The pastor is the ordinary minister of a Protestant congregation, and the office is defined by the word and the sacraments rather than by a sacrificing priesthood.
Word and sacrament
A pastor leads a congregation, preaches, and administers the two sacraments that most Protestant churches recognise, baptism and the Lord Supper, and the centrality of preaching reflects the Reformation conviction that the church is created by the word proclaimed. The title itself, meaning shepherd, describes the pastoral care of a flock that is the daily substance of the work, the teaching, counselling and oversight of a local community of believers.
Called and ordained
Entry to the office is by a call from a congregation or church body together with ordination, and the training and manner of ordination vary widely across the Protestant world, from seminary-trained and formally ordained clergy to ministers recognised chiefly by the call of a congregation. The office differs from the Catholic and Orthodox priesthood in rejecting the idea of a priest who offers sacrifice, holding instead a ministry of word and sacrament exercised within, not above, the priesthood of all believers. Whether women may hold it is one of the sharpest divisions among Protestant churches, some ordaining them freely and others reserving the office to men.