Is preaching the primary task of a pastor?

I believe that preaching is the primary task of the pastor.  Jesus focused on preaching the Good News (Matthew 4:23), and Paul told Timothy to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:1-2).  I strongly agree with what Charles Jefferson (author of The Minster s Shepherd) said: "In a sermon he can warn, protect, guide, heal, rescue, and nourish".  These are exactly the things that Jesus and Paul did when they preached to the people.  Pastors can do the same when they get behind the pulpit and preach the Word.  They can tell their people about the dangers of following what the world says about happiness or the meaning of life.  All of these things, when not grounded in Scripture, lead to empty feelings and destructive behavior.  So the pastor, through preaching, leads the sheep to eternal life, which is the ultimate duty for a pastor, in my opinion.

Not only that, but Jesus said that the reason that He was born was to testify to the truth (John 18:37).  The truth is Jesus (John 14:6), He is the Word (John 1:1) and the way (John 14:6).  This truth is contained within the pages of the whole Bible, not just the New Testament.  By preaching the Word, a pastor is also testifying to the same truth that Jesus was born to testify to.

What are the top five tasks of a Pastor?

Preaching the Word - 2Tim 4:1-2: We all know that a pastor is to preach the Word. However, visit a couple of churches and you will soon discover that just the surface is touched, and there is no depth in the preaching. There is no sound preaching on the holiness of God or what it truly means to claim Jesus as Lord over your life. I understand that some church models use the Sunday morning worship service to reach the unchurched, and that can be one reason why the preaching is shallow. They do not want to go too deep for fear of losing the sinner because they cannot understand the theological lingo. These churches claim that they use another day during the week for the teaching of the believers, but even then the preaching is shallow. I believe that you can preach with theological words as long as you remember that there are lost people sitting in the pews that might not understand, and so you take time to explain those words to your audience. So preaching is one of the top five tasks.

Shepherding the flock - Acts 20:28, 1Pet 5:2: Here we have another task that should go without saying. The Scriptures that I have identified here say it all. A pastor should shepherd his flock. A shepherd takes care of his sheep even to the point of risking his life. That is something to ponder, is it not?

Studying the Word - 2Tim 2:15: This sort of goes hand in hand with preaching the Word. The thing about studying the Word is that it is the truth from God. It is the truth about life and our relationship with Him. That also includes the truth about eternity. There are many pastors who have twisted Scripture to mean something more than, less than, or other than what it is meant to be. So it is important that the pastor study the Word in truth so that he will lead his people in truth and guards himself from leading them into damnation because of the wrong interpretation of Scripture.

Evangelizing - Matt 28:19-20, Acts 5:42:  This goes without saying for the simple reason that we are all commanded to evangelize and the pastor should lead by example. 

Prayer - 1Tim 2:1-8: Prayer is of the utmost importance not just for the lost, but for his flock and for himself. A pastor should always pray to watch over his heart and the hearts of his flock, for the enemy is always on the attack.