I welcome walk-ins, visit the sick and suffering, open Scripture, sing hymns, and cling to promises that crush despair.

I counsel the wayward, call for repentance, guide toward reconciliation, and walk the long road of restoration — not because it’s easy, but because Christ came to undo the works of the devil. And in Him, so do we.

Ministry isn’t just managing programs or producing content. It’s slaying dragons. Every day.

And the truth of the matter is, on my own I am not strong enough, nor equipped for such a battle. Trying to fight the beast alone is a losing battle. So I must begin each day, dying to myself and rising with my Lord, looking to the One who has defeated the enemy and will lead His people in victory.

So, no, I don’t work just one day a week. But I do work every day under the victory of the One who crushed the serpent’s head.

And that’s more than enough.

SDG